Exploring American History Unit VII – Beginning of Modern America Chapter 21 - The Progressive Spirit of Reform Section 4- The Progressive Presidents

The Progressives – 3:21 min.

The Progressive Presidents The Progressive Presidents The Big Idea American presidents in the early 1900s did a great deal to promote progressive reforms. Main Ideas Theodore Roosevelt’s progressive reforms tried to balance the interests of business, consumers, and laborers. William Howard Taft angered Progressives with his cautious reforms, while Woodrow Wilson enacted far-reaching banking and antitrust reforms.

Theodore Roosevelt – 5:13

Main Idea 1: Theodore Roosevelt’s progressive reforms tried to balance the interests of business, consumers, and laborers. Theodore Roosevelt called his reform policy the Square Deal. Used his policy to help settle the 1902 coal miners’ strike Threatened to take over the mines unless managers agreed to arbitration, a formal process for settling disputes, with the strikers

Theodore Roosevelt  th President ( Republican)  McKinley’s Death  Rough Riders and San Juan Hill  Square Deal  1902 Coal Strike  Northern Securities Case  Meat Inspection Act 1906  Food and Drug Act 1906  Employer’s Liability Act  Newlands Reclamation Act 1902

Regulating Big Business Influenced by Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, Roosevelt urged Congress to enact meat inspection laws. Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act in –Prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transport of mislabeled or contaminated food and drugs Roosevelt persuaded Congress to regulate railroad shipping rates. Was the first president to successfully use the 1890 Sherman Trust Act to break up a monopoly The public largely supported this expansion of federal regulatory powers.

Roosevelt’s View of the Presidency Protecting the ConsumersProtecting the Consumers –Food and Drug industries- selling dangerous products to unknowing public. –Tainted food and medicines that did not work or were dangerous narcotics (cocaine, opium and heroine) –Upton Sinclair and The Jungle. –Meat Inspection Act- federal inspections of meat shipped across state lines. –Pure Food and Drug Act- forbid sale, manufacture or transportation or food or patent medicine containing harmful ingredients. Food and medicine must carry a label of ingredients.

Conservation Roosevelt strongly supported conservation, the protection of nature and its resources. –Considered it an important national priority Some preservationists wanted to protect nature to save its beauty. Other preservationists wanted to make sure the nation used its natural resources efficiently. Roosevelt responded by –Adding 150 million acres of public land to the Forest Service to regulate use of forest resources by business –Doubling the number of national parks to preserve natural beauty –Created 18 national monuments –Started 51 bird sanctuaries

Roosevelt’s View of the Presidency Environmental ConservationEnvironmental Conservation –Roosevelt believed each generation should protect and conserve nature for the future. –John Muir- Naturalist, wanted to preserve nature in its natural state. –Roosevelt- active management of public lands for various uses. Some land as wilderness and some for economic uses. –Newlands Reclamation Act Federal government created irrigation projects with money from sale of public lands. Irrigation would reclaim over 20 projects –Gifford Pinchot- 1 st chief of the U.S. Forest Service which added over 150 million acres to national forests. Followed Roosevelt’s beliefs. –The Antiquities Act of created 18 national monuments.

Roosevelt’s Progressive Reforms Recall - What did the Square Deal policy do for the public good? Make Generalizations – In what way does the Pure Food and Drug Act Protect Citizens? Evaluate – What do you think about Roosevelt’s accomplishments in conservation?

Price of Progress

William Howard Taft  th President (Republican)  16 th Amendment  Payne-Aldrich Tariff  Ballinger-Pinchot Affair  Mann-Elkins Act 1910  Roosevelt returns  Election of Republicans split.  Taft- 45 indictments against trusts; civil service jobs; million acres to national reserves; protected mineral rights; postal saving banks, 2 new states, 16th amendment (income tax); Dept. of Commerce and Dept. of Labor.  Roosevelt- Good and bad trusts, Issues, Progressives (Bull Moose) and New Nationalism  Wilson- Issues and New Freedom  Debs- Socialist  Outcome of Election

William H. Taft- 3:40

Main Idea 2: William Howard Taft angered Progressives with his cautious reforms, while Woodrow Wilson enacted far-reaching banking and antitrust reforms. William Howard Taft moved more cautiously than Roosevelt had toward reform and regulation. Progressives were disappointed in Taft’s approach to reform. Taft’s signing of the Payne-Aldrich Tariff, which raised prices for consumers, was opposed by many Progressives.

The Republican Party Splits The Progressives split to form their own party, the New Progressive (“Bull Moose”) Party, with Roosevelt as its candidate. In the 1910 congressional elections, Roosevelt campaigned for the Progressive Republican who opposed Taft. Roosevelt proposed a program called the New Nationalism, a set of laws to protect workers, ensure public health, and regulate business. Reformers loved the New Nationalism, but Roosevelt’s help wasn’t enough to secure a Republican victory. Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 16 years. By the presidential election of 1912, the Republican Party was split. The Republican party nominated President Taft as its candidate, outraging Progressive Republicans. 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.

Taft ran for reelection on the Republican ticket. Roosevelt, angry at Taft, formed the Progressive Party to run for president. Woodrow Wilson ran on the Democratic ticket and was elected president by a wide margin. Eugene V. Debs ran on the Socialist Party ticket. Election of 1912 Woodrow Wilson won by a wide margin as the Republican voters split between Taft and Roosevelt. All four candidates were reformers.

Woodrow Wilson  th President (Democrat)  Leadership  Underwood Tariff Act  Federal Reserve Act 1913  Clayton Anti-Trust Act 1914  Federal Trade Commission Act 1914

Wilson’s Reforms Introduced the modern income tax, made possible by ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment in 1913 Addressed banking reform with the Federal Reserve Act in 1913, creating a national banking system Pushed for laws to regulate big business –The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 strengthened laws against monopolies. –The Federal Trade Commission, created in 1914, had the power to investigate and punish unfair trade practices.

Reforms of Taft and Wilson Explain – To what was Wilson referring when he used the term “human cost”? Sequence – Describe the sequence of events leading up to and including the election of Wilson.

Reforms of Taft and Wilson Recall – What allowed the modern income tax to go into effect? Explain – What power does the Federal Trade Commission have?