WILSON, AFRICAN AMERICANS, & WOMEN

Unit 7.3

Woodrow Wilson

Background: 2nd Democratic President

elected since the Civil War

First southerner to occupy the White House since Zachary Taylor

Pledged again his commitment to a New Freedom In his 1913 inaugural

address, Wilson attacked the “triple wall of privilege”: tariffs, banking, and trusts

?

Who were the other two Democratic presidents elected since the Civil War?

What were the basic tenants of Wilson’s New Freedom?

Woodrow Wilson

Tariff Reduction: Addressed Congress in person about the

need for lower tariff rates to bring consumer prices down

The Underwood Tariff of 1913 substantially lowered tariffs for the first time in 50 years

To compensate for the reduced tariff revenues, the Underwood bill increased the income tax rate

?

How did presidents before Wilson generally address Congress?

How did Congress plan to compensate for the reduced tariff revenue?

Woodrow Wilson

Business Regulation: Two major pieces of legislation in 1914

completed Wilson’s New Freedom program:

Clayton Antitrust Act: strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act and protected unions from being prosecuted as trusts

Federal Trade Commission: took action against any “unfair trade practices” (except in banking and transportation)

Woodrow Wilson

Business Regulation: Other reforms extended to include Progressive

measures:

Federal Farm Loan Act (1916): established 12 federal farm loan banks to provide farm loans at low interest rates

Child Labor Act (1916): prohibited in interstate commerce the shipment of goods manufactured by children under 14 years old

Supreme Court later declared this act unconstitutional in 1918 case of Hammer v. Dagenhart

?

What were the four most important regulatory acts passed under Wilson?

African Americans

African Americans were largely ignored by the Progressive movement Progressives shared in the general

prejudice of the time Considered other reforms (such as lower

tariffs) more important than anti-lynching laws because their causes benefitted all Americans, not just one group

Suffered from economic deprivation and exploitation as well as the denial of their civil rights

?

What were the two main reasons that civil rights for African Americans were largely ignored by the Progressives?

African Americans

Economic deprivation and exploitation was one problem

Denial of civil rights was another

The priority of which issue to solve first became the focus of a debate between Booker T. Washington & W.E.B. Du Bois

African Americans

Washington’s stress on economics: As head of the Tuskegee

Institute in Alabama, Washington was the most influential African American at the turn of the century

Argued that the need for education and economic progress were most important

Only after establishing a secure economic base could African Americans gain social equality

African Americans

Du Bois’ stress on civil rights: Unlike Washington, Du

Bois was a northerner with a college education

Argued that political and social equality were prerequisites for any such economic success

Du Bois demanded equal rights

?

Compare and contrast how Washington and Du Bois argued for equal rights for African Americans.

African Americans

Urban Migration: Around 1900, about nine out of ten African

Americans lived in the South This ratio began steadily shifting to the North

Motivating the decision to leave the South were: Deteriorating race relations Destruction of cotton crops by the boll weevil Job opportunities in northern factories that

opened up when white workers were being drafted in WWI

?

What were the three main reasons that millions of African Americans migrated north between 1910-1930?

Civil Rights Organizations

Niagara Movement: In 1905, W.E.B. Du Bois met with young, black intellectuals in Niagara Falls, Canada to discuss a program of protest and action aimed at securing equal rights for blacks

NAACP: On Lincoln’s birthday in 1908, Du Bois, members of the Niagara Movement, and white progressives founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Mission was to abolish all forms of segregation and to

increase educational opportunities for African-Americans

Civil Rights Organizations

National Urban League: Formed in 1911, this organization helped those migrating from the South to northern cities Emphasized self-

reliance and economic advancement for all African Americans

?

What were the three major civil rights organizations of this era?

What were their main goals?

Women’s Suffrage

Background: Progressive era was a time of

increased activism and optimism for a new generation of feminists

The older generation of feminists, like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, passed the torch to younger members of the suffrage movement

Carrie Chapman Catt became president of the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) and argued for a suffrage amendment to the Constitution

Women’s Suffrage Militants:

Some women split from NAWSA in 1916 to form the National Women’s Party

These women took to the streets with mass pickets, parades, and hunger strikes

Their leader, Alice Paul of New Jersey, focused from the start on persuading Congress and the president for a suffrage amendment to the Constitution

?

What was Carrie Chapman Catt’s contribution to the women’s suffrage movement?

What was Alice Paul’s contribution to the women’s suffrage movement?

Women’s Suffrage

19th Amendment: The dedicated efforts of women on the

home front in WWI finally persuaded Congress and President Wilson to adopt a women’s suffrage amendment

The 19th Amendment (1920) guaranteed voting rights in all local, state, and federal elections

Afterwards, Carrie Chapman Catt organized the League of Women Voters, dedicated to keeping voters informed about candidates and issues