Presidential Legacies: The Progressives Part 2

William Howard Taft (1909-1912): Theodore Roosevelt stepped down in 1909 with the inauguration of his hand picked successor William Howard Taft. Roosevelt then went on safari. He wanted to give Taft the stage to himself. Shortly thereafter, Roosevelt received disturbing news. Taft was betraying Rooseveltism.

The difference between the two administrations was both negligible and huge. Taft continued his predecessor’s trust busting policies. However, Taft busted all monopolies as opposed to continuing Roosevelt’s policy of attacking those trusts that hurt consumers. Roosevelt only busted "bad" monopolies. Taft continued Roosevelt’s Conservation policies, yet sided with big timber interests in the Ballinger-Pinchot Affair. Roosevelt felt betrayed.

While Roosevelt had a strong foreign policy, Taft’s made America look weak. Taft attempted to help Latin America with Dollar Diplomacy. Unfortunately, the dollars went to dictators and not the people. When Taft attempted to secure arbitration treaties to avoid war between the major powers, the U.S. refused to ratify after Britain and France had done so. Taft even caused the Canadian government to fall. He negotiated a Free Trade agreement with Canada. The U.S. ratified it, but the Canadian flat earth society rejected it and turned their prime minister out of office. Roosevelt was embarrassed by this “Era of Bungled Diplomacy.” As a result, he split with the president and later formed his own party.

The split between Taft and Roosevelt split the Republican Party. The conservative wing adopted Taft, so the president made a hard right turn. In order to disguise himself from Taft and Democrat Woodrow Wilson, TR went leftward. Whether President Roosevelt would have governed moderately as before or as a hard left prog is unknown. Either way, the GOP split elected Woodrow Wilson in 1912.

Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921): Wilson was never a popular president. His administration is still controversial to this day. His idealism and his policies at home never met. He re-segregated federal facilities. Wilson’s Administration witnessed The Palmer Raids which trampled American liberties in a way never seen before or since. The president even invaded Mexico hunting Pancho Villa. The mission failed and the U.S. Army came home empty handed.

On the other hand, Wilson was an idealist. He felt government could help the people. His administration was the first to back labor over management. Wilson regulated the banks, lowered tariffs, and expanded on his two predecessor’s trust busting. When war broke out, Wilson supported national determination and declared war “to make the world safe for democracy.” After the war, Wilson stood up for ethnic minorities and the Germans. He was rebuffed by the Allies. However, his grand vision for a League of Nations came into being--without the United States which refused to sign on.

In many respects, Woodrow Wilson represented a dry run for George W. Bush. Both men had foreign misadventures. Both men could not corral a wanted terrorist. Both men ushered in controversial reforms. Both men advocated spreading Democracy by the sword. Both men waged wars that would become unpopular. Both men were originally elected with less than 50% of the vote. Both men narrowly won re-election as the vote came down to one state. Both men helped drag their party to defeat after their two terms ended. The one major difference between the men was on race. While Bush openly welcomed African-Americans into his administration, Wilson helped further the Jim Crow System.

After twenty years, and a costly world war, the Progressive Era ended. People were sick and tired of the Progressives. Although open to them at first, the Progs overstepped their bounds. The European War, Mexican excursion, Palmer Raids, and “big government” pushed people to their limits. On top of this, there was a Red Scare, race riots, and a flu pandemic that killed 20 million. The government fanned the flames of the Red Scare, the riots were a product of black soldiers returning home in uniform, and the flu occurred as a result of a confluence of events including the unsanitary conditions from the war. In response, the country made a right turn.

Presidential Legacies: The Progressives (1901-1909)

William McKinley’s death ended the Gilded Age. A younger generation took over. No one represented that generation more than Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt was young, vigorous, and progressive. The Progressives spent years in the Wilderness. The two major parties finally noticed them in 1892 when James Weaver polled well in the presidential election. In 1896, the Democrats under William Jennings Bryan co-opted the Progressives. Bryan was creamed in 1896 and 1900 and he scared voters into McKinley’s camp. By the mid 1910s, each party had Progressive and Conservative wings. By the 1920s, Progressivism was dead. People despised Progressive President Woodrow Wilson and the Progressives were blamed for World War I, the Palmer Raids, and reforms people did not necessarily want.

Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909): Roosevelt was a reformer and a progressive. Despite his own party’s protestations (and Glen Beck for that matter), he was no radical. With the exception of Conservation, Roosevelt steered a middle course between do-nothing conservatives and liberal overreaction. As a result, it can be argued TR was a moderate as president.

When Upton Sinclair published The Jungle, people demanded action against the meat packing industry. While socialists wanted a government takeover, and more conservative elements thought the government had no right regulating business, Roosevelt passed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act. The government would regulate, but not run these industries. Roosevelt protected the consumer while angering the right and the left.

Likewise, he steered a middle course during the Anthracite Coal Strike. Roosevelt forced a settlement on the owners. However, he steered a middle course during the negotiations. Government had always sided with business, so neutrality was a departure. TR made sure people had coal for the winter. That was his concern.

Roosevelt departed from his middle path with the environment. He believed in conservation. This should not be confused with modern environmentalism. TR wanted to preserve nature for future generations while today’s environmentalists believe that the Earth’s resources are finite and need protecting. Roosevelt did not believe this.

Roosevelt’s legacy consists of more than Consumerism and Conservation. Roosevelt oversaw a burgeoning world power. The Spanish American War made America an imperial power. Roosevelt decided that power brought responsibility. So, he pursued policies some consider controversial. When Japan decimated Russia in a war, Roosevelt mediated the peace. The Treaty of Portsmouth was a middle path agreement ending the war. Both Japan and Russia left New Hampshire unhappy. Roosevelt got the Noble Prize. Shortly thereafter, Roosevelt sent the American fleet to the Far East to intimidate Japan. The Japanese were an expansionist power with their eyes on the Philippines. The Great White Fleet was sent to remind Japan of American Power. Additionally, he issued the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, better known as The Big Stick Policy, designed to keep Germany out of the New World. However, it allowed American intervention in Latin and South America. Lastly, Roosevelt built the Panama Canal. He overthrew the Panamanian government to get it built. American national interest overrode all other concerns.

Theodore Roosevelt ushered in the Progressive Era. While TR was a reformer, he was not the wide eyed Progressive portrayed by some. Instead, he steered a middle course designed to help Americans. He remained neutral in labor matters and sided with consumers as opposed to big business. When it came to conservation, Roosevelt did not take the middle course. He set aside more land for future generations than any other president. Additionally, his foreign policy was similar to Ronald Reagan’s. National security overwhelmed all other concerns. After leaving the White House, TR ran for president again in 1912. During that campaign, he took a hard left turn.
Whether that left turn was real or an effort to differentiate himself from Taft and Wilson will never be known.