# Mr. Roosevelt — The New Freedom character guide

> Mr. Roosevelt in The New Freedom by Woodrow Wilson.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Theodore Roosevelt

**First appearance:** 0003-i-the-old-order-changeth

## Snapshot

The former president whose benevolent-sounding trust platform Wilson reads line by line, then dismantles as rhetoric that leaves corporate power exactly where it stands.

## Who they are

Roosevelt stands in this book as Wilson's most formidable rival for the direction of reform: a man whose platform promises uplift, publicity, and a commission to discipline the trusts, and whose personal magnetism makes the promise feel like action. Wilson's objection is not to the goals but to the mechanics — he insists that regulation by executive commission quietly accepts monopoly as permanent and asks the trusts to grant as pity what citizens should take as justice. That quarrel over who actually governs defines the argument Wilson is building.

## Relationships

### [Pat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_freedom_se/characters/pat)

_professional_

Mr. Roosevelt interacts with Pat in a formal capacity, likely as a political figure or employer.

## In the story

### [III: Freemen Need No Guardians](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_freedom_se/chapters/iii-freemen-need-no-guardians)

Referenced indirectly in the context of conservation and monopoly; Wilson challenges the idea that those close to government (like Roosevelt's trust policy) can save the people from monopolies.

### [VIII: Monopoly, or Opportunity?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_freedom_se/chapters/viii-monopoly-or-opportunity)

Wilson implicitly contrasts his own trust-busting approach with Roosevelt's plan for regulation, arguing that trusts are not inevitable and should be dismantled rather than accepted.

### [IX: Benevolence, or Justice?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_freedom_se/chapters/ix-benevolence-or-justice)

Wilson critiques Roosevelt's trust plank, which accepts monopoly and proposes regulation by a commission, arguing it perpetuates control by special interests.

### [XI: The Emancipation of Business](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_freedom_se/chapters/xi-the-emancipation-of-business)

Referenced indirectly through the rejection of Roosevelt's trust regulation plan, as Wilson advocates for a different approach to monopoly.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_freedom_se/characters/mr_roosevelt
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_freedom_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_freedom_se/characters