Warm-up Which group benefited the most from reform legislation passed during the Progressive Era? A African Americans B factory workers C American Indians D big business

Roosevelt’s Square Deal Progressive Politics with a Popular Leader

Who was Roosevelt? Spanish American War Hero – Rough Riders…we will come back to this later Youngest president to date, at 43 Energetic and incredibly popular Attention hog: “the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral” Loved to hunt, fish, hike, and box Will expand the power of the Presidency, pushing through the reform policies of his Square Deal, so as to keep the wealthy and powerful from exploiting the poor and ruining small businesses.

Trust Buster TR broke up trusts that he found were cheating consumers or running small businesses out of business However he felt that some trusts were more efficient and worked in the favor of the public. These trusts should be preserved, as long as they did business fairly.

Northern Securities Company Roosevelt’s Attorney General filed suit against this railroad company from the Northwest. The Supreme Court deemed it an illegal trust and forced it to split into smaller companies. This was one of the largest trusts to be “busted” by TR and one of the first uses of the Sherman Anti Trust Act against trusts. TR also encouraged Congress to pass the Elkins Act, and the Hepburn Act, increasing the power of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

Labor Relations Helped resolve the 1902 Pennsylvania Coal strike Mine owners refused to listen to the workers Roosevelt stepped in and threatened to take over the mines with the help of federal troops unless they came to an agreement with the Union. Workers got small pay rise and 9 hour workday- first time the fed. Govt. sided with workers in a labor dispute! Within the year, Congress established the Department of Commerce and Labor

Pure Food and Drug Act After reading The Jungle (and hearing public opinion) he called for heavy regulation and inspection of food and drug producers (ex. 1906 Meat Inspection Act) Led to the Pure Food and Drug Act, and later, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Roosevelt and the Environment Roosevelt and the Environment: TR loved the great outdoors and hung out with the founder of the Sierra Club (John Muir, right) but TR’s government policy was to conserve (protect areas/resources for later, public use) not preserve (leave untouched) natural resources. National Reclamation Act of 1902 gave the federal government the power to decide where and how water would be distributed, especially in the arid Southwest

Roosevelt’s “Successor” William Howard Taft TR’s Secretary of War– seemingly handpicked by TR. Busted twice as many trusts as Roosevelt, dropping the distinction between good and bad trusts (including Standard Oil and US Steel) Made a lot of other policies that got on the nerves of Roosevelt, so TR decided to run again for president

Election of 1912 Roosevelt started his own party, the Progressive Party (nicknamed the “Bull Moose Party”) Taft ran for the Republicans Woodrow Wilson ran for the Democrats on also on a Progressive platform he called New Freedom , attacking the “triple wall of privilege” – tarrifs, banks and trusts. Note: Eugene Debs ran for the Socialist Party, showing some growth on that end of the political spectrum Because Roosevelt and Taft spilt the Republican vote, Wilson won the 1912 election by a landslide.

Progressivism and the Democrats Woodrow Wilson Progressivism and the Democrats

Winner of Presidential Election 1912: Woodrow Wilson An Intellectual (President of Princeton Univ.) Progressive Governor of New Jersey Son of a Virginia Minister, lived much of his life in Augusta, Georgia First Southerner to win Presidency in 60 years Probably a Racist, who would not have attacked Jim Crow Legislation in his Progressive Reforms.

Wilson at Home: Domestic Policy Wilson faced great Foreign Relations Issues during his Presidency (Latin America and WWI), but for now we will focus on his Domestic Policy and return to International Affairs after the Exam Break… Using the expanded power of the presidency (thanks to TR) Wilson’s most important domestic policy decisions were the ones that allowed him to regulate the economy…

Underwood Tariff Act, 1913 Cut tariffs on foreign goods to allow for more competition with American goods. Included a provision for a graduated income tax, which the 16th Amendment had just given Congress the power to do.

Federal Reserve Act, 1913 Created the Federal Reserve Board to reform the banking system by creating a central authority to supervise banks Set up Regional Banks to hold the reserve funds from commercial banks. Set(s) interests rates.

The Federal Reserve System: So What? Prevents too much money from being held in the hands of one person, bank, or region Supervises banks to make sure they are well run Sets interest rates, so that they do not fluctuate wildly over time or from bank to bank…by-product: also helps the government manipulate the economy

Clayton Anti-Trust Act, 1914 Strengthened earlier (Sherman Antitrust Act) legislation by spelling out the specific activities that corporations were not allowed to do. Prevented Unions from being attacked as Trusts, which helped protect labor’s right to organize! Federal Trade Commission, 1914 Organization to Monitor trade practices that might lead to monopoly The FTC also a watchdog for false advertising and labeling.

Progressivism’s Legacy Government reforms like the initiative, referendum, and recall, and Amendments like the 17th and19th increased voters’ influence on government and legislation. Created the lasting idea that Government can/should take action to fix problems within the nation and to protect Americans’ private and work lives; health; & consumerism. Created federal agencies which still watch over the economy and regulate business and commerce and protect the environment. .

Critical Thinking Come up with five examples of how the legacy of the Progressive Era has shaped the world around you. How might your life be different if the Progressive era had not happened?