In what ways did Theodore Roosevelt capture the essence of the Progressive movement?

Answer 1

The Progressive Movement was where government was being purged of many of the corrupt elements that dominated late 19th century politics and economics, such as large political machines (like Tammany Hall) and large trusts like Standard Oil. Roosevelt worked very independent of political machines. Indeed, he wound up as Vice-President because the boss of the New York Republican Party wanted him out of the office of governor!

When he became President, Roosevelt actively worked to improve the national standards of living by attacking elements that he saw were detrimental to that. His work against trusts earned him the nickname "Trustbuster". In a massive coal strike in 1902 or 1903, he sided with labour in the dispute. He also worked to improve the working conditions of meat packers after Sinclair's "The Jungle" exposed the horrible conditions under which they worked, and simultaneously improved the quality of meat in the country.

In modern parlance, progressive might be equated with liberal, and to a certain extent that holds true, but they're not quite the same. T.R. was definitely a model of the Progressive movement as he insured that government worked well for its citizens, not necessarily because of any overriding concerns over social issues (the liberals domain).