From the Progressing America blog, a treasure of information about the history of the progressive movement:
"One thing that's consistent about progressives: they lie when they speak publicly. They lie in our time, they lied a century ago. It's true that progressives were much more honest about their beliefs a century ago, but you still often have to look in their books and journals and so forth, where they don't think people are looking.
So it is with Theodore Roosevelt, America's first hardcore progressive president. In a book titled "Progressive Principles"(which is a collection of Roosevelt's speeches), he said the following: (Page 48)
Then there's this:
"In 'The "New Freedom" and the Courts', Theodore Roosevelt said the following:
The "New Freedom" is nothing whatever but the right of the strong to prey on the weak, of the big men to crush down the little men, and to shield their iniquity beneath the cry that they are exercising freedom. The "New Freedom" when practically applied turns out to be that old kind of dreadful freedom which leaves the unscrupulous and powerful free to make slaves of the feeble. There is but one way to interfere with this freedom to inflict slavery on others, and that is by invoking the supervisory, the regulatory, the controlling, and directing power of the government precisely as the Progressives last year demanded in their platform, and as I and those like me demanded in our speeches. Every honest and law-abiding business man when once he realizes what the situation actually is will welcome our proposals; and for the wage-worker and the small man in business, the only hope of permanent relief comes through our program."
Lovely sentiments.
Go here to read more: http://progressingamerica.blogspot.com/search?q=teddy+roosevelt The income tax and direct election of Senators was not passed by TR, but they were important parts of the progressive agenda, an agenda TR supported and which passed under Wilson because TR's bull moose party allowed Wilson to win the election. Taft would have won reelection easily with TR interfering. I'd say look it up, but you'd probably just ask your grandfather.
So you'd rather trust some BLOG, on line, than contemporaneous books, news papers, and an actual human being who lived through that era? LOL...fine; everything you read on line is 100% factual. /S
I'd suggest that you read up on the 1912 election ( one interesting book is 1912; WILSON, ROOSEVELT, TAFT, AND DEBS, as well as various other books, as well as contemporaneous written materials, but it appears that you are far too mired in your own opinions.
FYI........Teddy R. spent decades fighting his era's GOPEers; in N.Y. and then in D.C.!
You can NOT judge past times with today's mores and/or ideas. You need to learn that!