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12 Axes Test
Portrait of Theodore Roosevelt

Twenty-sixth US president

Theodore Roosevelt’s political views

The US president who broke up trusts, protected large areas of land for conservation and pursued an assertive foreign policy, and who ran again in 1912 on the Progressive ticket.

Presidency
26th, 1901–1909
Party
Republican
Lived
1858–1919
Scored on
8 of 12 axes

Strongest documented leanings

  1. Nationalism85%
  2. Militarist80%
  3. Assimilationist75%
Where T. Roosevelt stood on the twelve axes
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Where T. Roosevelt stood on the twelve axes

Each bar is one axis, between its two poles. Only axes with a documented position are scored; the others are shown as faint stubs on the icon and listed below, never as neutral.

Based on his Square Deal and New Nationalism. He asserted presidential stewardship to regulate monopolies, protect labor, and conserve natural resources.

  • Federal vs UnitaryUnitary 70%
    FederalUnitary

    Strong federal executive stewardship over corporations, states, and natural resources.

  • Security vs FreedomSecurity 65%
    SecurityFreedom

    Federal power deployed against corrupt trusts and violent labor disputes.

  • Nationalism vs InternationalismNationalism 85%
    NationalismInternationalism

    Big Stick diplomacy: robust projection of national power and naval preparedness.

  • Militarist vs PacifistMilitarist 80%
    MilitaristPacifist

    Advocate of the strenuous life, military readiness, and assertive foreign policy.

  • Assimilationist vs MulticulturalistAssimilationist 75%
    AssimilationistMulticulturalist

    Americanization: total devotion to a single national identity without hyphenated loyalties.

  • Collectivize vs PrivatizeCollectivize 65%
    CollectivizePrivatize

    The New Nationalism puts human welfare above property rights and wants property subject to the public good.

  • Planned vs Laissez-fairePlanned 75%
    PlannedLaissez-faire

    Backed the Hepburn Act on railway rates and the Pure Food and Drug Act, on the principle that government should regulate big business.

  • Progressive vs TraditionalProgressive 70%
    ProgressiveTraditional

    Invited Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House in October 1901, and the Progressive Party platform of 1912, on which he ran, endorsed votes for women.

No documented position, so not scored: Democratic vs Autocratic, Isolationism vs Globalism, Irreligious vs Religious, and Acceleration vs Bioconservative.

What shaped the scores

Dated actions from the record. Each is tied to the axis it informs.

  1. His Justice Department announces an antitrust suit against the Northern Securities Company.

    Planned vs Laissez-faire

    Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt · Wikipedia

  2. He hosts mine union leaders and operators at the White House to try to settle the anthracite coal strike.

    Security vs Freedom

    Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt · Wikipedia

  3. His annual message sets out the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.

    Nationalism vs Internationalism

    Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt · Wikipedia

  4. He signs the Hepburn Act, which lets the Interstate Commerce Commission set maximum railroad rates.

    Planned vs Laissez-faire

    Hepburn Act · Wikipedia

  5. In his New Nationalism speech at Osawatomie, Kansas, he argues that human welfare comes before property rights.

    Collectivize vs Privatize

    The New Nationalism · Teaching American History

  6. He tells the Knights of Columbus that there is no room in the country for hyphenated Americanism.

    Assimilationist vs Multiculturalist

    Americanism, 12 October 1915 · Project Gutenberg

T. Roosevelt compared with other presidents

Measured on the axes both presidents are scored on, with the same rules as the quiz.

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Questions about Theodore Roosevelt’s politics

The US president who broke up trusts, protected large areas of land for conservation and pursued an assertive foreign policy, and who ran again in 1912 on the Progressive ticket. On our twelve axes, the strongest documented leanings are Nationalism 85%, Militarist 80%, Assimilationist 75%.

Those labels changed meaning over time, so this site describes T. Roosevelt on twelve axes instead. On the economy, T. Roosevelt’s record leans toward government action and public provision. On social questions it leans progressive. The scores above give the evidence behind each axis.

Theodore Roosevelt was a Republican. T. Roosevelt was the 26th president, serving 1901–1909.

On the axes they are both scored on, T. Roosevelt is closest to William McKinley, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and furthest from Ronald Reagan, Calvin Coolidge, Thomas Jefferson.

Signed on 29 June 1906, it let the Interstate Commerce Commission set maximum railroad rates, extended its authority to bridges, terminals, ferries and oil pipelines, ended free passes for favoured shippers and gave the commission access to railroad financial records.

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Sources and credits

Main source: The New Nationalism · Teaching American History

Also read

Portrait: Pach Brothers, 1904 · Public domain

Scores are editorial estimates from the public record, not measurements. A place on this site is not praise.

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