ch 28-29

AmPag ch. 28 

Who were the Progressives & what were their goals in; (656 -- 665)

A reform movement had developed that included a wide range of groups and individuals with a common desire to improve life in the industrial age. 

Their ideas and work became known as progressivism, because they wanted to build on the existing society, making moderate political changes and social improvements through government action

Most Progressives were not revolutionaries but shared the goals of limiting the power of big business, improving democracy for the people, and strengthening social justice. Achieving these goals often included a more active role for the federal government

Acquires national momentum only with the dawn of a new century and the unexpected swearing into office of Theodore Roosevelt. The Progressive era lasted through the Republican presidencies of Roosevelt and William Howard Taft and the first term of the Democrat Woodrow Wilson. 

US entry into WWI in 1917 diverted public attention away from domestic issues and brought the era to an end—but not before major regulatory laws had been enacted by congress and various state legislatures

Motives: as they entered a new century, most Americans were well aware of rapid changes in their country. The relatively homogenous, rural society of independent farmers of the past was transforming into an industrialized nation of mixed ethnicity centered in the growing cities. Middle-class Americans were alarmed by the rising power of big business, the uncertainties of business cycles, the increasing gap between rich and poor, the violent conflict between labor and capital, and the dominance of corrupt political machines in the cities. Most disturbing to the minorities were the racist Jim Crow laws in the South that regulated African Americans to the status of second-class citizens. Crusaders for women’s suffrage added their voices to the call for greater democracy 

Who were the Progressives?: the groups participating in the Progressive movement were diverse. Protestant church leaders, African Americans, union leaders, feminists—> loosely linking their reform efforts under a single label, Progressive, was a belief that society barely needed changes and that government was the proper agency for correcting social and economic ills 

-Politics

Professional Class:

Members of this business and professional middle class took their civic responsibilities seriously. They belonged to the hundreds of national business and professional associations that provided platforms to address corrupt business and government practices and urban soicla and economic problems 

Leadership:

Theodore Roosevelt (R.), Robert La Follette (R.), William Jennings Bryan (D.), Woodrow Wilson (D.)= demonstrated a vigorous style of political leadership that had been lacking from national politics during the Gilded Age 

-city and state gov’t

Philosophy: committed to democratic=ic values and shared in the belief that honest government and just laws could improve the human condition 

Pragmatism-truth of beliefs 

Voter Participation:

Australia, or Secret, Ballot: Political parties could manipulate and intimidate voters by printing lists (or “ticket”) of party candidates and watching voters drop them into the ballot box on Election Day 

Direct Primaries: In 1903, the Progressive governor of Wisconsin, Robert La Follette, introduced a new system for bypassing politicians and placing the nominating process directly in the hands of the voters—the direct primary. By 1915, some form of the direct primary was used in every state. The system,’s effectiveness in overthrowing boss rule was limited, as politicians devised ways of confusing the voters and splitting the anti machine vote. Some southern states even used white-only primaries to exclude African Americans from voting 

Direct election of US Senators:

Traditionally, US senators had been chosen by the state legislatures rather than by direct vote of the people. Progressives believed this was a principal reason that the Senate had become a millionaires club dominated in big business. Nevada in 1899 was the first state to give the voters the opportunity to elect US senators directly. By 1912, a total of 30 states had adopted this reform, and in 1913, adoption of the `7th Amendment required that all US senators be elected by popular vote 

Intitative, referendum, recall: If politicians in the state legislatures balked at obeying the “will of the people” then Progressives proposed two methods for forcing them to act. (1) the natives—a method by which voters could compel the legislature to consider a bill and (2) the referendum—a method that allowed citizens to vote on proposed laws printed on their ballots, (3) the recall—enabled voters to remove a corrupt or unsatisfactory politicians from office by majority vote before that offices term had expired 

Municipal Reform: City bosses and their corrupt alliance with local businesses (trolley lines and utility companies) were the first target of Progressive leader

In Toledo, Ohio, in 1897, a self-made millionaire with strong memories of his origins as a working man became the Republican mayor. Adopting “golden rule” as both his policy and his middle name, Mayor Samuel M. “Golden Rule” Jones delighted Toledo’s citizens by introducing a comprehensive program or municipal reform, including free kindergartens, night schools and public playgrounds 

Tom L. Johnson devoted himself to tax reform and three-cent trolley fares for the people of Cleveland.

Controlling Public Utilities

-women/ family life

Urban Middle class: 

Unlike the Populists of the 1890s, whose strength came from rural America, most Progressives were middle-class men and women who lived in cities: Doctors, lawyers, ministers, storekeepers, white collar office workers, middle managers employed at banks, manufacturing firms, other businesses from a key segment of the economy 

Religion: 

Protestant churches preached against vice and taught a code of social responsibility—> The Social Gospel 

Most of thee Protestants were native-born and older stock Americans, of then from families of older elites who felt that their central role in society had been replaced by wealthy industrialists and urban political machines 

-labor

Political Progressivism

Progressive reformers were mainly middle-class men and women.

