Wilsonian Progressivism at Home and Abroad, 1912–1916 First Half of Chapter 29 Wilsonian Progressivism at Home and Abroad, 1912–1916

The “Bull Moose” Campaign of 1912 With the Republican party split wide open, the Democrats sensed that they could win the presidency for the first time in 16 years. One possible candidate was Dr. Woodrow Wilson, a once-mild conservative but now militant progressive who had been the president of Princeton University, governor of New Jersey (where he didn’t permit himself to be controlled by the bosses), and had attacked trusts and passed liberal measures. In 1912, in Baltimore, the Democrats nominated Wilson on the 46th ballot, after William Jennings Bryan swung his support over to Wilson’s side. The Democratic ticket would run under a platform called “New Freedom,” which would include many progressive reforms.

The “Bull Moose” Campaign of 1912 At the Progressive convention, Jane Addams put Theodore Roosevelt’s name on the nomination, and as TR spoke, he ignited an almost-religious spirit in the crowd. oTR got the Progressive nomination, and entering the campaign, TR said that he felt “as strong as a bull moose,” making that animal the unofficial Progressive symbol. Republican William Taft and TR tore into each other, as the former friends now ripped every aspect of each other’s platforms and personalities. The campaign was stopped when Roosevelt was shot in the chest in Milwaukee, but he delivered his speech anyway, was rushed to the hospital, and recovered in two weeks.

The “Bull Moose” Campaign of 1912 Meanwhile, TR’s “New Nationalism” and Wilson’s “New Freedom” became the key issues. Roosevelt’s New Nationalism was inspired by Herbert Croly’s The Promise of American Life (1910), and it stated that the government should control the bad trusts, leaving the good trusts alone and free to operate. TR also campaigned for female suffrage and a broad program of social welfare, such as minimum-wage laws and “socialistic” social insurance. Wilson’s New Freedom favored small business, desired to break up all trusts—not just the bad ones—and basically shunned social-welfare proposals.

GOP Divided by Bull Moose Equals Democratic Victory, 1912

Woodrow Wilson: A Minority President With the Republicans split, Woodrow Wilson easily won with 435 Electoral votes, while TR had 88 and Taft only had 8. But, the Democrats did not receive the majority of the popular vote (only 41%)! Socialist Eugene V. Debs racked up over 900,000 popular votes, while the combined popular totals of TR and Taft exceeded Wilson. Essentially, TR’s participation had cost the Republicans the election. William Taft would later become the only U.S. president to be appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, when he was nominated in 1921.

Map 29.1 Presidential Election of 1912 (showing votes by county, with electoral vote by state) The Republican split surely boosted Wilson to victory, as he failed to win a clear majority in any state outside the old Confederacy. The election gave the Democrats solid control of the White House and both houses of Congress for the first time since the Civil War. Map 29-1 p663

Wilson: The Idealist in Politics Woodrow Wilson was a sympathizer with the South, a fine orator, a sincere and morally appealing politician, and a very intelligent man. He was also cold personality-wise, austere, intolerant of stupidity, and very idealistic. When convinced he was right, Wilson would break before he would bend, unlike TR. Fighting desperately later for the League of Nations, at the cost of his health, Wilson said, “I would rather fail in a cause that I know some day will triumph than to win in a cause that I know someday will fail.”

Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) at Princeton Commencement with Andrew Carnegie, 1906 Before his election to the presidency of the United States in 1912, Wilson (left) served as president of Princeton University (1902–1910) and governor of New Jersey (1910–1912). In all three offices, he undertook substantial reforms. Fighting desperately later for the League of Nations, at the cost of his health, Wilson said, “I would rather fail in a cause that I know some day will triumph than to win in a cause that I know some day will fail.” p664

Wilson Tackles the Tariff Wilson stepped into the presidency already knowing that he was going to tackle the “triple wall of privilege”: the tariff, the banks, and the trusts. To tackle the tariff, Wilson successfully helped in the passing of the Underwood Tariff of 1913, which substantially reduced import fees and enacted a graduated income tax (under the approval of the recent 16th Amendment).

Wilson Battles the Bankers The nation’s financial structure, as created under the Civil War National Banking Act, had proven to be glaringly ineffective, as shown by the Panic of 1907, so Wilson had Congress authorize an investigation to fix this. The investigation, headed by Senator Aldrich, in effect recommended a third Bank of the United States. Democrats heeded the findings of a House committee chaired by Congressman Arsene Pujo, which traced the tentacles of the “money monster” into the hidden vaults of American banking and business. Louis D Brandeis’s Other People’s Money and How the Bankers Use It (1914) furthermore showed the problems of American finances at the time.

Reading the Death Warrant This cartoon appeared in a New York newspaper soon after Woodrow Wilson called for dramatic reform of the banking system before both houses of Congress. With the “money trust” of bankers and businessmen cowed, Wilson was able to win popular and congressional support for the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. p665

Wilson Battles the Bankers In June 1913, Woodrow Wilson appeared before a special joint session of Congress and pleaded for a sweeping reform of the banking system. The result was the epochal 1913 Federal Reserve Act, which created the new Federal Reserve Board, which oversaw a nationwide system of twelve regional reserve districts, each with its own central bank, and had the power to issue paper money (“Federal Reserve Notes”). This plan is still the foundation for the nation’s banking system today.

The President Tames the Trusts In 1914, Congress passed the Federal Trade Commission Act, which empowered a president-appointed position to investigate the activities of trusts and stop unfair trade practices such as unlawful competition, false advertising, mislabeling, adulteration, & bribery. The 1914 Clayton Anti-Trust Act lengthened the Sherman Anti-Trust Act’s list of practices that were objectionable, exempted labor unions from being called trusts (as they had been called by the Supreme Court under the Sherman Act), and legalized strikes and peaceful picketing by labor union members.

Figure 29.1 Organization of Holding Companies Keep in mind that the voting stock of a corporation is often only a fraction of the total stock. Figure 29-1 p666

Wilsonian Progressivism at High Tide After tackling the triple wall of privilege and leading progressive victory after victory, Wilson proceeded with further reforms, such as the Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916, which made credit available to farmers at low rates of interest The Warehouse Act of 1916 permitted loans on the security of staple crops. Both laws were Populist ideas that were finally coming to fruition. The La Follette Seamen’s Act of 1915 required good treatment of America’s sailors, but it sent merchant freight rates soaring as a result of the cost to maintain sailor health.

Wilsonian Progressivism at High Tide The Workingmen’s Compensation Act of 1916 granted assistance of federal civil-service employees during periods of instability but was invalidated by the Supreme Court. The 1916 Adamson Act established an eight-hour workday with overtime pay. Wilson even nominated Louis Brandeis to the Supreme Court—making him the first Jew ever in that position—but stopped short of helping out Blacks in their civil rights fight. Wilson appeased the business by appointing a few conservatives to the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Trade Commission, but he used most of his energies for progressive support.

p676