Modern Liberalism

Progressivism

Progressivism

a political attitude favoring or advocating changes or reform through governmental action; often viewed in opposition to conservative ideologies.

Welfare Capitalism

a classical liberal economic system combined with government legislation to give workers protections and safety nets.

Mixed Economy

An economy that has both public and private industries and companies in its marketplace.

Public assistance

Community or government-financed financial aid to families based on need (or certain conditions).

Family Allowance

A monthly government payment to families with children to help cover the costs of child maintenance.

subsidy

A benefit given to an individual or business by the government: it can be direct through payments or indirect through tax breaks.

Neoconservatism

modern form of conservatism, free market, deregulation, and interventionalist

Plutocracy

The government is run by the wealthiest members of society.

Trust/ corporate trust

refers to a large, economically powerful grouping of business interests, often in the form of one big corporation or cooperative corporations.

Conglomerate

A corporation made of several individual businesses.

Subsidiary

A company totally owned and controlled by another, often larger company.

Anti-Trust Acts

Laws, many of which come from Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency, that define what business practices, particularly regarding trusts, are illegal.

Prohibition

Aligning with the Roaring 20s, it was a period during the 1920s where the manufacture, transport, and sale of alcohol was banned.

Roaring Twenties

After Prohibition backfired, the economic boom of the 20s (largely due to abuse of the stock market) was paired with a boom in speakeasies, parties, and a cultural revolution.

Padlock Law (1937)/ Padlock Act

Quebec law that allowed officers to close off property suspected of being meeting places for communists.

Stock Market

Exchanges of stock, a fractional share of a corporation’s worth, in a gambling-esc setting to gain profit (or lose money to debts) as a company’s worth rises or falls after buying a share… like a meta-market. The market of the market.

dividend

A share of profits that a company pays out to its shareholders (those invested in its stock) and owners.

holding company

a company that does not produce its own goods but finds business in stocks of other companies and often controls smaller companies.

Federal Reserve Bank

A central banking system of the United States, intended to maintain some government control of banking and to alleviate financial crises, but was often subject to corruption by the influence of big businesses and millionaires.

Bank of Canada

Canada’s National Bank, is a crown corporation that functions similarly to the Federal Reserve Bank by maintaining monetary policies and economic systems.

recession

temporary economic decline where the value of money falls.

Bank Run

A common practice during the Great Depression, when many clients withdraw their money from a bank because they believe it will soon fail.

Make-Work Project

A job or assignment that serves no legitimate purpose other than to give the one employed a role to fill.

robber baron

a term for a powerful 19th century American banker or businessman; describes any businessman or banker who used questionable means to gain wealth.

scab

A slang term for a strikebreaker, someone who works during a strike.

henry clay frick

founded HC Frick and Company coke manufacturing company, and was the chairman of Carnegie steel company.

• played a large role in the formation of giant US steel manufacturing concern

• financed construction of railroads and owned extensive real estate throughout Pennsylvania

voted one of the worst American CEOs of all time, as he had no morality in business.

Andrew Carnegie

progressed up ranks of multiple companies until he built the Carnegie steel company in Pittsburgh

• later merged with federal steel company and other smaller companies to create the US steel company

when he retired he became a philanthropist, supporting universities, libraries, and building Carnegie hall.

JP Morgan

banker and financer who dominated corporate finance and industry during the 1890s-1910s.

• 1892: merged two large electric companies to form general electric

• financed the creation of federal steel company, and merged with Carnegie Steel Company and others to create US steel.

1912: House Banking and currency committee found him and a group of financial leaders guilty of abusing public trust to consolidate power over many industries.

John D Rockfeller

following the civil war, a moderately successful Rockfeller partnered and founded Standard Oil company with Samuel Andrews to develop a cheaper way of refining crude oil

• negotiated a deal with the railway company where transportation cost less in return for 60 carloads a day

• increased sales dramatically and eventually monopolized oil refining in the states

Theodore Roosevelt

wealthy, attended harvard, led small regiment in spanish american war, and later became governor and then vice president after returning to New York

26th president and supported working people

• united mine workers went on strike and he set up fact finding group to set up better pay and benefits

• elkins + hepburn act

• aggressive attacks on trusts - a plan coined as his “square deal” he was called a trust buster

• passed progressive legislation like the meat inspection act and pure food and drug act to protect consumers

  • banned misleading labels with harmful chemicals

  • banned impure or falsely labelled drugs from being made

• established Panama canal during presidency, an artificial canal to make a quick trade route from the east coast to the west

Elkins act

prohibited railroad companies from giving rebates to businesses that ship large quantities of goods and giving power to those businesses to artificially lower shipping prices.

hepburn act

expanded ability of government to set and regulate railroad shipping rates

William Howard Taft

27th pres, vp during theodore roosevelt.

conservative end of modern liberalism, republican, but still pursued anti-trust initiatives

sherman anti-trust act

expansion of civil service and strengthened interstate commerce commission and improved performance of postal service

• further economic development of underdeveloped nations in latin America and Asia through American financial assistance while the economy was growing enough to be international force

Sherman anti-trust act

The act was passed, requiring the U.S. federal government to pursue companies and organizations suspected of limiting competition (monopolizing) in a particular industry.

