In the United States, the progressive movement was most associated with the search for greater
democratic participation by the individual in government, and the application of science and specialized
knowledge and skills to the improvement of life. Politically, the movement reached its national
climax in 1911, with the creation of the Progressive Party as a break between the Republican Party
professionals, who backed the incumbent, William Howard Taft, and the Republican opponents
of political machine politics and party regularity, who nominated former Republican president,
Theodore Roosevelt. The split in the Republican Party caused the Democratic candidate, Woodrow
Wilson, to be elected in 1912. Wilson in fact represented many of the programs the progressives had
supported (banking reforms, antitrust laws, and business regulation), but he did not support many of
the progressive interests in national social policy