What made Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson Progressive presidents, and what were their most significant pieces of legislation?

Presidents Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson are considered progressive presidents. Each president did several things to further the cause of the Progressives.

President Roosevelt took several actions and had several laws passed while he was in office. He wasn’t afraid to go after businesses that were acting unfairly or that were harming the public’s interests. He went after the Northern Securities Company when its actions in a stock battle nearly caused a financial panic. He also threatened to intervene in the coal strike of 1902 when the owners of the coal mines refused to negotiate. There was concern that there wouldn’t be enough coal to heat homes in the winter. Several laws were passed to protect consumers while Theodore Roosevelt was president. The Meat Inspection Act required federal inspection of the meat industry. Cleanliness standards were established to help try to ensure that the meat was being prepared in clean conditions. The Pure Food and Drug Act made it illegal to falsely label food and medicines. These actions and laws helped Americans know that their interests were being protected, which can be interpreted as a form of freedom.

President Taft also did several things that are considered progressive. President Taft broke up more trusts than President Roosevelt did. He also established the Children’s Bureau to investigate problems with child labor. The Mann-Elkins Act gave the federal government more power to regulate businesses. The Bureau of Mines was created to monitor the actions of the mining companies. These actions also helped people believe the federal government was on their side and would help them if abusive conditions developed in the workplace, especially regarding children.

For President Wilson, there were some progressive changes, as well. The Underwood Tariff reduced tariffs. The Federal Reserve Act brought stability to the banking industry. The Federal Reserve Board would set banking policy. The decisions of the Federal Reserve Board would also impact the economy since the board could change interest rates. The Federal Trade Commission could require businesses to stop unfair business practices. The Clayton Antitrust Act allowed unions to exist and prevented businesses from charging different prices to different people. The Adamson Act created an eight-hour day for railroad workers. The Keating-Owen Child Labor Act made it illegal to hire kids under the age of fourteen in certain industries. These laws also reassured Americans that the government was working to protect their interests.

These actions by these presidents helped free Americans from the fear that they were powerless and that the government would not work to protect their interests.

Compare the Presidencies of Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson in terms of progressive priorities and agendas.

Probably the simplest way to answer this question is to take each progressive issue one at a time and describe how each of the presidential administrations addressed it.

Monopolies

Roosevelt took an active role in breaking up monopolies, including the giant JP Morgan. This earned him the nickname "Trust Buster." Despite this, he still advocated a free market economy. He did not oppose large businesses. In fact, he encouraged the growth of large corporations. Roosevelt felt that the federal government should only get involved when a firm used unfair practices to abuse its customers and competition. He felt that an industry on which others relied on needed to play fair. This is why he supported and signed the Elkins Anti-Rebate Act and the Hepburn Act to regulate railroad practices. He also asked Congress to allow him to use the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroad rates.

Taft took an approach to monopolies that was similar to his predecessor. In some ways, he was even more aggressive. Under Taft, the federal government sued nearly twice as many trusts as it did under Roosevelt. One famous case was the Justice Department's suit of US Steel in 1910. Roosevelt issued a public criticism of this action. Overall, Taft used the courts to break up large trusts, whereas Roosevelt promoted regulation.

Wilson took an approach that combined Roosevelt's use of regulation and Tafts employment of the judicial system to target monopolies. Overall, though, Wilson felt that neither regulation nor the courts were the solutions. Instead, he wanted to promote competition among businesses through tariff reduction and banking reform. Wilson supported the Clayton Act, which defined monopolies and unfair business practices. This made it easier for the federal government to regulate them.

Environmental Conservation

Roosevelt was an avid conservationist. Even before he became president, Roosevelt promoted the conservation of the country's resources and wild places. As president, he gathered together many experts on conservation. He promoted the 1902 Newlands Reclamation Act, established the Forest Service, and created numerous national parks and monuments.

Taft was also an active conservationist. He felt that public lands had a great value that should remain under the stewardship of the federal government. He supported legislation to stop public lands from being sold to private entities. Taft also created the Bureau of Mines to protect the country's mineral deposits from exploitation. However, Taft still received criticism of being anti-conservation after he fired Roosevelt's forestry chief Gifford Pinchot.

Likewise, Wilson felt that the conservation of natural resources was critical. From the outset of his presidency, he promoted protecting America's public lands. He signed the Organic Act, which further protected the national parks. However, he believed that preservation needed to take a backseat to conservation. This was illustrated when he authorized the construction of the Hetch Hetchy Dam to provide water for San Francisco.

