Taft Wilson Chapter 16 Section 4 Progressivism under

Taft & Wilson Chapter 16 Section 4

Progressivism under Taft William Howard Taft will be Roosevelt’s choice to succeed him as President. Taft will defeat William Jennings Bryan by a wide margin in the election Soon, Taft will fall into disfavor with Roosevelt.

Taft & Progressivism Taft worked to secure Roosevelt’s reforms rather than to build upon them. He does create the Department of Labor & increase national forest reserves Dept. of Labor enforces labor laws Credited with passage of the 16 th Amendment: Income tax Seen by Progressives as a way to more fairly pay for government programs

Loss of Support His support of a tariff bill will outrage Progressives who see it hurting consumer costs. The Ballinger-Pinchot Affair (accusations of sabotage of conservation efforts) & Taft’s firing of Pinchot also hurt Progressive view of Taft Teddy Roosevelt turns on Taft after this.

Split in the Republican Party Roosevelt supports Progressive Republicans who oppose Taft in 1910 Congressional elections. TR proposes New Nationalism Set of laws to protect workers, ensure public health, and regulate business. Republicans still lose control of House (1 st time in 16 years) Republican Party is badly divided heading into 1912 election

1912 election Many Republican still support Taft Roosevelt challenges him but loses nomination. Progressive Republicans break away and form Progressive (Bull Moose) Party with Roosevelt as candidate. Democrats choose Woodrow Wilson Eugene Debs is Socialist candidate

1912 election results

What effect did the split in the Republican Party have on the election of 1912?

Wilson takes over with the reputation of a reformer Wilson’s New Freedom Had fought political machines, permitted direct primaries & a program to compensate injured workers in New Jersey New Freedom program calls for tariff reductions, banking reform, stronger antitrust laws Progressive causes

Tariff Reduction Wilson’s 1 st priority is to lower tariffs (tax on imported goods) Lower tariffs mean less government income; how to make up for that? Graduated income tax means wealthier pay more; poorer pay less

Federal Reserve Act Federal Reserve Board Passed in 1913, created a central fund from which banks could borrow to prevent collapses during a panic. Regulate the nation’s money supply Bank failures had been common 12 Federal Reserve Banks (serve other banks) Private Banks (Borrow from Fed as needed)

Stronger antitrust laws Unfair business practices persisted after passage of the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890. Wilson urges passage of Clayton Antitrust Act Prohibited companies from buying stock of competing companies (in order to form monopolies) Also supports workers by making strikes, boycotts and peaceful picketing legal for the 1 st time Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is established to enforce antitrust laws & get tough on companies using deceptive advertising.

What were three major areas of reform in Wilson’s New Freedom?

Women Gain the Vote Split in Women’s movement during Wilson years: NAWSA: state-by-state strategy by 1901 only 4 western states gave full voting rights to women Alice Paul & Lucy Burns leave to form National Women’s Party Constitutional Amendment Picket the White House, hunger strikes to draw attention Under Carrie Chapman Catt, NAWSA begins pushing for suffrage at both levels

19 th Amendment(1920): women get full voting rights

Progressivism & rights of African-Americans Progressive movement had lot of achievements but little when it came to rights of African-Americans Teddy Roosevelt had a mixed record but was 1 st President to invite an African-American to White House dinner (Booker T. Washington) “I cannot consent to take the positions that the doorway of hope- the door of opportunity- is to be shut upon any man, no matter how worthy, purely upon the grounds or race or color. Such an attitude would, according to my contentions, be fundamentally wrong. ”

Brownsville Incident His reaction to an event in Brownsville, TX will disappoint Though falsely accused, they are told if not accept responsibility, they will all be discharged ● None do & Roosevelt signs papers discharging 167 men & denying them back pay & pensions. ● Not until 1972 were records corrected to show ‘honorable discharge’ Wilson had a worse record: not supporting anti-lynching laws & allowing segregated offices

World War I will end the Progressive Era as more Americans will be focused on the war rather than reform at home.