If I were half a scholar, I could explain the difference between the Progressivisms of Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt.
Let's see, how about a Progressive scale of one to ten, where Teddy was a two, Wilson a five, Franklin a seven, and then BHO would measure what... oh, maybe 25?
;-)
FDR was most certainly past a 20 on your scale. He broke the SCOTUS and America’s, until then, resistance to large scale, broadly implemented socialism. (Johnson was a 25 at least - look at the damage he’s done to blacks)
That said, I blame Teddy the most. You’re absolutely correct in that he was just a “little-bit” socialist, but he gave it a veneer of respectability that it never would have had and was a reference point or shield to socialism. He provided cover.
Take a look at a book called: The Myth of the Robber Barons by Burt Folsom
Teddy’s Trust Busting was populist and unnecessary. It granted government a heavy hand in business and rationalized all kinds of invasiveness in human affairs.