1. DAY 50: PROGRESSIVES IN WHITE HOUSE Period 7

2. TR (Teddy Roosevelt) 42 when he takes office (after McKinley assassination)  Youngest ever  From wealthy family  Graduated w/ honors from Harvard, wrote 23 books  “cowboy,” roughrider, prizefighter, governor, VP Angry at corruption in Congress & abuse of workers  Loud, exciting, “outdoorsy”

3. The Trust Buster Weapon: Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)  Outlawed Vert/Horiz integration, trusts, monopolies “in restraint of trade”—ineffective until TR  Supreme Court & Congress used to rule in favor of big business TR takes JP Morgan to court (law suit) TR sees “Good” vs “Bad” trusts  Good ones he left alone  Bad ones (exploited consumers w/increased rates ) were ‘busted’  Only TR himself could make the call (he said) TR grows more and more popular

4. Helping Hand for Labor Typically, presidents sent army to break up strikes  Hayes, Cleveland, mayors/governors in Gilded Age 1902 PA coal miners strike, lasts until Oct…  TR steps in (1 st time ever that a President does this!)  Acts as arbitrator (mediator) between bosses and workers  Organized army, ordered to seize control of mines if owners refused to negotiate with workers  Miners awarded 10% pay increase, reduced workday to 8 hrs  BUT owners do not have to recognize miners’ union Workers in US cheer!

5. Preserving the Wilderness US natural resources destroyed: miners, erosion, deforestation Sierra Club: founded by John Muir 1892  Stop sale of public lands to private developers Roosevelt the outdoorsman  Hikes Yosemite Nat’l Park with Muir 1891 law: President can declare nat’l forests  TR protected 150,000,000 acres Newlands Reclamation Act of 1902  To rejuvenate barren (waterless) acres Boy/Girl Scouts form in urban areas, teach youth nature appreciation

6. Passing the Torch 1908 Financial Panic, TR doesn’t run for 3 rd term  Named William Taft as successor  Best friends, Taft was governor of Philippines  Taft wins election of 1908 against WJ Bryan Taft lacks political skills  Payne-Aldrich Tariff: angers progressives  Ballinger-Pinchot controversy  Taft fires Pinchot (nation’s chief forester, TR’s pal) Taft breaks 2x amount of trusts as TR  Limits workday to 8 hrs, supports 16 th and 17 th Amendment

7. Election of 1912 Roosevelt runs against Taft  Creates “Bull Moose Party”  Ego? Betrayal? Frustration? Pressure? Taft supported by Republicans TR  New Nationalism: social reform for America  Fed. Trade Commission: eye on unfair business practices  Don’t end all trusts  Min wage, worker’s compensation act, child labor law  Women’s suffrage  End of lassaiz faire practices

8. Wilson’s New Freedom (2 terms) T. Woodrow Wilson wins (Democrat)  Highly educated southerner 1912 Platform: New Freedom  Attacks Triple Wall of Privilege (Tariff, banks, trusts) Underwood-Simmons Act, 1913  Reduces tariffs, hurts industrialists/helps farmers Federal Reserve Act: got rid of gold standard Clayton Antitrust Act, 1914  Named certain tactics illegal (made Sherman Act better)  Protects labor unions, allows peaceful protest Passes legislation suggested by Bull Moose Party