1. Essential Question: (Just think about this one.)
How did progressives bring reform to urban & state governments?
Bell Ringer Questions:
How effective were progressive reformers in addressing:
(a) Problems in cities?
(b) Discrimination against African-Americans?
(c) Inequalities against women?

2. National Progressive Reform: Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, & Woodrow Wilson Goal 7.01 & 7.02

3. President Theodore Roosevelt
VP Theodore Roosevelt became president after the assassination of William McKinley in 1901
TR was a different kind of president
He thought the gov’t ought to take responsibility for the welfare of the American people
His agenda of progressive reform was called the “Square Deal”

4. Theodore Roosevelt: A “Modern” President
“It is the duty of the president to act upon the theory that he is the steward of the people, and…to assume that he has the legal right to do whatever the needs of the people demand, unless the Constitution or the laws explicitly forbid him to do it”
TR was committed to a series of reforms:
Breaking up harmful monopolies (called “trustbusting”)
Regulating businesses such as railroads & the meat industry
Conservation of natural resources

5. Trustbusting
During the Gilded Age, Congress passed a series of laws designed to keep big business in check:
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was formed in 1886 to regulate railroads
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act in 1890 made it illegal for companies to restrict trade
But neither of these laws were strict enough to control monopolies

6. Trustbusting
Roosevelt saw the benefit of efficient monopolies, but wanted to control bad trusts:
In 1902, the gov’t ordered the Northern Securities Company (a giant railroad monopoly owned by J.P. Morgan) broken up because it violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act
The Roosevelt administration “busted” 25 trusts in 7 years

7. Theodore Roosevelt, the Trustbuster
RESTRAINT

8. Supporting Workers
In 1902, the United Mine Workers went on strike to demand higher pay & an eight-hour work day
The anthracite coal strike lasted 11 months & threatened the nation as winter approached

9. Supporting Workers
Unlike the Gilded Age presidents, TR did not side with the owners & break up the strike
TR forced both sides to arbitrate or face gov’t seizure of the coal mine
The result was a “square deal” for both sides
The result was a “square deal” for labor (higher wages) & owners (no formal recognition of the union)

10. Regulating Business
When muckraker Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle was published, Roosevelt pushed for regulation of the meat packing industry
Congress passed the Meat Inspection Act in 1906
To ban harmful products & end false medicine claims, the Pure Food & Drug Act passed in 1906
Quick Class Discussion: Why did The Jungle generate so much outrage from Americans & politicians? Read excerpts from The Jungle

11. Unregulated Food & Medicines: The Need for the Pure Food & Drug Act

12. Conservation of the Environment
During the Gilded Age, corporations clear-cut forests & viewed America’s natural resources as endless
Roosevelt began the 1st national environmental conservation program
The gov’t protected 195 million acres as off limits to businesses
The Reclamation Service to place natural resources (oil, trees, coal) under federal protection

13. National Parks and Forests

14. The Legacy of Theodore Roosevelt
In 1908, Roosevelt decided not to run for re-election as president
TR’s presidency was important because for the first time, the national government:
Regulated big business
Protected the environment
Assumed responsibility for the welfare of workers & consumers

15. William Howard Taft
When Roosevelt decided not to run for re-election in 1908, his successor to the presidency was Republican William Howard Taft

16. The Presidency of Taft
Like TR, Taft believed that the U.S. needed progressive reform:
In his 4 years as president, Taft helped break up twice as many monopolies as Roosevelt
Created the Children’s Bureau & pushed for child labor laws
Helped create safety codes for coal miners & railroad workers

17. The Presidency of Taft
But, Taft did not always trust the gov’t to solve problems & often sided with conservative Republicans
He angered progressives when he supported a high tariff which helped monopolies
He allowed a cabinet secretary to sell 1 million acres of conservation land to businesses
Progressive politicians hoped that TR would run for president again

18. Progressives (& Roosevelt) began to view Taft as having made a mess of TR’s reforms

19. The Election of 1912
TR decided to run for president in 1912 but the Republican Party picked Taft as their candidate
TR created the Progressive (“Bull Moose”) Party
Taft was the Republican nominee & the Democrats ran a reform governor, Woodrow Wilson
Republican voters were divided in whom to support: Roosevelt or Taft

20. The Election of 1912 & the Progressive Party (Bull Moose Party)
I’m feeling as fit as a “bull moose”

21. Republicans divided by a Bull moose equals a Democratic victory!
The Election of 1912
With the Republicans divided, Democrat Woodrow Wilson won the election of 1912
Republicans divided by a Bull moose equals a Democratic victory!

22. President Woodrow Wilson
President Wilson oversaw a great wave of progressive reforms:
16th Amendment created the 1st income tax in U.S. history
17th Amendment allowed for the direct-election of U.S. Senators
18th Amendment outlawed alcohol (prohibition)
19th Amendment granted women the right to vote (suffrage)
“Progressive Amendments”
(1913) was;

23. President Woodrow Wilson
President Wilson oversaw a great wave of progressive reforms:
Created the Federal Reserve to regulate the economy by adjusting the money supply & interest rates
The Clayton Anti-Trust Act limited the ability of companies to form monopolies & protected workers’ right to strike
The Federal Trade Commission monitored unfair business practices
(1913) was;

24. The Federal Reserve System
The “Fed” regulates the amount of money in circulation to help keep the economy strong

25. The End of Progressive Reform
The Progressive Era ( ) brought major changes:
Gov’t regulation of big business
Improvements in U.S. cities
More democracy for the people
But, the outbreak of World War I in Europe distracted Americans & brought an end to the Progressive Era