Ch 9 Section 4 Progressivism Under Taft 27

Ch 9 Section 4 Progressivism Under Taft

#27 William Howard Taft • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=0 e. Px. P 6 LPun 4

Taft Becomes President • How did Taft get elected to run for president? • What did Taft do that angered progressive Republicans?

Taft Becomes President • Roosevelt decided not to run for reelection as president in 1908 so he picked his sec of war, William Howard Taft, to run against William Jennings Bryan

Taft Stumbles • As president he pursued a cautiously progressive agenda • Busted 90 trusts in a four year term • He hesitated to use the presidential bully pulpit to arouse public opinion • Tariffs and conservation posed his first problems

The Payne-Aldrich Tariff • He campaigned on a platform of lowering tariffs, a staple of the progressive agenda • The House passed the Payne bill, which lowered rates on imported manufactured goods • The Senate proposed an alternative bill, the Aldrich bill, which made fewer cuts and increased many rates • Taft signed the Payne-Aldrich Tariff, a compromise that only moderated the high rates of the Aldrich bill • Progressives believed Taft had abandoned progressivism

Disputing Public Lands • He angered conservationists by appointing his sec of the interior, Richard Ballinger • Ballinger disapproved of conservationists controls on western lands, removed 1 million acres of forest and mining lands from the reserved list and returned it to the public domain • A fired worker published a muckraking article against Ballinger • Pinchot added his voice, He accused Ballinger of letting commercial interests exploit the natural resources that rightfully belonged to the public • Taft sided with Ballinger and fired Pinchot from the US Forest Service

Disputing Public Lands • How did Taft’s appointee Richard Ballinger anger conservationists? • Answer: • Ballinger didn’t approve of conserving western lands; he permitted the sale of reserved lands to business interests

The Republican Party Splits • How did Taft’s support of Joe Cannon alienate progressive Republicans? • How did Roosevelt come to oppose Taft for the presidency in 1912?

The Republican Party Splits/Problems with the Party • Progressives (wanted change) vs. conservatives (didn’t want change) • Progressives on one side and the “old guard” on the other • Voters voiced concern on higher cost of living, which they blamed the Payne-Aldrich Tariff on • Also believed Taft was against conservation • Vocabulary • Old Guard: conservative members of a group

The Bull Moose Party • Roosevelt headed to Africa to hunt big game • He returned and gave a speech proposing “New Nationalism”, under which the federal gov’t would exert its power for the welfare of the people • 1912, he decided to run for a third term as president • Republicans wanted Roosevelt but Taft had the advantage b/c he held the office • Republican progressives refused to vote and formed a new third party, the Progressive Party and nominated Roosevelt • It became known as the Bull Moose Party

Bull Moose Party • Called for the direct election of senators and adoption in all states of the initiative, referendum, and recall. Also, advocated for women’s suffrage, workmen’s compensation, an eight-hour workday, a minimum wage for women, a federal law against child labor, and a federal trade commission to regulate business

• What were the differences between Taft and Roosevelt’s campaign platforms? • Answer: • Roosevelt’s campaign platform was much more progressive. He advocated for change using the government’s power

Democrats Win in 1912 • Who were the candidates in the 1912 election? • What event helped Wilson win the election of 1912?

Democrats Win in 1912 • Woodrow Wilson was the Democratic presidential nominee and endorsed a progressive platform called the New Freedom • It demanded even stronger antitrust legislation, banking reform, and reduced tariffs • The election offered different choices • Wilson’s New Freedom, Taft’s conservativism, Roosevelt’s progressivism, or the Socialist’s Party of Eugene V. Debs

• Roosevelt supported gov’t action to supervise big business but didn’t oppose monopolies • Debs called for an end to capitalism • Wilson supported small business and free-market competition, saw all monopolies as evil • Wilson got 42% of the popular vote but won electoral victory

Democrats Win in 1912 • What might be one of Wilson’s first issues to address as president? • Answer: • Wilson might concentrate on the relationship between business and government