THE PROGRESSIVE PRESIDENTS

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

FAMOUS FOR

• Being the 26th President and governor of New York
• Forming the Bull Moose Party when displeased by Taft
• A "Square Deal"
• Being critical of big business
• Forward-thinking policies relating to women

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• "Walk softly and carry a big stick"
• Completion of the Panama Canal
• Breaking up railroad monopolies in the Northwest
• Two terms as Presidents
• Inclusion of women in the Bull Moose Party

WILLIAM H. TAFT

FAMOUS FOR

• Being President of the United States
• Being groomed for presidency by Roosevelt
• Extreme adherence to the law
• Record number of antitrust suits
• Getting stuck in a bathtub

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Was only man to be both president and Supreme Court Justice
• Continued Roosevelt's trust-busting
• Improved performance of postal service
• Passed the Sixteenth Ammendment
• Dispatched troops to protect U.S. interests in Honduras and Nicaragua

WOODROW WILSON

FAMOUS FOR

• Being President of country and President of Princeton University
• Being President during World War I
• Conceiving the idea for the League of Nations
• Being the only President to have a Ph.D
• Strongly progressive ideas about reform

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Building the reputation of Princeton to what it is today
• Laying the groundwork for the United Nations
• Establishing the Federal Reserve
• Helping to negotiate the Treaty of Versailles
• His Fourteen Points for a peaceful postwar world

CONCLUSIONS

• I can get behind Roosevelt and Wilson being called progressive.
• Taft on the other hand...
• Nope, can't do it. Taft was NOT progressive; he was extremely conservative.
• For his time, he may have been progressive.
• His policies are extremely conservative by modern standards.