New Nationalism (Theodore Roosevelt)


New Nationalism was Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive political platform during the 1912 election.

Speech

Roosevelt made the case for what he called "the New Nationalism" in a speech in Osawatomie, Kansas, on September 1, 1910. The central issue he argued was government protection of human welfare and property rights, but he also argued that human welfare was more important than property rights. He insisted that only a powerful federal government could regulate the economy and guarantee justice, and that a President can succeed in making his economic agenda successful only if he makes the protection of human welfare his highest priority. Roosevelt believed that the concentration in industry was a natural part of the economy. He wanted executive agencies to regulate business. The federal government should be used to protect the laboring men, women and children from exploitation. In terms of policy, Roosevelt's platform included a broad range of social and political reforms advocated by progressives.

Socioeconomic policy

In the socioeconomic sphere the platform called for
The electoral reforms proposed included
The main theme of the platform was an attack on what he perceived as the domination of politics by business interests, which allegedly controlled both established parties. The platform asserted that
To that end, the platform called for
The book The Promise of American Life, written in 1909 by Herbert Croly, influenced Theodore Roosevelt. New Nationalism was in direct contrast with Woodrow Wilson's policy of The New Freedom, which promoted antitrust modification, tariff reduction, and banking and currency reform.
According to Lewis L. Gould, "The Progressive party did not go as far as the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt would, but it represented a long step in that direction."

Quotations