The Progressive Presidents. The presidentialelection of 1912 was the most Progre

The Progressive Presidents. The presidentialelection of 1912 was the most Progressive in US history; with thetwo frontrunners Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson bothespousing Progressive philosophies (and the most conservativecandidate William Howard Taft being in many ways a Progressivehimself). Although both Wilson and Roosevelt were Progressivetheir attitudes toward Progressivism differed at least in theory.This paper will provide an opportunity to review the complex natureof Progressivism and to explore how presidents policies while inoffice often differ from their rhetoric on the campaign trail.