October 11, 2007 What kind of President was Wilson? –Wilson’s Background –The Federal Reserve –Women’s Suffrage & Civil Rights Homework: Study

Democratic Party

Wilson Wins Financial Reforms Wilson claimed progressive ideas Different idea for the federal government Believed in attacking large concentrations of power to give greater freedom to average citizens

Wilson’s Background Spent youth in South during Civil War and Reconstruction Worked as a lawyer, history professor, and later as president of Princeton “New Freedom” –attack on triple wall of prestige: trusts, tariffs, and high finance

Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 Strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act of Prohibited corporations from acquiring the stock of another if doing so would create a monopoly

Labor unions and farm organizations had a right to exist and no longer be subject to antitrust laws Strikes, peaceful picketing, and boycotts legal unless the strikers threatened damage that could not be remedied

Samuel Gompers President of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) Saw great value to workers in the Clayton Act and called it the Magna Carta for labor.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of 1914 Watchdog agency given the power to: –investigate violations of regulatory statutes –require periodic reports from corporations –put an end to unfair business practices

A New Tax System Wilson worked to lower tariff rates Underwood Act – substantially reduce tariff rates for the first time since the Civil War Established precedent of delivering the State of the Union message in person Businesses try to block tax reductions Manufacturing lobbyists were hired

Wilson denounced lobbyists and urged voters to monitor their senators’ votes Because of Wilson’s use of the bully pulpit, senate vetoed to cut tariff rates even more deeply than the House had done.

Federal Income Tax With lower tariffs, federal government had to replace revenue someway Sixteenth Amendment –legalized the graduated income tax, –larger incomes were taxed at higher rates than smaller incomes

Few congressmen realized potential of the income tax, but in 1917, the government received more money on the income tax than it had ever gained from the tariffs. Today, income taxes on corporations and individuals represent the federal government’s main source of revenue

Federal Reserve System Nation needed to strengthen banks as well as adjust the amount of money in circulation Both credit availability and money supply had to keep pace with the economy Wilson established a decentralized private banking system under federal control

Federal Reserve Act of 1913 Divided the nation into 12 districts and established a regional central bank in each district –These “bankers banks” served the other banks of the district

Federal reserve banks could issue new paper currency in emergency situations, and member banks could transfer funds to member banks in trouble, saving the banks from closing and protecting customers’ savings

By 1923, 70% of the nation’s banking resources were part of the Federal Reserve System This still serves as the banking system today

Women’s Suffrage Women intensified their push for the vote Women growing increasingly impatient As of 1910, women had the right to vote in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Washington, and Idaho

Women say success because: –of the increased activism of local groups –the use of bold new strategies to build enthusiasm for the movement –the rebirth of the national movement under Carrie Chapman Catt

Local Suffrage Battles Gaining strength by gaining more college educated women They used door-to-door campaigns to reach potential supporters took trolley tours & would talk to large groups who stopped to watch them speaking in public

Catt and the National Movement Susan B. Anthony’s Successor as president of NAWSA was Carrie Chapman Catt Five tactics: painstaking organization, close ties between local, state, and national workers, establishing a wide base of support, cautious lobbying, and gracious, ladylike behavior

Failures led some to try more radical tactics Round the clock picket who were arrested, jailed, and force-fed when they attempted a hunger strike WWI made suffrage inevitable In 1919, the Nineteenth Amendment was passed

Wilson and Civil Rights Wilson opposed anti-lynching legislation, arguing that these crimes fell under state jurisdiction Segregation at the Capital continued Appointed to his cabinet fellow white southerners who extended segregation AA and liberal supporters in NAACP felt betrayed