The turning point for Progressivism was 1901 and the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. 1901 was the year that Progressivism had finally captured the White House. Plenty of historians have noted that Wilson's policies were generally duplicates of TR's, and they were. Some specifics of the article include:
16th and 17th amendments:
Both of which Roosevelt supported.
Bypassing the state legislatures
Roosevelt hated the states and was happy to publicly declare so.
Government involvement in healthcare (Article points to HHS)
Roosevelt was the first presidential candidate to call for such intervention.
Not mentioned in the article but it should have been:
Anti-capitalism
Roosevelt is well known for his trust busting.
Environmentalism
Roosevelt nationalized land left and right and put it all into government hands under the guise of conservation.
Today when we want to legitimately cut some wasteful program, what does government do? Shove the Washington Monument out there and in our faces as the first item on the chopping block. They wave it around on purpose. And it all goes back to where it goes back to.
Executive orders bypassing congress
Theodore Roosevelt was the first pen-and-phone president. No previous president issued more than 200 in any single term, yet Roosevelt issued nearly 1100 by the time he was done. That's 145 executive orders per year.
There's also the issue of eugenics. Other examples of his meddling behavior include football reform and spelling reform. Taken by themselves, perhaps a case can be made that these last two don't amount to a whole lot. But taken in total, there is no doubt that the first out of control progressive president was Theodore Roosevelt.
That's the turning point.
And one last bonus item. Who was the first current or former President to call for a body of global governance? I'll give you a hint. He did so when he accepted his Nobel Prize.
The sad part about the Roosevelt saga...is that the number one choice for McKinley for VP was Elihu Root.
If you ever pull up the bio on the guy....he was probably one of the capable executives that ever existed....bright...very capable. If he had been VP...you would have had a very focused period, and a lot less executive orders. Taft would have been there in 1912, and likely entered WW I by spring of 2015, and the war would have ended earlier.
“.........Who was the first current or former President to call for a body of global governance? I’ll give you a hint. He did so when he accepted his Nobel Prize.”
The BIGGEST of government to date. Freedom is under assault.
I recall my father telling me that when FDR passed, my grandfather’s reaction was “God d*mn all Roosevelt’s.”
“Overall it is a good article, but its off by 12 years. The turning point for Progressivism was 1901 and the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. “
That’s right. TR also made two speeches in favor of the income tax, a policy which his Republican successor Wm Taft carried forward. All that was left for Woodrow Wilson to do was put his name on the ratified Amendment.
There’s an interesting book by Gabriel Kolko on this period of history- the oddly named “The Triumph of Conservatism”. Kolko has the view that big business was the driving force behind progressive legislation rather than the social reformers often connected with the movement. Whether or not you find Kolko’s idea convincing the book is useful for its background on all that was going on at the time.
Thanks very much for the ping/post. Fascinating. i did not know that.
BUMP!