1 Progressivism Under Taft and Wilson TEKS 4(C), 8(B) 2 Listen When William Howard Taft was elected President in 1908, he promised to continue progressive policies, but he also sided with big business. Taft favored lowering tariffs and angered conservationists, who worked to protect natural resources, by supporting business interests that wanted to develop public lands. 3 Listen Progressives in the Republican party rebelled against Taft, and former President Theodore Roosevelt turned against him, calling for more reforms in business regulation, welfare laws, workplace protection for women and children, and voting reforms. Roosevelt called his program the New Nationalism. 4 Listen Roosevelt and Progressives formed the Progressive party, nicknamed the Bull Moose Party, and in 1912 Roosevelt ran for President. His candidacy split the Republican party, and the election went to Democrat Woodrow Wilson. Wilson supported many progressive reforms. Tariffs were lowered, and the Clayton Antitrust Act strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act by stating that labor unions were not monopolies, thereby legalizing unions and preventing courts from issuing injunctions. 5 Listen Wilson established the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce regulation on businesses. To regulate the supply of credit, Wilson created the Federal Reserve System, a network of federal banks that hold money deposits from national banks and use the money to increase the credit supply when necessary. 6 Listen But Wilson took little action to pursue social justice reform. Reform was of less interest in America as World War I approached, and Progressivism began to die out. However, the voice for women’s suffrage only grew stronger. 7 Progressivism Under Taft and Wilson Begin Taking Notes 1. What political conflicts marked the presidency of William Howard Taft? 2. Who were the contenders in the election of 1912 and what was the outcome? 3. What major policies did President Woodrow Wilson help put in place? 4. In what ways were the achievements of progressivism limited?
8 Taft’s Presidency Taft was endorsed by Roosevelt and pledged to carry on the progressive program. However, he did not even appoint any Progressives to his Cabinet. He campaigned on a platform to lower tariffs, but ended up signing a bill that added some highly protective tariff increases. Taft also angered conservationists on the issue of public land management. Taft chose Richard A. Ballinger for Secretary of the Interior. Ballinger opposed conservation of public lands. Instead he sided with business interests who sought unrestricted development of public lands. Taft angered many people and his presidency suffered. 9 Turmoil in the Republican Party Angry Republican Progressives teamed up with Democrats against the opponents of reform in the Republican Party.
1 Roosevelt criticized Taft and campaigned for Progressive candidates in the 1910 midterm elections. Roosevelt called for business regulation, welfare laws, workplace protection for women and children, income and inheritance taxes and voting reform. He called this plan: the New Nationalism. Progressive Republicans left the Republican Party and formed the Progressive Party, nicknamed the Bull Moose Party. The Bull Moose platform included tariff reduction, woman’s suffrage, more regulation of business, a child labor ban, an eight-hour workday, and direct election of senators. 10 The Election of 1912 11 Wilson’s Policies as President Wilson’s first major victory was tariff reduction. He attacked the trusts by helping Congress pass the Clayton Antitrust Act in 1914. This act strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. Wilson and Congress created the Federal Trade Commission to enforce the Clayton Antitrust Act. In 1913 Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act and created the Federal Reserve System to overhaul the American banking system. In 1916 Wilson tried to attract Progressive voters. To this aim he nominated Progressive lawyer Louis D. Brandeis to the Supreme Court. In 1916 Wilson won a second term. 12 The Limits of Progressivism The changes made by Progressives were limited to certain groups in the United States. Progressives championed municipal reforms, but did little for tenant or migrant farmers. Progressive Presidents took little action to pursue social justice reforms. Wilson continued the Jim Crow practice, begun under Taft, of separating the races in federal offices. At the 1912 Progressive Party convention, Roosevelt declined to seat black delegates from the South for fear of alienating white Southern Progressives. By 1916, the reform spirit had nearly died. It was replaced by American concerns about World War I. 13 14 Progressivism Under Taft and Wilson–Assessment What party was nicknamed the Bull Moose Party? (A) The Conservatives (B) The Republicans (C) The Progressives (D) The Democratic Socialists Woodrow Wilson enacted all of the following policies except______. (A) the Federal Trade Commission (B) the Clayton Antitrust Act (C) the Federal Reserve Commission (D) the Payne-Aldrich Tariff 15 Progressivism Under Taft and Wilson–Assessment What party was nicknamed the Bull Moose Party? (A) The Conservatives (B) The Republicans (C) The Progressives (D) The Democratic Socialists Woodrow Wilson enacted all of the following policies except______. (A) the Federal Trade Commission (B) the Clayton Antitrust Act (C) the Federal Reserve Commission (D) the Payne-Aldrich Tariff 16 Work Look over your notes from today. 1. Answer the 4 questions from today’s lecture. 2. In five sentences, write a brief summary of what we went over in class today. Use the highlighted key terms in your summary! Title the paper the same as the Lecture Notes. Make sure to put your Name , Date , and Period in the upper right hand corner of your page. Turn this in at the beginning of class tomorrow – put it in the hand-in/collection basket. Worth 25 out of 100 points for this week’s Daily grade.
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