AMERICAN HISTORY

Election of 1908William Taft (R) vs. three- time candidate William Jennings Bryan (D) Taft wins by nearly 1.27 million votes Taft worked to secure Roosevelts progressive reforms He also supported creating a Department of Labor XVIth Amendment introduced during this administration but ratified after he left office in 1913.

Granted Congress the power to levy taxes on individual income Progressives supported an income tax to pay for government programs more fairly Taft lost the support of most progressive Republicans The House passed a bill which lowered tariffs on imported goods The Senate version had so many amendments that it turned into a high-tariff bill

Taft signed the bill anyway Progressives were outraged because they thought lower tariffs were a key to lowering prices on consumer goods Taft also alienated Progressive conservation supporters. His secretary of the Interior, Richard Ballinger, was accused of impeding an investigation of public coal-land deals in Alaska Gifford Pinchot accused Ballinger with sabotaging conservation efforts. Taft fired Pinchot

Roosevelt had supported Taft for President but withdrew his support SPLIT IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY 1910Roosevelt campaigned for congressional candidates that opposed Taft Roosevelt proposed New Nationalism Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 16 years

Election of 1912Republican party was badly fractured Taft (I-R) vs. Woodrow Wilson (D) vs. Roosevelt (Progressive-Bull Moose) Electoral college totalsWilson 435, Roosevelt 88, Taft 8

Wilson was a zealous reformer NEW FREEDOMcalled for tariff reduction, banking reform, and stronger antitrust legislationcauses supported by Progressives TARIFF REDUCTION Wilson became the first President since John Adams to address a joint session of Congress 1913Congress passes the Underwood Tariff Act Reduced tariffs to their lowest level in 50 years

Tariff reduction meant the government had less money The answer was a graduated income tax based on income level BANKING REFORM Banks regularly collapsed because too many people withdrew their money at once FEDERAL RESERVE ACT (1913)created a fund for banks to borrow from to prevent collapse during a financial panic

Federal Reserve Act created a three-tier banking system Tier IFederal Reserve Boardgroup of persons appointed by the President to run the system Tier II12 Federal Reserve Banksthese banks served other banks instead of individuals Tier IIIPrivate banks that could borrow from the Federal Reserve as necessary

First time banks were regulated by the government STRONGER ANTI-TRUST LAWS Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914)prohibited companies from buying stock in competing companies Made strikes, boycotts, and peaceful picketing legal for the first time

Wilson support the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Enforced antitrust laws and prohibited deceptive advertising

National American Woman Suffrage Association favored state-by-state approach to women voting Only 4 western states had given women full voting rights Alice Paul and Lucy Burns broke off and formed the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage in 1916 The group wanted a constitutional amendment granting voting rights to women

Members picketed the White House in January 1917, chaining themselves to the railings Many picketers were arrested Some went on hunger strikes in prison The state-by-state approach was gaining momentum More states tried to pass womens voting rights but failed Carrie Chapman Catt launched a new strategy

1917World War IWomen strongly support the war effort Their patriotism weakens the opposition to women voting Congress proposed the XIXth Amendment in 1919 and it was ratified in 1920 granting full voting rights to women

Progressive reform had limited success for African Americans Roosevelt hosted Booker T. Washington for dinner at the White House (a first) Roosevelt appointed an African American to be a tariff collector in South Carolina Brownsville, TX12 members of the 25 th Infantry were accused of going on a shooting spree in town If no one accepted responsibility, the entire group would be dishonorably discharged

No one came forward Roosevelt signed papers discharging 167 African American soldiers, denying them back pay and canceling their pensions The truth came out years later 1972Records were corrected to show honorable discharge Wilson had a bad record on civil rights He opposed a federal anti-lynching law He allowed cabinet members to segregate their offices

Congress passed a law saying it is a felony for blacks and whites to marry in the District of Columbia The outbreak of WWI brought an end to the Progressive era World War I, not progressivism, dominated Wilsons 2 nd term in office THE END