Who Is a Progressive? by Teddy Roosevelt

In addition to recommending books I will also be including some interstitial material that helps define progressivism. The following is a speech given by Theodore Roosevelt in 1912.

Since Roosevelt moved into the presidency after McKinley's assassination, and then was elected to a term, he decided to forego running for another term in 1908. However, he was disappointed with Taft's presidency and in 1912 Roosevelt joined other progressive Republicans to form the Progressive Party. The Progressive Party platform is surprisingly relevant a century later, and reflects many of the issues important to today's liberals and progressives.

The following is an excerpt from Roosevelt's speech "Who Is a Progressive?" He gave this speech in response to President Taft referring to himself as a progressive. Roosevelt wanted to make a clear distinction between himself and Taft, and between progressives and reactionaries. In this speech Roosevelt also speaks to the importance of allowing citizens to directly elect the Senators from their state. It was only with the seventeenth amendment to the US constitution, passed in 1913, that citizens were allowed to directly elect the US senators from their state.

Every man who fights fearlessly and effectively against special privilege in any form is to that extent a Progressive. Every man who, directly or indirectly, upholds privilege and favors the special interests, whether he acts from evil motives or merely because he is puzzle-headed or dull of mental vision or lacking in social sympathy, or whether he simply lacks interest in the subject, is a reactionary.

Every man is to that extent a Progressive if he stands for any form of social justice, whether it securing proper protection for factory girls against dangerous machinery, for securing a proper limitation of hours of labor for women and children in industry, for securing proper living conditions for those who dwell in the thickly crowded regions of our great cities, for helping, so far as legislators can help, all the conditions of work and life for wage-workers in great centers of industry, or for helping by the action both of the National and State governments, so far as conditions will permit, the men and women who dwell in the open country to increase their efficiency both in production on their farms and in business arrangements for the marketing of their produce, and also to increase the opportunities to give the best possible expression to their social life. The man is a reactionary, whatever may be his professions and no matter how excellent his intentions, who opposes these movements, or who, if in high place, takes no interest in them and does not earnestly lead them forward.