WOODROW WILSON’S NEW FREEDOM

Wilson’s Pledge and Action  Wilson wanted to fight the evil’s of society  Tariffs, trusts, banking, poverty, disease, gov’t. corruption  Tariffs lowered for the 1 st time since Civil War  16 th Amendment  Graduated Income Tax  Meant to close the income gap  Originally came from Populist movement  Income tax is the MAIN source of revenue

Federal Reserve Board  In charge of setting interest rates on currency  Set up a system of 12 banks which loan currency to other banks  VITAL to US economy today

Trust Regulation  Federal Trade Commission – 1914 (FTC)  Investigates corporate practices and regulate them if needed  Clayton Anti-Trust Act 1914  Defined trust activity  Made union activities legal

Women’s Suffrage  Carrie Chapman Catt  President of NAWSA  Women get involved in more militant protests  Hunger strikes, jail, chain to fence  Women a major part of other reform movements  Jane Addams, Ida Tarbell, Ida B. Wells Barnett  Women met the demand for labor during WWI  19 th Amendment – 1920  Universal Suffrage – all citizens have the right to vote

18 th Amendment  Made it illegal to import, export, manufacture and distribute intoxicating liquors  Volstead Act defined what intoxicating liquor was  Drinking alcohol not illegal; but they tried to make it hard to get  Resulted in organized crime  Eventually repealed by the 21 st Amendment