Forms the basis for most antitrust litigation in the U.S. today.

Political leaders were largely unwilling to recognize the law until Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency.

Taft, the next pres + the Supreme Court used the law to force Standard Oil Company to break up into 34 smaller companies.Also used to prevent some organized labour activities, thus weakening unions, despite this not being the original intent of the law.

clayton act

These reforms limited the classical liberal freedoms and principles of the marketplace, but prevented powerful groups in society from abusing the rights and freedoms of the less influential.

Warren Harding

29th president from 1921-1923; the start of an explicitly conservative (republican) line of presidents.

Ranked as one of the worst American presidents in history.

Favored pro-business government policies–stopping antitrust actions, and opposed organized labor.

Harding rewarded friends and political contributors with financially powerful positions.

Rejected the League of Nations, signing his own treaties and urging U.S. international participation.

calvin coolidge

30th president from 1923-1929; conservative (republican), was vice president under Harding before succeeding him.

Opposed unions, cut taxes imposed during WWI that would contribute to the boom but next crash of the stock market, starting the Great Depression.

(1924) The Immigration Act cut the amount of immigrants allowed into the U.S., favoring immigrants from Northern Europe over all else.

(1927-28) Shot down farm relief bills where the government would buy crops to support farms, as Coolidge believed it wasn't the government's place.

Herbert Hoover

31 pres, conservative (republican)

popular bc of humanitarian efforts in WWI, was secretary of commerce

promoted partnerships between gov and business for economic modernization

believed federal bureaucracy should have limited regulation over economy, and too much intervention would undermine long term self-reliance

engaged in public works programs

• federal buildings program

• division of public construction

• hoover dam

opposed to new deal

hoovervilles

unemployment rates rose under hoover’s presidency, so groups of homeless dwellings were called hoovervilles

Franklin D Roosevelt

32 pres, fifth cousin to theodore

supported public power, reduce federal spending, balance budget

new deal relieved immediate affects of unemployment

second new deal legislation: reform (wanted change not just economically)

bank holidays → failures of banks during depression. they were inspected (many weren’t), but when banks reopened public trusted

new deal

set of programs designed to produce relief for the unemployed, economic recovery, and reform/regulation of wall street banks and transportation. FDR

CCC

civilian conservation corps (CCC) most popular of new deal agencies, hired 250 000 unemployed young men to work on rural projects

glass-steagall act

separated commercial and investment banking, restoring the restriction on banks trading in stock

FDIC

federal deposit insurance corporation gave insurance to those depositing funds in banks

cwa

civil works administration created temporary manual labour jobs for those unemployed by the great depression

PWA

public works administration. created new or updated public infrastructure which also provided employment

agricultural adjustment act (AAA)

helped american farmers by stabilizing prices and limiting overproduction

tenessee valley authority (TVA)

built dams and power stations, controlled floods, and modernized agriculture in poverty stricken Tennessee valley

WPA

works progress administration set up national relief agency which employed 2 million family heads

NIRA

national intelligence recovery act. stimulated production and competition by having american industries set up series of codes designed to regulate prices, output and general trade practices

social security act

part of second new deal legislation. promised economic security for the elderly, poor and sick

national labour relations act

2nd new deal, established federal rights of workers to organize unions, engage in collective bargaining, and take part in strikes

John Maynard Keynes

british economist

during treaty of versailles, he tried to prevent germany’s reparation payments from being so high, as it would hurt not just germany, but whole world

lead a revolution of economic thinking, altering traditional ideas of laissez-faire economics

argued demand determined economic activity

mixed economy → mostly private but large participation of public sector for little recessions

wanted active policy responses by public sector, including monetary actions by central banks and government policies to stabilize output over business cycle.

keynesian economics

argues private sector decisions sometimes lead to insufficient economic outcomes. fluctuations in any component of spending—consumption, investment, or government expenditures—cause output to change. model in end of great depression, WWII and after war until 70s

bear market

bull market

pronounced economic downturn

pronounced upswing or boom in the economy

upton sinclair

wrote The Jungle to expose awful working conditions in the meat-packing industry, which led to new federal food safety laws

R.B. Bennett

conservative canadian prime minister. set up largely inadequate relief camps and make-work projects during the great depression and dispersed left-wing protesters

C. D. Howe

minister of Trade and Commerce of Canada. established crown corporations, reformed existing corporations, and aided unemployment. helped Canada economically expand as a mixed economy.

