{ The Progressive Presidents. Theodore Roosevelt 1858 – 1919 26 th President (1901-09) ...
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Transcript of { The Progressive Presidents. Theodore Roosevelt 1858 – 1919 26 th President (1901-09) ...
{TheProgressivePresidents
Theodore Roosevelt 1858 – 1919 26th President (1901-
09) Republican Promoted his “Square
Deal”: promise to treat both citizens and businesses fairly – protect consumers from the dangers of “bad” trusts, but also protect businesses from unreasonable labor demands
Anthracite Coal Mine Strike
1902: 150,000 Pennsylvania coal miners went on strike for higher pay, reduced hours, and union recognition
Roosevelt offered arbitration when the strike threatened to leave the nation without coal for the winter; union accepted, but mine owners refused
Roosevelt threatened to seize the mines, forcing owners to the bargaining table
In the end, miners got more pay and fewer hours, but owners were not required to recognize the miners’ union
Elkins Act of 1903 Banned railroads from
giving rebates to “preferred” shippers – railroads had to charge everyone the same shipping rates
Strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) by giving it the ability to impose fines for violations
US v. Northern Securities 1901: Three major
railroads joined forces under a holding company called Northern Securities, essentially creating a dangerous monopoly
Roosevelt sued, claiming a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act
1904: Supreme Court ruled in Roosevelt’s favor, ordered breakup of Northern Securities
Hepburn Act of 1906 Further strengthened
the ICC by giving it the authority to set railroad rates rather than just regulate them
Actually helped the railroads because the ICC worked with them to ensure railroads were profitable while also making it difficult for new railroads to enter the marketplace
Dept. of Commerce & Labor Even while opposing trusts,
Roosevelt knew that supporting business interests was good for the nation
1903: Created the Dept. of Commerce & Labor which included the Bureau of Corporations, a branch which monitored businesses and advised them when their practices were of concern to the government so they could self-correct and avoid bad publicity of government intervention
Upton Sinclair 1878 – 1968 Wrote The Jungle
(1906) which exposed the horrific conditions within the meat-packing industry
Public outcry prompted Roosevelt to push through food inspection reforms
Meat Inspection Act of 1906 Required the
inspection of meat sold through interstate commerce and required the United States Dept. of Agriculture
(USDA) to set standards of cleanliness in meatpacking plants
Pure Food & Drug Act of 1906 Prohibited the
manufacture, sale, or shipment of impure or falsely labeled food and drugs
Products containing drugs like alcohol, caffeine, or cocaine had to be labeled with contents and dosage
Land Conservation Roosevelt supported
conservation of the nation’s natural resources through limiting consumption
Began to set aside millions of acres of public lands for national parks, forests, and wildlife preserves
William Howard Taft 1857 – 1930 27th President (1909-
13) Republican Later became Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court (1921-30)
Hand-picked by Roosevelt to succeed him as President, but was Roosevelt’s opposite in personality
Payne-Aldrich Tariff of 1909
Progressives and Taft (but not most Republicans) supported lowering tariffs
Taft tried to get a lower tariff passed, but ended up being forced to accept the Payne-Aldrich Tariff which actually raised tariffs on most goods
This angered & disappointed Progressives, including Teddy Roosevelt, and badly hurt Taft’s reputation
Ballinger-Pinchot Controversy 1909: Taft’s Secretary of the
Interior, Richard Ballinger, was accused by head of the US Forest Service (and close friend of Roosevelt) Gifford Pinchot of corruption
Taft’s Attorney General dismissed the charges, so Pinchot leaked his story to the press
Taft fired the popular Pinchot, angering Progressives
Ballinger was later cleared of any wrongdoing by congressional investigators
Mann-Elkins Act of 1910
Again increased the powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission by giving it more regulatory control
Added communications (telegraph & telephone companies) to the industries overseen by the ICC
Taft the “Trustbuster” Roosevelt was
perceived as being a more efficient trustbuster than Taft, but Taft actually prosecuted twice as many antitrust cases in his 1 term as president as Roosevelt did in 2 terms!
US v. American Tobacco 1911: Supreme
Court ruled that James Duke’s American Tobacco Co. had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by establishing an illegal monopoly on the cigarette industry; Court ordered the company broken up
In December 1924, James Duke established The Duke Endowment,-(PHILANTHROPY) a $40 million trust fund (about $430 million in 2005 dollars), some of which was to go to Trinity College. The University was renamed "Duke University" in honor of his father.
