President Theodore Roosevelt became the twenty sixth president of the United States of America in September 1901. During his time in office many changes took place, reflecting his own social and political beliefs. These social and political beliefs, as well as the domestic policies of his administration reflect how progressive he was as president. In this essay I will firstly discuss what being progressive entails. I will then discuss Roosevelt’s social and political beliefs as well as the domestic policies of his administration, which will reflect how closely Roosevelt can be associated with the progressive movement. Progressivism is a political orientation that emerged when education began to take priority over religion in America. Universities began to teach courses and subjects independent of religious input. The educated youth began to analyse society and began to feel that society as a whole was made up of people who were either poor foreigners or the newly rich businessmen who they saw as lacking in culture. The youth wanted to see more equality in wealth and more appreciation of culture and respect in society (Kuklick 2009). From these ideals the progressive movement spread to those who supported its initial ideas. Those who aligned themselves with progressivism found themselves in the middle politically, between those who were happy with the ways things were and socialists. Those who were progressive wanted more equal and fair politics in society and wanted to end the boss system where the wealthy would use corruption and bribery to maintain their power. However they had their own ideas of how politics should be and wanted those in power to have similar beliefs to them which meant that they did not trust everyone. They … … middle of paper … … that there would be no favours to anyone donating money to his campaign (Donald 2007). Roosevelt, in alignment with progressive thought, had a passion for nature and wanted to see his cities clean and the natural land protected. Roosevelt’s suggestion to create a department of commerce shows how he aimed at equalizing the power in society by ensuring that big corporations engage in legal and fair practise, this ensure that large corporations do not take advantage of the average middle class citizens of the country. In conclusion, all of Theodore Roosevelt ’s social and political beliefs discussed above show how he could be considered progressive. In his expressions of what he believes socially and politically as well as issues he tackles in his administration, one can see how he aligns himself with the ideas beliefs and issues central to the progressive movement.
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