Of the three, Theodore Roosevelt was perhaps the greatest
reformer. He considered himself a progressive, even though he was a Republican and was
largely responsible for breaking up the gigantic business trusts which had dominated the
American economy. Since Congress was reluctant to enact legislation to regulate trusts,
Roosevelt ordered his Attorney General to bring suit against them. The two most
important cases were the Northern Securities Company Case and the Swift and Company Case
which broke up the Insurance and Meat Trusts.
Aside from
that, Roosevelt was largely responsible for the Pure Food and Drug Act, and the Meat
Inspection Act, this after he read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. He
couldn't believe that the conditions described by Sinclair were true; and when
inspectors assured him that they were, he acted immediately. He was also a major element
in the establishment of National Parks. Notably, Roosevelt was the first President to
invite a Black person to dinner to the White House as an invited guest, namely Booker T.
Washington.
Taft was hardly a reformer. He was more of a
caretaker President, and quite conservative. He supported a lower tariff, which
Roosevelt had opposed, and so offended Roosevelt that the latter ran against him for
President in the 1916 election. His third party effort was just enough to give the
election to Woodrow Wilson.
Although a Democrat, Wilson
turned a deaf ear to social issues. He said that child labor was a state issue, so the
Federal government should not be involved. He did not support Women's suffrage, and in
fact was called "Kaiser Wilson" by some women's rights groups. He also was quite racist,
and did nothing for the cause of Blacks. In fact, he fired all Blacks who held
government positions when he took office.
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