President Theodore Roosevelt’s policies became increasingly progressive throughout his presidency. The Republican Party splintered over government’s intervention in a capitalist system. Republicans who considered Roosevelt’s policies too activist were known as “stand-pat Republicans.” Republican Speaker of the House Joseph Cannon, who served as speaker from 1903 to 1911, complained, "That fellow at the other end of the Avenue [Roosevelt] wants everything, from the birth of Christ to the death of the devil."
