President Of The Common People And Wilson example essay topic

In the first two decades of the twentieth century the national political scene reflected a growing American belief in the ideas of the Progressive movement. This movement was concerned with fundamental social and economic reforms and gained in popularity under two presidents. Yet Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson espoused two different approaches to progressive reform. And each one was able to prevail upon congress to pass legislation in keeping with his own version of the progressive dream. These two people, although they had different principles in mind, had one goal: to make changes to the nation for the better of the people and the country.

Setting out to reach this goal, Roosevelt came to be a president of the common man while Wilson became the "better" progressive president. Even though they were both progressives, the two presidents had different paths in mind for the future of the United States. Their different perspective and priorities were evident in their speeches: New Nationalism by Roosevelt and New Freedom by Wilson. Wilson's New Freedom looked to the destruction of all trusts to promote economic competition and permit small businesses once again to flourish. While the federal government was to use its power on a one-time basis to bust all trusts, the federal government was to have no role in regulating business. Any regulation would have to be done by state governments.

This contrasted markedly with Roosevelt's New Nationalism, which called for an even stronger role for the president and the federal government in regulating the economy and curbing the abuses of corporate power. New Freedom and New Nationalism differed primarily, then, in their views of federal governmental power. Roosevelt wanted to use it while Wilson did not. Roosevelt became the president of the common man, gaining immense popularity and appeal from the citizens. This was because many of the actions that he has taken toward progressivism were for the common people, which included factory workers, laborers, children, and women.

Under his presidency, He passed laws to ensure the safety of food and drugs sold in the American marketplace. He placed millions of acres of land under federal protection, preserving America's natural resources. He regulated interstate commerce and helped laborers to get a fair chance at the negotiating table. In his New Nationalism platform, he called for women's suffrage, an end to child labor, pensions for the elderly, unemployment insurance, and increased regulation of the trusts. However, Wilson was less of a people's man because he was a strong proponent of states' rights and felt that such issues as women's suffrage and child labor laws were issues for the state.

Wilson rejected a stronger role of government in human affairs. Wilson's approach to progressivism was aimed more at commerce rather than with the people. As soon as he became president, he set to tackle the "triple wall of privilege": bank, tariff, and the trusts. He demanded that all trusts must be broken up in order for small businesses to succeed and competition to be restored. When it came to trusts, he showed no mercy, believing that entrepeurship and competition was the key to a healthy economy.

Wilson pushed for creation of a Federal Trade Commission, a federal agency which would regulate trade on a continuous basis. He also secured passage of the Federal Reserve Act which created a federal agency to serve as economic watch dog and regulator of the banking industry. He also helped pass the Underwood Tariff Bill, which significantly lowered the tariff, and the Clayton Anti-Trust Act, which declared certain businesses illegal (interlocking directorates, trusts, horizontal mergers) but ruled strikes and boycotts legal. In this way, he was swift and aggressive, effectively reaching his progressive goals. Wilson also pushed for creation of a Federal Trade Commission, a federal agency which would regulate trade on a continuous basis. These two presidents produced the culmination of the Progressive moment of the early twentieth century.

Roosevelt and Wilson both made changes that drastically had to be made for the better of the people and the country. Each set out to reach their goals and by doing so Roosevelt became the president of the common people, and Wilson the "better" progressive president..