Chamblee54

“The only way in which our people can increase their power over the big corporation that does wrong, the only way in which they can protect the working man in his conditions of work and life, the only way in which the people can prevent children working in industry or secure women an eight-hour day in industry, or secure compensation for men killed or crippled in industry, is by extending, instead of limiting, the powers of government.” Theodore Roosevelt San Francisco (14 Sep 1912)
This quote comes from WIST on Thursday the thirteenth. It is interesting on a number of levels. The most obvious is the call for expansion of government by a one time Republican.
At the time of this speech, Mr. Roosevelt was running as a third party candidate. His entry into the race split the Republican vote, and allowed Democrat Woodrow Wilson to win. In less than a year, the Federal Reserve Bank was created.
The race for President almost cost Mr. Roosevelt his life. On October 14, 1912, in Milwaukee WI, the candidate was shot. Mr. Roosevelt gave his speech, rather than go to the hospital. An x-ray showed the bullet to be lodged in a non-threatening place. It was not removed.
In 1917, five years after the call for government expansion, the United States entered World War I. Sending a million troops to Europe is, by definition, big government. Mr.Roosevelt was an enthusiastic supporter of American participation in the conflict. On July 23, 1918, Quinton Roosevelt, youngest son of the former President, was killed in France.
The quoted speech was given in San Francisco. Eleven years later, after taking ill on a trip to Alaska, President Warren Harding died in San Francisco. Mr. Roosevelt took office after the demise of President William McKinley. This is probably not what Mr. Roosevelt meant by expanding the role of government. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.