Progressivism Under Taft Taft's tactics led to a split in the republican party and a loss to the Democrats in the election

Taft becomes President  Roosevelt decided hewould not run for a 3rd term  Roosevelt selected Taft to run, (a friend) and secretary of war during Teddy’s time in office.  Taft won easily

A different approach  Taft was a progressive, however he wanted to combine Roosevelt's reforms not expand them  Tariffs and conservation are going to be his biggest problems while in office

Tariffs  The Payne-Aldrich Tariff  This raised tariffs (making it hard for foreign companies to put good in the U.S.)  This was NOT a progressive reform, this went against what progressives believed in (fair competition among businesses)  Progressives wanted lower tariffs to help reduce the price of consumer goods to make them more affordable

Conservation  The next thing Taft did that upset the progressives was to fire Pinchot (the conservationist that Roosevelt put in office) and he hired Richard Ballinger who disapproved of conservationism  He removed over a million acres of federally protected land

The Republican Party Splits  Because of these actions by Taft Roosevelt decided to run again…  The Bull-Moose Party forms supporting Roosevelt  The Republican Party supports Taft  With the Republicans split, Democrat Woodrow Wilson easily took the election, receiving almost 350 more electoral votes than Roosevelt and over 400 more than Taft.

HOW? Wilson only had 42% of the popular vote, but with the republican party being split it was an easy win for the democrats

Wilsons New Freedom His plan of attack was a triple wall of privilege: Tariffs, trusts, and high finance

Anti-Trust Tactics  During his term congress passed two more anti- trust measures  Clayton Anti-Trust Act  Established to strengthen the Sherman Anti-Trust Act  Prohibited corporations from acquiring the stock of another if doing so would create a monopoly  Also said that unions had the right to exist and would not be subject to anti-trust laws as they had been in the past  Federal Trade Commission  “watchdog” given the power to investigate possible violations and do required periodic reports from businesses  Also made businesses end unfair practices

New Taxes  In an effort to control the power of big businesses, Wilson worked to lower tariffs (which created more competition)  He passed the Underwood Act which lowered tariffs for the first time since the Civil War  Lower tariffs caused the federal gov’t to lose money and they needed a way to make up for this loss so…  Wilson and congress, passed the first federal income tax in 1917  This was an amendment (the 16 th )

Wilson also wanted to reform finances and the way banks ran On this level, 12 Federal Reserve banks served other banks instead of individuals. 3. On the last level, private banks served people and borrowed from the Federal Reserve as needed. At that time, banking failures were common, and banks collapsed when too many people withdrew their deposits at the same time. People needed access to their money without fear of bank failure. Wilson’s answer was the 1913 Federal Reserve Act, which created a central fund from which banks could borrow to prevent collapse during a financial panic. The Act created a three-tier banking system. 1.At the top, the president- appointed Federal Reserve Board members ran the system. The Federal Reserve Act put the nation’s banking system under the supervision of the federal government for the first time.

Summary of Federal Reserve  Divided the nation into 12 banks  Created a new paper currency  Banks could use money to make loans  Still used today

Suffrage  Women earn the right to vote in 1920 with the passing of the 19 th amendment  Carrie Chapman Catt is a leader of the movement along with Susan B Anthony  It took 72 years for women to get this right

Comparison on Civil Rights Roosevelt & Wilson 15 Woodrow Wilson Opposed federal anti- lynching laws, saying the states should deal with it Allowed cabinet members to segregate offices, which had been desegregated since Reconstruction Let Congress pass a law making it a felony for black and whites to marry in Washington, D.C. Though the Progressive movement achieved much, African American rights were still extremely limited, as even Progressive presidents were shaky on supporting civil rights laws. President Roosevelt 1901: Invited Booker T. Washington to the White House Appointed an African American collector of tariffs in South Carolina Discharged African American soldiers accused of going on a shooting spree in the Brownsville Incident, though it turned out later that they were wrongly accused The outbreak of World War I in Europe helped end the Progressive movement, as people were more interested in war than in reform.

 Wilson did little for civil rights (in fact he was not a supporter of civil rights)  Wilson and Jim Crow... Wilson and Jim Crow... (read together)