Pros And Cons Of The Progressive Era

President Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson were in office during the progressive era. The progressive era brought new ideas about the economy and politics. These new ideas forced the public to think about the government and business differently. This new way of thinking challenged traditional ideas and sometimes broke the traditional way thinking. This in turn led America in a new but promising direction. These three Presidents had the desire to change social and political policies combined with their ability to look into the future. Each of them were able to see that workers desired the right to have a say in economic decisions. Although each of the Presidents had similar characteristics, each of them had their own views of how to change …show more content…
Vice President Theodore Roosevelt took the office of United States President. During his term as President, in the progressive era, Roosevelt pushed for the federal government to gain more control over the economy. His administration from 1901 to 1909 filed 40 antitrust actions against some of the nation’s largest corporations such as the railway holding company, Northern Securities. McKinley’s most important pieces of legislation passed during his administration was the Hepburn Act of 1906. This act allowed the ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission) the ability to examine railroad rates and set them at what everyone felt to be reasonable rates. This was a significant step by the federal government because it made shipping rates cheaper. Cheaper shipping rates benefited not only farmers, but all common consumer. The public could now afford to purchase commodities at a reasonable rate. Surprisingly business men supported Roosevelt’s actions. They realized that business may benefit from a more confident public. Roosevelt was also a big supporter of the Panamanian revolution lead to the construction of the Panama Canal which further reduce the cost of shipping goods. On November 3, 1903 the United States wrote the constitution for the republic of Panama and a protection treaty was signed that allowed work on the Panama Canal to begin. Construction started in 1904 and was finished in 1914. Prosecuting …show more content…
Taft was seen as the least Progressive President nevertheless, Taft brought 45 antitrust suits and in the four years he was in office set aside more land for forestry reserves then Roosevelt did in eight years. During his time in office an important piece of legislation was passed, the Sherman Antitrust act of 1911. This forced the breakup of the one and only Oil Company, Standard Oil. This was very important because before the breakup Standard Oil had no competition which gave them the ability to determine the price of oil. High oil prices would have affected the growth, progressivism, of American. Additionally Taft supported the 16th and the 17th amendments that provided a federal income tax and implemented a system for the direct election of senators. Taft was a poor politician because he did not have any experience being in an elected office which led to his defect in the next election. While in office, Taft’s continued pressure on the major companies such as Standard Oil gave the American public even more freedom in the form of reasonable oil prices and preservation of even more forest reserves. Implementation of an income tax gave support to a fast growing federal government that was needed because of the progressive