Food and Drugs

All three of these presidents felt that food and drug safety needed to be better regulated. Roosevelt signed the landmark Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act in 1906. Roosevelt felt that the federal government had the responsibility to protect American consumers from dangerous business practices and he hoped that these new laws would help do that. This led to the creation of the Food Administration. Taft also supported this and used his office to enforce the provisions of these acts. Wilson further strengthened the ability of the federal government to ensure food safety by tasking the Food Administration to vigorously enforce regulations. He even appointed Herbert Hoover as head of the Food Administration and gave him a free hand over how he conducted his affairs.

Equal Rights

Roosevelt was well aware that there was a race problem in the United States. However, he did not feel that the government should take an active role in rectifying it. He felt that gradual change was best and that legislation was not the answer. Taft and Wilson also did little to rectify racial inequality in the country. However, Roosevelt was a champion of women's suffrage. While he did not take many actions to promote it during his presidency, his Bull-Moose Party had many women representatives on the national committee. When a referendum for women's suffrage made its way onto the New York state ballot in 1915, Roosevelt campaigned in its favor.

Taft and Wilson (at first) both opposed women's suffrage at the federal level. Taft mostly ignored the issue. At best, Wilson only gave it lipservice in his early years as president. However, the contribution of women during WWI convinced him that they could play a bigger role in the public sphere. By 1919, Wilson became a more vocal supporter of the suffragette's cause.

What were the main characteristics of the progressive presidents: Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson?

The major characteristic that all of these presidents shared is that they were interested in having the government work to reform the United States.  They all felt that business had too much power and that it should be reined in.

Beyond that, there were differences between them.  Roosevelt was by far the most forceful personality whereas Taft was happier as a judge and Wilson was more of a professorial type.  Wilson was much more idealistic in his foreign policies than was Roosevelt, who believed very much in the idea of “big stick diplomacy” and of having the United States get its way by whatever means were necessary.   These were important differences, but they should not obscure the fact that all of these men were basically progressive, which sets them apart from their predecessors of the late 1800s and their successors of the 1920s.

Compare the successes of Presidents Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson in enacting reform legislation.

Of the three, Theodore Roosevelt was perhaps the greatest reformer. He considered himself a progressive, even though he was a Republican and was largely responsible for breaking up the gigantic business trusts which had dominated the American economy. Since Congress was reluctant to enact legislation to regulate trusts, Roosevelt ordered his Attorney General to bring suit against them. The two most important cases were the Northern Securities Company Case and the Swift and Company Case which broke up the Insurance and Meat Trusts.

Aside from that, Roosevelt was largely responsible for the Pure Food and Drug Act, and the Meat Inspection Act, this after he read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. He couldn't believe that the conditions described by Sinclair were true; and when inspectors assured him that they were, he acted immediately. He was also a major element in the establishment of National Parks. Notably, Roosevelt was the first President to invite a Black person to dinner to the White House as an invited guest, namely Booker T. Washington.

Taft was hardly a reformer. He was more of a caretaker President, and quite conservative. He supported a lower tariff, which Roosevelt had opposed, and so offended Roosevelt that the latter ran against him for President in the 1916 election. His third party effort was just enough to give the election to Woodrow Wilson.

Although a Democrat, Wilson turned a deaf ear to social issues. He said that child labor was a state issue, so the Federal government should not be involved. He did not support Women's suffrage, and in fact was called "Kaiser Wilson" by some women's rights groups. He also was quite racist, and did nothing for the cause of Blacks. In fact, he fired all Blacks who held government positions when he took office.

Compare the reform successes of Presidents Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson.

These three presidents are commonly known as the "Progressive President."  Their terms covered the time known as the Progressive Era -- 1901-1920.  While all three had similar aims and goals, Roosevelt and Wilson were generally much more successful than Taft in passing reform laws.

Roosevelt got Congress to pass many important laws such as the Hepburn Railroad Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act.

By the time Taft became president, there were too many splits in the Republican Party (between reformers and others) for him to be able to get much passed.  We can't know if Roosevelt would have done any better, but Taft had a hard time.

Wilson, like Roosevelt, was able to pass important legislation such as the Federal Reserve Act, the Underwood Tariff Act, and the Clayton Antitrust Act.