Children’s Bureau Created by Taft in
1912 Designed to protect
children from abuse, both at home and in the workplace and to monitor orphanages, foster care, and adoptions
First federal agency to be headed by a woman (Julia Lathrop)
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire(REMEMBER VIDEO!)
March 25, 1911 Exit doors to the factory
were kept locked from the outside to prevent employees from stealing
When fire broke out, workers could not escape and 146 women workers died
Public outrage led to major reforms in working conditions and building codes
Bull Moose Party
Disappointed in Taft, Teddy decided to run for president once again in 1912, but the Republican Party nominated Taft
Roosevelt formed his own Progressive Party, better known as the “Bull Moose” Party and ran as its candidate, splitting the Republican vote
The Bull Moose platform of “New Nationalism” supported a federal government which was powerful enough to regulate corporations
Roosevelt was shot while campaigning, limiting his ability to appear in public over the last several weeks of the election
Election of 1912 Democratic Party
nominated Progressive NJ governor (and political newcomer) Woodrow Wilson
With the Republicans split, Wilson won the election fairly easily
Woodrow Wilson 1856 – 1924 28th President (1913-
21) Ran on the “New
Freedom” platform: rather than empower government to regulate monopolies and trusts, simply destroy monopolies to ensure fair competition
Believed in limited government, especially where the economy was concerned
16th Amendment 1913 “The Congress shall have
power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration”
Created the federal tax on personal income
US now taxed individuals rather than the states
17th Amendment 1913 US Senators had
been appointed by state legislatures, but after David Graham Phillips’ articles on corruption in the Senate, the 17th Amendment changed the law to direct election of Senators by the people
Underwood Tariff of 1913
Wilson believed that competition with European companies would force American companies to produce better products more efficiently (cheaper)
Underwood Tariff cut
tariff rates in half, to about 30%
Federal Reserve Act of 1913
Wilson revived the idea of a “national bank”
Federal Reserve Act required private banks to keep a portion of their deposits on reserve in federally run reserve banks to act as a cushion against unexpected losses; federal reserve banks would set national interest rates and regulate the amount of money in circulation, allowing them to control inflation and prevent recessions
Federal Trade Commission
Created in 1914 to monitor businesses
Had the authority to investigate and issue cease-and-desist orders against businesses using unfair trade practices which hurt competition
Not designed to breakup trusts, but rather to deter companies from using unethical practices
Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914
Banned “tying” agreements which required retailers who bought products from one company to stop selling products from competitors
Required businesses to charge all customers the same price for a product
Banned manufacturers from giving price discounts to retailers who bought larger volumes of goods
Declared labor unions to be exempt from antitrust laws
Keating-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916
Prohibited the employment of children under 14 in factories
producing goods sold through interstate commerce
Later struck down by the Supreme Court as being outside of federal jurisdiction
Adamson Act of 1916 Established the 8-
hour workday for railroad workers, created overtime pay
Passed by Congress to avoid a national railroad strike
First US law to regulate the hours of workers in private industry
Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916 Created special
federal banks to provide loans to farmers and small businesses
Encouraged small businesses to compete with bigger rivals, thereby avoiding trusts and monopolies
18th Amendment 1919 Growing support for the
temperance (anti-alcohol) in the US led to a ban on the manufacture, transport, or sale of alcoholic beverages anywhere in the US
18th Amendment was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933
19th Amendment 1920 Finally granted
women suffrage (the
right to vote) in federal elections
Suffrage had been sought by women since the Seneca Falls Convention of
1848!
Robert La Follette 1855 – 1925 Leader in
Progressive reforms at the state level as governor of Wisconsin
Developed the “Wisconsin idea” of applying scientific methods to the running of state government
Later served in the US Senate and ran for President
City Government Changes Efficiency experts
began calling for cities to be “managed” by experts rather than by politicians and their buddies
Divided city services into departments, each headed by an expert in that field under the leadership of a hired city manager
Voting Reforms Direct Primaries: all party
members vote for who will be nominated as a candidate rather than just party leadership
Secret ballot: individual’s votes would be kept secret, not published
Referendum: allows citizens to vote directly on important issues rather than leave the issues in the hands of elected officials
Recall: allows voters to remove an elected official from office before their term is up
Initiative: allows voters to force elected officials to vote on a certain issue