9.2Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson

Three presidents defined the era. Republican Theodore Roosevelt, taking office in 1901, made the presidency a "bully pulpit," busting trusts, protecting consumers, and conserving wilderness. His successor, William Howard Taft, continued trust-busting but split with Roosevelt, who bolted in 1912 to run on the Progressive "Bull Moose" ticket.

The Republican split handed victory to Democrat Woodrow Wilson, who pursued his own reform agenda: lower tariffs, a new income tax, the Federal Reserve, and stronger antitrust laws. That both parties produced major reformers shows how thoroughly progressivism reshaped politics. Yet Wilson, a Southerner, also imposed racial segregation on the federal workforce—a reminder of progressivism's blind spots.