The progressives sought 2 goals:  1) To use state power to control trusts;  2) To improve the common person's conditions of life and labor.

Progressives wanted to regain the power that had shifted from the hands of the people into those of the "interests."  Progressives supported the "initiative" so that voters could directly propose legislation. They also supported the "referendum" and the "recall," which allowed voters to directly vote on laws to remove corrupt elected officials, respectively. 

The progressive reformers convinced Congress to pass the 17th Amendment in 1913.  It established the direct election of U.S. senators.

Progressivism in the Cities and States

States used public utility commissions to regulate railroads and trusts. Robert M. La Follette was a governor of Wisconsin who took control from the corrupt corporations and returned it to the people.

Governor of California, Hiram W. Johnson helped to break the grip of the Southern Pacific Railroad on California politics in 1910.

Progressive Women

Women formed clubs in which they discussed and proposed solutions for societal problems (club movement). Some of these included the Women's Trade Union League and the National Consumers League.

Florence Kelley took control of the National Consumers League in 1899 and mobilized female consumers to pressure for laws safeguarding women and children in the workplace.  

In Muller vs. Oregon (1908), the Supreme Court ruled that it was constitutional to enact laws that specifically protected women factory workers. 

Lochner vs. New York (1905) invalidated a New York law that limited the work day to 10 hours for bakers. The law was eventually upheld in 1917.

Following a series of factory accidents, several states passed stronger laws regulating the working conditions in factories.

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was a large anti-alcohol women's group.

TR's Square Deal for Labor

President Roosevelt believed in the progressive reform.  He enacted a "Square Deal" program that consisted of 3 parts:  control of the corporations, consumer protection, and conservation of natural resources.

In 1902, coal miners in Pennsylvania went on strike and demanded a 20% raise in pay and a workday decrease from 10 hours to 9 hours.  When mine spokesman, George F. Baer refused to negotiate, President Roosevelt stepped in and threatened to operate the mines with federal troops.  A deal was struck in which the miners received a 10% pay raise and 9 hour workday.

The increasing hostilities between capital and labor forced Congress to create the Department of Commerce in 1903. This department provided oversight of businesses engaged in interstate commerce.

Although the Interstate Commerce Commission was created in 1887, railroads were able to delay the commission's decisions by appealing to the federal courts.

Railroad companies historically offered incentives, in the form of rebates, to convince companies to use their rail lines. In 1903, Congress passed the Elkins Act, which fined railroads that gave rebates and the shippers that accepted them.

Congress passed the Hepburn Act of 1906, which restricted free passes and expanded the Interstate Commerce Commission. (Free passes:  rewards offered to companies, in the form of free shipments; given to companies to encourage future business.)

In 1902, President Roosevelt challenged the Northern Securities Company, a railroad trust company that sought to achieve a monopoly of the railroads in the Northwest.  The Supreme Court upheld the President and the trust was forced to be dissolved.

Who were the Muckrakers? 

Publications in-depth, investigative stories  referred to as “muckrakers” by TR

Origins: Chicago reporter Henry Demarest Lloyd who in 1881 wrote a series of articles for the Atlantic Monthly attacking the practices of the Standard Oil company and the railroad. Published in book from in 1894, Lloyd’s Wealth Against Commonwealth fully exposed the corruption and greed of the oil monopoly but failed to suggest how to control it 

Decline of Muckraking 

The popularity of muckraking books and magazine articles began to decline after 1910 for several reasons. First writers found it more and more difficult to top the sensationalism of the last story. Second, publishers were expanding and faced economic pressures from banks and advertisers to tone down their treatment of business. Third, by 1910 corporations were becoming more aware of their public image and developing a new speciality: the field of public relations. Nevertheless, muckraking had a lasting effect on the Progressive era. It exposed inquiries, educated the public about corruption in high places, and prepared the way for corrective action 

How was TR a Progressive?  (665 - 673)

TR's Square Deal for Labor

President Roosevelt believed in the progressive reform.  He enacted a "Square Deal" program that consisted of 3 parts:  control of the corporations, consumer protection, and conservation of natural resources.

In 1902, coal miners in Pennsylvania went on strike and demanded a 20% raise in pay and a workday decrease from 10 hours to 9 hours.  When mine spokesman, George F. Baer refused to negotiate, President Roosevelt stepped in and threatened to operate the mines with federal troops.  A deal was struck in which the miners received a 10% pay raise and 9 hour workday.

The increasing hostilities between capital and labor forced Congress to create the Department of Commerce in 1903. This department provided oversight of businesses engaged in interstate commerce.

TR Corrals the Corporations

Although the Interstate Commerce Commission was created in 1887, railroads were able to delay the commission's decisions by appealing to the federal courts.

