Who is a True Progressive?

Who Is A Progressive?
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Who Is A Progressive?
President William McKinley's assassination tragedy brought an idea and a statesman that the American people will never forget as a true leader. Theodore Roosevelt was a true frontrunner but whose progressive ideas were viewed as a threat by the Republicans. Therefore, they offered him a vice-presidential nomination and the position that was considered a dead-end in politics. However, through the designs of fate, Roosevelt became president and implemented his progressive ideas in the "Square Deal." This paper explores progressivism, an idea prevalent in early twentieth-century America and Roosevelt's presidency.
One of the characteristics of a progressive, according to Roosevelt, is fair market competition. During his time, Roosevelt spoke against monopolies such as Standard Oil and The Carnegie Steel company. He believed that such large corporations, which were beginning to form in the early twentieth century, were eliminating fair market competition by buying smaller companies and creating monopolies. During his presidency, therefore, Roosevelt dedicated adequate efforts towards controlling corporations (OpenStax, 2019). Another characteristic of a progressive is consumer protection. Roosevelt understood well that the interests of the wealthy manufacturers should not precede those of the ordinary people. After being elected president, one of his reforms was introducing an Act that ensured all meat producers underwent regular inspection (OpenStax, 2019). For a long, Presidents had operated in the interests of Congress and, therefore, limited their use of executive powers to avoid The House's hostility. However, when Roosevelt became president, he sought to exercise all his executive powers because he felt that the president's office was representative of the people and not Congress. By doing so, he spearheaded several acts and amendments that in turn benefited the ordinary American.
Anti-progressives are those who seek to retain the status quo in a country's political environment. One of the characteristics of anti-progressives is radicality. Anti-progressives hold very radical ideas. They strive to maintain the original norms and values of a country. For instance, Eugene Debs was a radical who advocated for socialism (OpenStax, 2019). Another characteristic of anti-progressives is wealth accumulation. Anti-progressives seek to prevent the formulation of laws that lead to wealth distribution. For instance, during Roosevelt's second term, he ensured large corporations' disintegration, such as Standard Oil, into smaller companies to allow for fair market competition (OpenStax, 2019). This policy was, however, not popular with wealthy and anti-progressive Americans.
One of the activities anti-progressives engaged in is in cheap labour. For a long time, slavery was the most lucrative trade in the South. Wealthy landowners in this region, who were also anti-progressives, favoured slave...