Chapter 30 Review

Election of 1912 Roosevelt, angry over Taft's turn toward conservatism and failure to carry out Roosevelt's reform policies, challenged Taft for the Republican nomination. Taft won, and Roosevelt bolted the convention to form the Progressive or Bull Moose party with himself as presidential nominee. The Democratic party nominated Woodrow Wilson, governor of New Jersey, on the forty-sixth ballot. The campaign turned on Roosevelt's New Nationalism, which called for a government with strong regulatory powers, and Wilson's New Freedom, which proposed antimonopoly policies and a return to small-scale business. Wilson, in winning, became the first Democratic president since Grover Cleveland. Given the combined vote of Roosevelt and Taft, the Republicans would have defeated the Democrats if the party had not split.

Woodrow Wilson

Twenty-eighth president of the United States ( ). Born in Staunton, Virginia, Wilson earned a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University and developed strong leadership abilities as a college teacher and as president of Princeton University. He published many books on government and political science. In 1910 Wilson was elected governor of New Jersey, and two years later he gained the Democratic nomination for president. Wilson won reelection in a close race with Republican Charles Evans Hughes in 1916.

As President… During the Wilson administration Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act (1913) and the Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914). It broadened the Constitution by passing the Seventeenth Amendment (1913) allowing the direct election of senators, the Eighteenth Amendment (1919) establishing Prohibition, and the Nineteenth Amendment (1920) giving women the right to vote. The Panama Canal opened in 1914, the United States purchased the Virgin Islands from Denmark in 1917, and the United States entered World War I in At war's end Wilson drew up his Fourteen Points (1918) and helped write the Treaty of Versailles (1919) and the Covenant of the League of Nations (1919) in an effort to bring about a lasting world peace. In 1919 he suffered a paralyzing stroke while campaigning for the peace treaty. The U.S. Senate did not ratify the treaty, but Wilson received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Although an idealistic and intelligent man, he tended to be arrogant and inflexible, which hurt him in the attainment of his goals, especially during the contest over the Treaty of Versailles.

New Freedom Platform (1912) Democrat Woodrow Wilson’s political and economic reform program proposed during the presidential election of To reduce corporate power and return government to the people, Wilson proposed to lower tariffs, revise the monetary system, break up monopolies, and reinvigorate the free enterprise system.

Federal Reserve System The central banking system of the United States established under the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, sometimes called the Glass-Owen bill. The most important job of the system, also known as the Fed, is to manage the country's supply of money. The president appoints a Federal Reserve Board of seven members to staggered terms of fourteen years to supervise the conduct of the banks in the Federal Reserve System. The act divided the nation into twelve districts, each with a Federal Reserve bank; the banks are located in Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Richmond, Atlanta, Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Kansas City, Missouri.

Federal Trade Commission Government agency established in 1914 to prevent unfair business practices and to maintain a competitive economy. The FTC controls radio and television advertising and regulates labeling and packaging. Its five commissioners, appointed by the president and subject to Senate approval, serve for seven-year terms.

Clayton Anti-Trust Act 1914 a law intended to plug loopholes in the Sherman Anti- Trust Act of 1890 and to more clearly define unfair business practices. The act prohibited price discrimination and interlocking directorates for the purpose of eliminating competition. It recognized the legality of boycotts and strikes and stated that unions were not monopolies under the antitrust laws.

La Follette In 1957 a U.S. Senate committee named La Follette one of the five most outstanding senators of all time. He spent most of his life in public service, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives ( ), as governor of Wisconsin ( ), and as a U.S. senator ( ). As a pacifist and isolationist, La Follette became a controversial figure when he voted against the U.S. entry into World War I and opposed ratification of the Treaty of Versailles and joining the League of Nations. He helped found the Progressive movement and was the Progressive party candidate for president in the Election of 1924, receiving nearly 6 million votes. La Follette earned the nickname "Fighting Bob" because of his deep commitment to his beliefs.