William Lyon Mackenzie King

A liberal Prime Minister both before and after Bennett who got the government much more involved in maintaining the economy by creating many social programs.

Progressive movement

Began in cities with settlement workers and reformers interested in helping those facing harsh conditions at home and at work.

Activism about the need for laws regulating housing, child labour, and working conditions for women began.

The term progressivism emerged in reference to the general response to conditions and changes brought by industrialization.

Was an alternative to conservative views on social and economic issues as well as to more radical change through socialism and anarchism.

Homestead Strike (1892)

A strike from employees at Carnegie Steel Company and the company itself that erupted into a violent dispute.

It ultimately failed, as although they defeated private enforcers, the jobs of the workers were filled by replacements who wouldn’t strike.

Many of the workers in the union faced legal charges for their actions.

Anthracite Coal Strike (1902)

An effort by United Mine Workers in Pennsylvania to get higher wages, shorter hours, and union recognition.

public side with workers, and letter management was exposed, which demonized workers and kind of supported divine right of kings.

Theodore Roosevelt had no authority, but organized the conflicting parties to meet and come to a decision, threatening to involve federal forces.

A fact-finding commission suspended the strike but appeased the workers’ demands.

This was the first instance of the U.S. government intervening on a strike as a neutral party, and is the origin of Roosevelt’s “Square Deal” slogan.

clayton act

when labour unions were weakened due to sherman antitrust act, clayton act was passed. it defined unethical business practices (price fixing + monopolies) while making unions and agricultural organizations exempt from it.

SEC

securities and exchange commission created to enforce the law against market manipulation.

taxes boom and bust

economic downturn → lower taxes, gov spend more money

boom → more tax

great depression

america blame hoover and bankers, but it was structure of economy

• unequal wealth (relied on top 1% but purchasing luxury goods were unstable)

• unequal distribution of corporate power; mergers and consolidation of power by large businesses led to 200 companies holding half nation’s wealth; companies going under from the stock market crash would negatively impact the whole economy.

• Banks were structured poorly, and many had no federal regulation, so they were unable to pay their debts and would close during the crash.

• Foreign balance of payments would harm the U.S.; since it had loaned money post-WWI–but due to tariffs and protectionism, foreign goods were kept out of the U.S.–if a nation couldn’t pay their debts, they could not interact with the American economy at all.

• There was limited economic intelligence, as businesses couldn’t keep up needed high employment asked of them without selling goods; limiting government spending and relying on gold as the standard for currency also only proved disastrous.

dust bowls

series of severe dust storms from 1930-36 throughout America and Canada, known as Dust Bowls, devastated agriculture, further damaging the economy.

Keynesian economics in sweden

Swedish economy was bad lots of unemployment and low wages
- conservative gov was not good and economy could not return to normal

• increased gov spending

• cut taxes

• increased minimum wage so lower income people could spend

Stock Market Crash

A significant decline in stock prices on the New York Stock Exchange in October 1929, marking the start of the Great Depression.

Conglomerate

A corporation made of several individual businesses.

corporation

legal entity separate from its owners, offering limited liability and continuing existence, often formed for profit-making purposes.

deregulation

the reduction of government control

interventionist

believing that the government should interfere with the affairs of other countries–foreign policy.

economic downturn

A period of declining economic activity characterized by decreased production, rising unemployment, and reduced consumer spending.

monopoly

market structure where a single seller dominates the industry, controlling prices and supply, with no close substitutes available.

regulation

The process of controlling or supervising something according to a set of rules or laws to ensure compliance and maintain order.

relief

public or private aid to persons in economic need because of natural disasters, wars, economic upheaval, chronic unemployment, or other conditions that prevent self-sufficiency.

Social Programs

Government initiatives providing assistance to individuals in need, such as welfare, food stamps, and housing subsidies. Aim to improve quality of life and reduce poverty.

square deal

Term coined by President Theodore Roosevelt, aimed at balancing the interests of businesses, consumers, and labor unions through progressive reforms. prevented large companies from controlling market

stocks

ownership in a company and can be bought and sold on stock exchanges. Investors buy stocks in the hope of earning a return through dividends or capital gains.

welfare capitalism

regulation, oversight, intervention