The 1912 Election and Wilson’s New Freedom

The Election of 1912

The Republican Party & President William H. Taft

Keep the Whistle Blowing! Taft was determined to preserve the conservative heart of the Republican Party.

Republican Party Platform High import tariffs. Put limitations on female and child labor. Workman’s Compensation Laws. Against initiative, referendum, and recall. Against “bad” trusts. Creation of a Federal Trade Commission. Stay on the gold standard. Conservation of natural resources because they are finite.

The Progressive Party & Former President Theodore Roosevelt

The Anti- Third- Term Principle

The “Bull Moose” Party “We stand at Armageddon, and we battle for the Lord!”

Theodore Roosevelt at Osawatomie, KS: New Nationalism “Big business requires big government.”

Progressive Party Platform Women’s suffrage. Graduated income tax. Inheritance tax for the rich. Lower tariffs. Limits on campaign spending. Currency reform. Minimum wage laws. Social insurance. Abolition of child labor. Workmen’s compensation. NewNationalismNewNationalismNewNationalismNewNationalism

Served as a college professor and President of Princeton University Served as Governor of New Jersey with a Progressive agenda He was the first southerner elected President in almost sixty years Woodrow Wilson-Democratic Candidate

Democratic Party Platform Government control of the monopolies  trusts in general were bad  eliminate them!! Tariff reduction. One-term President. Direct election of Senators. Create a Department of Labor. Strengthen the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Did NOT support women’s suffrage. Opposed to a central bank. NewFreedomNewFreedomNewFreedomNewFreedom

In 1912, the Republican Party was split between Progressives who backed Theodore Roosevelt and those loyal to incumbent William Howard Taft. The split allowed Woodrow Wilson, the Democrat, to win easily in the Electoral College, though he did not receive a majority of the popular votes. The Election of 1912

“Without the watchful... resolute interference of the government, there can be no fair play between individuals and such powerful institutions as the trusts. Freedom today is something more than being let alone”—Woodrow Wilson

Wilson’s New Freedom: The 3 T’s Wilson promised to bring down the “triple wall of privilege:” T ariffs T -banks T rusts

In 1913, the Underwood Tariff Act cut tariffs leading to lower consumer prices. Wilson and Tariff Reform

16 th Amendment The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes...

The Underwood Act also provided for the creation of a graduated income tax, first permitted in 1913, under the newly ratified Sixteenth Amendment. Progressives like Wilson felt it was only fair that the wealthy should pay a higher percentage of their income than the poor. Revenue from the income tax more than offset the loss of funds from the lowered tariff. Wilson and Tariff Reform

Wilson passed the Federal Reserve Act of It established a system of regional banks to hold reserve funds for the nation’s commercial banks. Still in place today, the Federal Reserve protects against any one person, bank, or region from controlling interest rates. Previously, a few wealthy bankers could manipulate interest rates for their own profit. Wilson and Bank Reform

Wilson strengthened antitrust laws. Like Roosevelt, he focused on trusts that used unfair practices. Still in effect today, the FTC also prosecutes dishonest stock traders and regulates internet sales. The Federal Trade Commission was created in 1914 to monitor businesses to prevent monopolies, false advertising, and dishonest labeling. Wilson the Trustbuster

Purpose-build on the Sherman Anti-Trust act by more clearly defining unfair business practices. The Clayton Act also protected unions from being defined as trusts, allowing them more freedom to organize. The Clayton Anti-Trust Act-1914

17 th Amendment The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years

Wilson passed several Progressive laws that supported workers. In 1916, the Workingman’s Compensation Act provided wages for temporarily disabled civil service employees. In 1916, the Adamson Act provided an eight-hour day for railway workers. Federal laws today protect workers who are hurt on the job and limit hours in many industries. Other Progressive Reforms

Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited. 18 th Amendment-1919

Woman Suffrage Before 1920

19 th Amendment-1920 The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Women Win Suffrage Carrie Chapman Catt, head of NAWSA, stresses organization, lobbying National Woman’s Party aggressively pressures for suffrage amendment Work of patriotic women in war effort influences politicians

The Progressive Era had a lasting effect on government, the economy, and society. Legacy of Progressivism Progressives succeeded in establishing the idea that government can take action for the welfare of the people.

Progressive Era Legislation and Amendments Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) Outlawed monopolies and practices that restrained trade National Reclamation Act (1902)Provided for federal irrigation projects in arid Western states Elkins Act (1903) Imposed fines on railroads that gave special rates to favored shippers Hepburn Act (1906) Allowed the government to regulate and sets maximum rates for railroads Meat Inspection Act (1906)Provided federal inspection of packing plants and meat sold across state lines Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)Provided federal inspection of foods, medicines for purity Sixteenth Amendment (1913)Gave Congress the power to collect an income tax

Progressive Era Legislation and Amendments (continued) Seventeenth Amendment (1913) Provided for the direct election of Senators by the voters of each state Underwood Tariff Act (1913) Lowered tariffs on imported goods, established a graduated income tax Federal Reserve Act ( 1913) Created the Federal Reserve Board to oversee banks and reserve funds Federal Trade Commission Act (1914) Established the Federal Trade Commission to monitor business Clayton Antitrust Act (1914) Spelled out specific activities that businesses can not engage in Eighteenth Amendment (1919) Banned the making, selling, or transporting of alcoholic beverages Nineteenth Amendment (1920) Gave women the right to vote in all elections

Wilson and Civil Rights As candidate, favors civil rights As president, opposes anti-lynching legislation Appoints fellow Southerners to cabinet who extend segregation NAACP rightly feels betrayed The Limits of Progressivism

Songs of the Sunny South

African-Americans in the Progressive Era National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) - goal is full equality among races - founded 1909 by W. E. B. Du Bois and black, white reformers

The Twilight of Progressivism Outbreak of World War I distracts Americans; reform efforts stall By the end of the Progressive era, Americans looked to the government to play an active role in regulating the economy and solving social problems.