Theodore Roosevelt and ProgressivismDespite criticism of their reform efforts, Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson's commitment and success in achieving national reform made them successful progressive presidents . There has not yet been a presidency that has not received criticism, with or without justification. Roosevelt in particular received much praise and criticism for his successes and failures. Overall, however, both Roosevelt and Wilson recognized and committed to changes during their presidencies. They were both good presidents for the Progressive Era. President Roosevelt was deeply criticized during his presidency. Robert La Follette, the Republican leader of Progressivism before Roosevelt, was one of Roosevelt's greatest critics. In his Autobiography: A Personal Narrative of Political Experiences, he talks about Roosevelt's reform policies, particularly his position on antitrust law and his strategy on trust in general, and how it did not solve the problems, but only increased the growth of Monopolies and entrepreneurial power (Doc E). Many political cartoons criticizing Roosevelt's policies were also published. One in particular depicts Roosevelt loudly singing about his progressive mistakes, with La Follette sulking in the background (Doc G). There was reason to criticize Roosevelt. Although he was infamous for his "square deal," or taking over trusts, he only managed to destroy about half the trusts in twice as much time as President Taft later did. The cases he handled were high profile and he spoke about them vociferously. Furthermore, he may have fought the trusts only because he thought it would be riskier to ignore them. Woodrow Wilson also had controversial policies and the extent of his progressivism can be questioned. Wilson's progressive attitude did not extend to many areas. For example, he did not reform how corruption occurred in government. He would even encourage him by giving rewards to his friends and punishing his enemies. It operated with a minimal spoiler system. It was also quite racist. His reform policies did not extend to African Americans. He appointed many Southern racists to his cabinet and strongly opposed black suffrage. He considered enfranchisement an evil. Wilson also did not want to reform social injustices. Offering no support for ratification of the suffrage movement, Wilson favored state action for women's suffrage. Child labor was another issue he considered a matter of state. Reform was something Wilson only considered on certain issues. Despite questions about his motivations and success, Roosevelt can be considered a successful progressive and reforming president..