Developments Initiated by Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt

¶ … Presidents

The United States of America is a strong proponent of democracy and a renowned democracy. Democracy in this sense implies periodic free and fair elections as well as participation. Since the attainment of independence in 1776, the country has conducted numerous successful elections for a president. The 1912 presidential elections appear in the history books as the most progressive as the two front-runners Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt espoused progressive philosophies. This paper endeavors to compare and contrast their principles based on their writings.

The progressive politics era occurred between the 1890s and the 1920s and advocated social and political reforms. From Roosevelt's perspective, progressives were people who possessed serious transformational ideologies for the American citizenry (Bowles, 2011). Therefore, liberal politics revolved around the notion of progress, which asserts that advances in technology, science, and economic development can advance the human condition. As such, progressives sought to eliminate corruption and regulate monopolistic trust corporations by enacting antitrust laws. Such was achieved through concerted efforts aimed at reforming the local government, medicine, public education. Roosevelt and Wilson are among the most celebrated American presidents due to their great contributions. Their presidencies have numerous similarities and differences.

Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th and youngest American president in 1901 (aged 42) following the assassination of President William McKinley. He was also the Republican Party leader and founder of the Progressive Party. Roosevelt believed that the federal government had the power to initiate reforms. He further believed that large corporations were not intrinsically evil and formed part of the twentieth-century economic life. As such, he insisted that the government had to regulate in order to ensure that they used their corporate power appropriately.

Wilson is credited for various legislations like the Clayton Antitrust Act that prohibited price fixing and the Federal Reserve Act. Wilson believed that large corporations wielded much influence to the extent that trying to regulate them would not work. In his proposal, breaking up the monopolies, promoting small businesses through anti-trust laws, and allowing workers to form unions were the reasonable solutions in alleviating the economic problems facing the nation. It is important to note that Wilson helped in shaping the role of the American state in the international sphere by leading the country to the First World War in 1917.

Comparisons

Both Roosevelt's and Wilson's terms in office contributed to the increase of working class Americans. The progressive movement propagated a person-centered approach, which aimed at improving people's living conditions. Both leaders advocated the control of large corporations in the public interest as well as curbing the abuse of corporate power. Both leaders advocated individual plans, which challenged the status quo (laissez-faire government). For instance, Wilson advocated New Freedom while Roosevelt supported New Nationalism. New Nationalism called for broad reforms in all aspects of American life with exemption of race relations. Roosevelt believed that the needed social and political reforms could only be accomplished through the federal government. Proposed reforms included woman's suffrage, minimum wages for women, federal regulation of the economy and laws curbing child labor. Wilson's New Freedom plan supported several reforms such as strengthening antitrust laws, establishing better banking systems, and lowering the protective tariff.

In his first inaugural address, Woodrow Wilson stated that the forces of humanity had carried the day. He further expressed his dedication to improving people's lives by stating, "men's lives hang in the balance" (Wilson, 1913a). Roosevelt (1910) on his part expressed the need to uplift humanity. He further advocated that the American government to be freed from controlling special interests or sinister influence. In a nutshell, both leaders were nationalists who strived to ensure the uplifting of humanity or rather the propagation of public interest.

Contrasts

The tenets of Roosevelt's and Wilson's leadership differ on various grounds. First of all, the leaders were drawn from different political ideologies Wilson (Democrat) and Roosevelt (Republican) which propagated different political ideologies. While both leaders supported an increased role of the government in controlling the citizen's life, they differed in terms of the extent of doing so. For instance, Roosevelt argued that large corporations were indispensable products of efficient competition and would only be monitored and guided by the government as some part of their wealth improved the welfare of workers. For his part, Wilson rejected Roosevelt's argument terming it paternalistic. Therefore, he supported increased government influence through the enactment of antitrust laws to regulate corporations.