Teddy Roosevelt and Progressive Reform

The rise of industrial capitalism in the United States led to the growth of progressivism as well as several economic and social crises. There was repeated armed conflict between workers, governments, and private militia, sometimes in the form of labor union strikes. These clashes were often violent and sometimes were on scale so large that federal Army troops were required to quell the uprisings. In fact, in what became known as Coxey's Army, hundreds of unemployed men marched on Washington D.C. in 1894 to protest the poor economic conditions that had followed the Panic of 1893 and to convince the government to create jobs and make other public work improvements (Britannica).

Coxey's Army

The gap between the wealthy capitalists and the working class of society was ever-widening, prompting muckraking journalists to write sensationalist pieces that exposed the exploitations and corruption of government officials. From this broken system, which many thought violated the underlying principles that the country was originally founded on, emerged progressivism, a mindset that included three main areas of reform: controlling corporate power, conserving natural resources to lessen the detrimental effects of industrialization, and protecting consumers by making government less corrupt and more democratic.

To achieve these goals, the progressives attempted not to completely get rid of big business, but to regulate it and lessen the impact of capitalism for the general good of the public. This focus on benefiting individuals was stated aptly by Teddy Roosevelt when he said that the government should be the "steward of the public welfare." (Swinth) Eventually, the progressives agreed not to dissolve big business, and instead to regulate it through the power of the state and lessen its influence on political and economic aspects of society.

Teddy Roosevelt, the champion of progressivism and the policy of regulation.

As a champion of progressivism, Roosevelt used his position as the president as a "bully pulpit" to increase awareness of the issues surrounding the time. He saw the consolidation of power in the hands of a few wealthy industrialists as potentially dangerous not only to fair markets but to democracy itself. As such, he used the famous Sherman Anti-Trust Act to challenge certain businesses that held monopolies, such as a railroad trust called the Northern Securities Company. His policy of regulating stemmed from his belief in the inevitability of big business developing naturally. This very policy was his "square deal" to the people, the same idea that would be the center of his progressive Bull Moose Party in the election of 1912. It was very much a compromise, a way to monitor the coexistence of business and labor.

Progressivism was evident in Roosevelt's policies in other ways, too. He supported workers' rights to organize, the eight-hour workdays, and an income tax on the wealthy. He was also very passionate about conservation, as seen in his creation and designation of several new national parks and monuments, not to mention numerous wildlife preserves. Roosevelt's moderate policies that balanced reform and regulation led the nation through economic crises and prepared it for modern industrial society.



Sources:
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/politics-reform/essays/square-deal-theodore-roosevelt-and-themes-progressive-reform

https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/textbooks/boundless-u-s-history-textbook/the-progressive-era-1890-1917-22/roosevelt-s-progressivism-171/the-square-deal-935-1243/

http://www.britannica.com/event/Coxeys-Army

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=51