Chapter 10, Sec 5: Things to Know What political party was Woodrow Wilson a part of? What did Wilson want to impose strict government controls on? What did President Wilson attack? Who did Wilson try to protect by lowering tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries? Why did the US banking system need to be reformed in the early 1900s? In 1914, what did Congress form to monitor business practices that might lead to monopolies? What legislation strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act by spelling out the specific activities in which businesses could not engage? Why did Wilson push for the passage of the Adamson Act? What was a result of the 1913 coal miners’ strike in Ludlow, CO?

The Progressive Era: Section 5: Wilson’s New Freedom Woodrow Wilson

Why It Matters Republicans Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft introduced the country to forceful Progressive Presidents. Democrat Woodrow Wilson used the expanded power of the presidency to promote a far-reaching reform agenda. Some of Wilson’s economic and antitrust measures are still important in American life today.

Wilson and the Democrats Prevail In 1912, the Republican Party split over the issue of reform. –Those who wanted a more active government formed the Progressive Party and chose Theodore Roosevelt as their candidate for President. –Loyal Republicans chose President William Howard Taft.

Wilson and the Democrats Prevail What political party was Woodrow Wilson a part of? –The Democratic Party. The Democrats, given this opportunity created from the splitting of the Republican Party, chose Woodrow Wilson as their candidate. –Wilson’s ideas had caught the attention of William Jennings Bryan, who helped Wilson win the Democratic nomination. –As a student and later as a professor, Wilson had thought a great deal about good government. –His doctoral thesis, Congressional Government, had launched him on a career teaching in college before he became the reforming governor of New Jersey.

Wilson and the Democrats Prevail Wilson shaped his ideas into a program called the New Freedom. –This plan looked like Roosevelt’s New Nationalism –What did Wilson want to impose strict government controls on? Corporations, much like Roosevelt’s New Nationalism. –Wilson outlined his aim to provide opportunities – more freedom – for small businesses. –Although he did not win the majority of the popular vote, Wilson received more than four times the number of Electoral votes than went to Roosevelt or to Taft. –Wilson became the first President to come from the South in almost 60 years.

Wilson Regulates the Economy What did President Wilson attack? –Wilson would attack what he called the “triple wall of privilege.” –The “triple wall” was composed of tariffs, banks, and trusts that blocked businesses from being free. –Early in his first term, he pushed for new laws that would bring down those three walls and give the government more control over the economy.

Wilson Regulates the Economy Wilson first aimed to prevent big manufacturers from unfairly charging high prices to their customers. –Who did Wilson try to protect by lowering tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries? Workers. –Wilson tried to protect workers. To do this, they would lower the tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries so, if American companies’ prices were too high, consumers could buy foreign goods. –This was called the Underwood Tariff Bill of 1913.

Wilson Regulates the Economy The Underwood Tariff Act of 1913 included a provision to create a graduated income tax, which the recently passed Sixteenth Amendment gave Congress the power to do. –A graduated income tax means that wealthy people pay a higher percentage of their income than to poor people. –The revenue from the income tax more than made up for the money the government lost by lowering tariffs on imports.

Wilson Regulates the Economy Next, Wilson tried to reform the banking system in the early 1900s. –Why did the US banking system need to be reformed in the early 1900s? The country had no central authority to supervise banks. –As a result, interest rates for loans could fluctuate wildly, and a few wealthy bankers had a great deal of control over the national, state, and local banks, reserve funds. –This meant that a bank might not have full access to its reserves when customers needed to withdraw or borrow money.

Wilson Regulates the Economy In order to supervise the banks, Wilson created the Federal Reserve Act in – This law placed national banks under the control of a Federal Reserve Board, which set up regional banks to hold the reserve funds from commercial banks. This system is still enforced today. It helps protect the American economy from having too much money end up in the hands of one person, bank, or region. –The Federal Reserve Board also sets the interest rate that banks pay to borrow money from other banks, and it supervises banks to make sure they are well run.

Wilson Regulates the Economy Wilson then strengthens antitrust regulation. He agrees with Roosevelt that big businesses aren’t bad as long as they did not engage in unfair practices. –In 1914, what did Congress form to monitor business practices that might lead to monopolies? In 1914, Congress created the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). –What legislation strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act by spelling out the specific activities in which businesses could not engage? It also passed the Clayton Antitrust Act in 1914, which strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act by spelling out the specific activities in which businesses could not engage.

Wilson Regulates the Economy The Clayton Antitrust Act also ushered in a new era for workers by protecting labor unions from being attacked as trusts. –It was considered by Samuel Gompers of the American Federation of Labor as the “Magna Carta” of labor. –The Workingman’s Compensation Act (1916) was also created as a protection for workers. It gave wages to temporarily disabled civil service employees.

Wilson Regulates the Economy A railroad strike was in the near future which would stop all movement of coal and food, leaving millions cold and hungry. Wilson needed to do something to prevent this. –The railroad union leaders insisted on the eight-hour day, but railroad managers would not accept it. –Wilson called in the heads of many railroad companies to the White House, pleading with them to change their minds and avert a strike. –When those efforts failed, he worked with Congress to pass the Adamson Act, which limited railroad employees’ workdays to eight hours. –Why did Wilson push for the passage of the Adamson Act? To prevent a nationwide railroad strike.

Wilson Regulates the Economy However, Wilson did not always support organized labor, as a tragic incident known as the Ludlow Massacre showed. –In the fall of 1913, coal miners in Ludlow, CO, demanded safer working conditions, higher pay, and the right to form a union. When the coal company refused, they walked off the job. Evicted from company housing, the miners and their families set up a tent city near the mines. The Strike continued through the winter. –What was a result of the 1913 coal miners’ strike in Ludlow, CO? As a result, on April 20, 1914, the Colorado National Guard opened fire on the tent city and set fire to the tents, killing 26 men, women, and children. –Wilson ended up sending troops to restore order and break up the strike. The miners’ attempt to set up a union had failed.

Progressivism Leaves a Lasting Legacy In the end, the Progressive Era was a positive era for the US. We had several changes that bettered Americans’ lives. The only thing that was a drawback for America was that the government was now controlling more aspects of public life than it had ever controlled before. However, the Progressive reformers passed on the idea that government can take action to help people fix problems in schools, cities, the environment, and public health.