This excerpt is from a 1912 speech by Theodore Roosevelt.
Roosevelt campaigned against Woodrow Wilson for president. They
argued about the rights of workers and business owners in factory
settings
The liberty of which Mr. Wilson speaks today means merely the liberty of some great trust
magnate to do that which he is not entitled to do. It means merely the liberty of some
factory owner to work haggard women over-hours for under-pay and himself to pocket the
profits. It means the liberty of the factory owner to close his operatives into some crazy
deathtrap on a top floor, where if fire starts, the slaughter is immense. It means the liberty
of the big factory owner who is conscienceless, and unscrupulous ... It means the liberty of
even less conscientious factory owners to make their money out of the toil, the labor, of
little children. Men of this stamp are the men whose liberty would be preserved by Mr.
Wilson. Men of this stamp are the men whose liberty would be preserved by the limitation
of governmental power.
Which of the following statements BEST summarizes Roosevelt's
argument?
Select one:
We propose, on the contrary, to extend governmental power in order to secure the liberty of
the wage workers, of the men and women who toil in industry, to save the liberty of the
oppressed from the oppressor. Mr. Wilson stands for the liberty of the oppressor to
oppress. We stand for the limitation of his liberty not to oppress those who are weaker than
himself
O
Owners of large factories would have their liberty unfairly reduced if they cannot
do what they are entitled to do with their businesses
Owners of large factories want the liberty to make more profits by under-paying
and overworking factory workers in unsafe conditions
0
There is so much cooperation between large factory owners and the
government in setting wages and safety standards
0
If there are minimum wages and safety standards, large factory owners would
offer only the minimum, which is bad for workers.