The Progressive Presidents Theodore Roosevelt l l l

The Progressive Presidents

Theodore Roosevelt l l l 1858 – 1919 26 th President (1901 -09) Republican The Trust Buster! Promoted his platform, the “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

“When I say I believe in a square deal, I do not mean to give every man the best hand. If good cards do not come to any man, or if they do come, and he has got the power to play them, that is his affair. All I mean is there should be no crookedness in how the cards are dealt. ” ~ Theodore Roosevelt describing his square deal.

Big Business Reform!

Anthracite Coal Mine Strike l l 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 l Strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) by giving it the ability to impose fines for violations l

US v. Northern Securities 1901: Three major railroads joined forces under a holding company called Northern Securities, essentially creating a dangerous monopoly l Roosevelt sued, claiming a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act l 1904: Supreme Court ruled in Roosevelt’s favor, ordered breakup of Northern Securities l

Hepburn Act of 1906 Further strengthened the ICC by giving it the authority to set railroad rates rather than just regulate them l 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 l

Food and Drug Reform!

Meat Inspection Act of 1906 l 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 l Products containing drugs like alcohol, caffeine, or cocaine had to be labeled with contents and dosage l

Land Conservation Roosevelt supported conservation of the nation’s natural resources through limiting consumption l Set aside 230 million of acres of public lands for national parks, forests, and wildlife preserves l Created 150 national parks l

William Howard Taft l l l 1857 – 1930 27 th 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 l 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 l This angered & disappointed Progressives, including Teddy Roosevelt, and badly hurt Taft’s reputation l

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 l Taft’s Attorney General dismissed the charges, so Pinchot leaked his story to the press l Taft fired the popular Pinchot, angering Progressives l Ballinger was later cleared of any wrongdoing by congressional investigators l

Taft the “Trustbuster” l 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 l 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

Mann-Elkins Act of 1910 Again increased the powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission by giving it more regulatory control l Added communications (telegraph & telephone companies) to the industries overseen by the ICC l

Children’s Bureau Created by Taft in 1912 l Designed to protect children from abuse, both at home and in the workplace and to monitor orphanages, foster care, and adoptions l First federal agency to be headed by a woman (Julia Lathrop) l

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire March 25, 1911 Exit doors to the factory were kept locked from the outside to prevent employees from stealing l When fire broke out, workers could not escape and 146 women workers died l Public outrage led to major reforms in working conditions and building codes l l

So, Teddy Roosevelt was NOT happy with Taft’s performance as President…. . What will he do?

Bull Moose Party Disappointed in Taft, Teddy decided to run for president once again in 1912, but the Republican Party nominated Taft l Roosevelt formed his own Progressive Party, better known as the “Bull Moose” Party and ran as its candidate, splitting the Republican vote l The Bull Moose platform of “New Nationalism” supported a federal government which was powerful enough to regulate corporations l Roosevelt was shot while campaigning, limiting his ability to appear in public over the last several weeks of the election l

Election of 1912 Democratic Party nominated Progressive NJ governor (and political newcomer) Woodrow Wilson l With the Republicans split, Wilson won the election fairly easily l

Woodrow Wilson l l 1856 – 1924 28 th 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 l Believed in limited government, especially where the economy was concerned l

th 16 Amendment 1913 l “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” l l US now taxed individuals rather than the states

th 17 Amendment 1913 l US Senators had been appointed by state legislatures, but after David Graham Phillips’ articles on corruption in the Senate, the 17 th Amendment changed the law to direct election of Senators by the people l

Federal Reserve Act of 1913 Wilson revived the idea of a “national bank” l 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 l

Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 Strengthened the Sherman Anti-Trust Act l Required businesses to charge all customers the same price for a product l Banned manufacturers from giving price discounts to retailers who bought larger volumes of goods l Declared labor unions to be exempt from antitrust laws l

More Progressive Amendments!

th 18 Amendment 1919 l 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 l 18 th Amendment was repealed by the 21 st Amendment in 1933 l

th 19 Amendment 1920 l Finally granted women suffrage (the right to vote) in federal elections l Suffrage had been sought by women since the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848! l

Robert La Follette 1855 – 1925 l Leader in Progressive reforms at the state level as governor of Wisconsin l Developed the “Wisconsin idea” of applying scientific methods to the running of state government l Later served in the US Senate and ran for President l

Voting Reforms l l l 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

Progressive Presidents