Theodore Roosevelt, Progressive

 1902 coal strike: TR threatens to use the army to mine coal if a settlement is not reached, forcing both sides into arbitration

o Result: Miners get 10% pay increase but no recognition of the union. TR hails this as a “square deal”

Three Cs:

Control of Corporations

 Using the Sherman anti-trust Act, TR launched 42 anti-trust suits, including Northern Securities, the Beef Trust, Standard Oil

 Railroad legislation: Elkins Act makes rebates illegal to offer or accept; 1906 Hepburn Act allows government to control RR shipping rates

 Bureau of Corporations established to monitor trusts

Consumer Protection

 Pure Food and Drug Act. Meat Inspection Act.

Conservation

 Set aside over 200 million acres for national forests, etc.

 Other: favored minimum wage laws and social insurance

 New Nationalism: Continuance of trusts and buildup of labor unions all under increasing government regulation and supervision. William Howard Taft

 Filed twice the number of antitrust suits as Roosevelt, and the Supreme Court upheld the breakup of Standard Oil under the Sherman Antitrust Act (1911) during his administration.

 Through the Mann‐Elkins Act (1910), the authority of the Interstate Commerce Commission was again expanded to cover regulation of telephone, telegraph, and cable companies. The act also enabled the commission to suspend rates set by railroads pending investigations or court actions.

 Taft actively supported both the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments (which provided for the federal income tax and direct election of senators, respectively)

 Established new agencies, such as the Bureau of Mines, which set standards of mine safety, and the Federal Children's Bureau, the first governmental entity in the world to focus on helping children and families.

Woodrow Wilson, Progressive

New Freedom: breakup up large corporations so as to allow the “little fellow” a chance to compete with the “big fellow.” Called for unregulated, un-monopolized markets.

Attack on the “Triple Wall of Privilege:”

Banks (Federal Reserve Act): Established a US central bank to safeguard the nation’s money supply and economy. Goals included maximizing employment and keeping interest rates low

Tariffs (Underwood Tariff): Significantly lowered the tariff, making imports less expensive, thereby helping consumers

Trusts (Federal Trade Commission, Clayton Anti-trust Act): Strengthened the government’s control over corporations and trusts. The Clayton Act gave the government more power than the Sherman Act.