Progressive Characters

Theodore Roosevelt

1. As a child, Theodore Roosevelt was always sick and often stayed in bed. Once he was older and was stronger, he would spend his time outdoors. Later he graduated from Harvard. After his wife died, he became interested in politics and thought about the idea of Manifest Destiny.

2. The Big Stick Policy means that countries should not be afraid to use military force. He also added the Roosevelt Corollary to ensure that if European countries invaded Central and South America, then they would be able to get involved. He also helped create the Progressive Party.
3. Roosevelt made the country believe the imperialistic ideas of taking over the world. He advanced the nation by making them more involved in foreign affairs.

Woodrow Wilson

1. Wilson was interested in the academics and in politics. He attended Princeton University and became a professor, then became the University's President. Moral Internationalism, meaning that the United States had the right to be involved in all world affairs, was his idea.

2. Wilson was involved in the Treaty of Versailles which ended World War I. He also created the fourteen points, all leaders of every countries would gather to discuss global issues.

3. He advanced the nation by making sure the U.S. would be involved in foreign affairs. Through the United Nations the U.S. had the power to be involved in all global issues. 

Ida Tarbell

1. Tarbell was raised in a farming background and a very humble family. Her family established a small oil company themselves. She lbecame muckracker and was known for exposing the Rockefeller corporation.

2. Tarbell exposed Rockefeller in her series "The History of the Standard Oil Company". This led to an investigation of the his companies and then they separated into 6 companies. 

3. Tarbell was a muckraker, meaning she wrote facts which in turn exposed the truth. That is how she had exposed the corruption of the oil company. Her writing led to an investigation of the Standard Oil Company and its disbandment into six different companies, effectively ending Rockefeller's reign

Robert La Follette

1. La Follete was raised in a humble family. He created the Wisconsin Idea in which he tried to get the democracy to be fully for the people.

2. He was involved in the Sedition Act. He since he fought against it. He believed that it was unconstitutional and fought to get Eugene Debs out of prison for speaking negatively about the government.

3. He advanced the nation by trying to even out the equality in the country.  He tried to find a way where people would have a lot of power in the government. He fought for the constitutional rights of the people.

John D. Rockefeller

1. Rockefeller was born in a farm. His family owned a farm and then sold it to buy more land. He went to University and was one of the top people in his class. He created the Standard Oil Company and out of that, he became rich.

2. John Rockefeller was involved in the monopoly business. He knew how to make his country advance through 

3. John Rockefeller advanced the nation through the economical scale. He took over the economic side of the United States through the oil companies and the railroad companies. This in turn, made the United States one of the most influential and most wealthy countries.

Eugene Debs

1. Eugene V. Debs was born in a German family in Terre Haute, Indiana He was an immigrant, his life was difficult, yet their knowledge was as vast as the family library. His family opened a general store and later became trusted members of the community; after finishing high school, Debs went to work at the Union Pacific Railway, but left the dangerous job to do union work and became a union activist.

2. Debs engendered the American Railway Union to help the rights of the workers and he opened a publishing company that to get the voices of the workers that were unheard. The ARU and himself stood behind the Pullman Strike even if he was jailed. The Great Railway Strike was one of his greatest accomplishments which showed what he was giving up for the workers rights.

3. He fought for the progression and way of betterment of life for the Railroad Workers and also the socialist ideas to promote the communal growth of Americans. He wanted to progress the American way life through the government and wanted to end Laissez Fair.