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The Battle for National Reform

Chapter Twenty-two Main Themes
  1. The guiding ideology, domestic interests, and foreign entanglements of Theodore Roosevelt's administration.
  2. The troubled succession of William Howard Taft to the presidency, and how it paved the way for the ascension of Woodrow Wilson.
  3. The administration of Woodrow Wilson as both a conservative and progressive leader.
  4. America's embrace of a much more assertive and interventionist foreign policy, especially in the Caribbean and Latin America.

A thorough study of Chapter Twenty-two should enable the student to understand:
  • The nature and extent of Theodore Roosevelt's "square deal" progressivism.

  • The similarities and differences between the domestic progressivism of William Howard Taft and of Roosevelt.

  • The distinction between conservation and preservation, and why this distinction ultimately triggered the split between Taft and Roosevelt.

  • The consequences of the split in the Republican Party in 1912.

  • The philosophical and practical differences between Roosevelt's New Nationalism and Wilson's New Freedom.

  • The differences between Woodrow Wilson's campaign platform and the measures actually implemented during his term.

  • The social limits of Wilson progressivism, particularly with regards to women's suffrage and segregation.

  • The new direction of American foreign policy introduced by Roosevelt, especially in Asia and the Caribbean.

  • The similarities and differences between Taft's and Roosevelt's approaches to foreign policy.

  • The reasons for the continuation of American interventionism in Latin America under Wilson.

  • The unfolding of the diplomatic crisis between Mexico and the United States in the years before American entry into WWI.







American History: A Survey 12eOnline Learning Center

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