Railroad companies historically offered incentives, in the form of rebates, to convince companies to use their rail lines. In 1903, Congress passed the Elkins Act, which fined railroads that gave rebates and the shippers that accepted them.

Congress passed the Hepburn Act of 1906, which restricted free passes and expanded the Interstate Commerce Commission. (Free passes:  rewards offered to companies, in the form of free shipments; given to companies to encourage future business.)

In 1902, President Roosevelt challenged the Northern Securities Company, a railroad trust company that sought to achieve a monopoly of the railroads in the Northwest.  The Supreme Court upheld the President and the trust was forced to be dissolved.

Caring for the Consumer

After botulism was found in American meat, foreign governments threatened to ban all American meat imports.  President Roosevelt passed the Meat Inspection Act of 1906.  The act stated that the preparation of meat shipped over state lines was subject to federal inspection.  

The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was designed to prevent the adulteration and mislabelling of foods and pharmaceuticals.

Earth Control

The first step towards conservation came with the Desert Land Act of 1887, in which the federal government sold dry land cheaply on the condition that the purchaser would irrigate the soil within 3 years.  A more successful step was the Forest Reserve Act of 1891.  It authorized the president to set aside public forests as national parks and other reserves.  The Carey Act of 1894 distributed federal land to the states on the condition that it be irrigated and settled.

President Roosevelt, a naturalist and rancher, convinced Congress to pass the Newlands Act of 1902, which authorized the federal government to use money from the sale of public lands in western states to develop irrigation projects.

In 1900, Roosevelt, attempting to preserve the nation's shrinking forests, set aside 125 million acres of land in federal reserves.

Under President Roosevelt, professional foresters and engineers developed a policy of "multiple-use resource management."  This policy sought to sustainably use federal lands for recreation, logging, watershed protection, and cattle grazing.

How does TR stand out as a different President this time? 

What was TR’s position on trust-busting? 

What is TR’s role in conservation and reclamation? 

--the “Roosevelt Panic” of 1907? 

--Summarize the TR legacy in regards to Progressivism

The "Roosevelt Panic" of 1907

Theodore Roosevelt was re-elected as president in 1904.  President Roosevelt made it known that he would not run for a 3rd term.

The panic of 1907 was a short economic downturn that resulted in financial reforms. Congress passed the Aldrich-Vreeland Act in 1908, which authorized national banks to issue emergency currency in the event of a currency shortage.

What were some Progressive measures carried on by Taft?Dollar Diplomacy under Taft? How did a falling out occur between Taft and TR? What impact did this have on the Republican party?

The Rough Rider Thunders Out

For the election of 1908, the Republican Party chose William Howard Taft, secretary of war to Theodore Roosevelt.  The Democratic Party chose William Jennings Bryan.

William Howard Taft won the election of 1908.

During Roosevelt's presidency, Roosevelt greatly enlarged the power of the presidential office, and he helped shape the progressive movement. He also opened the eyes of Americans to the fact that they shared the world with other nations.

Taft:  A Round Peg in a Square Hole

President Taft was not an adept political leader, such as Roosevelt.  He generally adopted an attitude of passivity towards Congress.

The Dollar Goes Abroad as a Diplomat

Taft encouraged Wall Street bankers to invest in foreign areas of strategic interest to the United States (dollar diplomacy).  American bankers thus strengthened American defenses and foreign policies, while bringing prosperity to America.

Japan and Russia controlled the railroads in China's Manchuria. President Taft feared that this monopoly would eventually hurt American merchants. In 1909, Secretary of State Philander C. Knox proposed that Americans buy the Manchurian railroads and then turn them over to China.  Both Japan and Russia rejected the selling of their railroads.

Taft the Trust Buster

Taft brought 90 lawsuits against trusts during his 4 years in office, as opposed to Roosevelt's 44 suits in 7 years.

In 1911, the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of the Standard Oil Company, stating that it violated the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.  

Also in 1911, the Supreme Court laid out its "rule of reason" doctrine. This stated that a trust was illegal only if it unreasonably restrained trade.

Taft Splits the Republican Party

President Taft signed the Payne-Aldrich Bill in 1909, which placed a high tariff on many imports. This angered many Republicans because before he was elected, Taft said that he would lower the tariff.

Taft was a strong conservationist, but his conservationist record was tarnished in 1910 when he fired the chief of the Agriculture Department's Division of Forestry, Gifford Pinchot, for insubordination. (Ballinger-Pinchot quarrel) Pinchot was liked by conservationists.

By the spring of 1910, the reformist wing of the Republican Party was furious with Taft, causing the Republican Party to split. 

The Taft-Roosevelt Rupture

In 1911, the National Progressive Republican League was formed with La Follette as its leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. La Follette was chosen because it was assumed that Roosevelt would not re-run for election.

In February of 1912, Theodore Roosevelt decided to challenge Taft for the Republican presidential nomination. (La Follette was replaced by Roosevelt.) Roosevelt and Taft became opponents because Roosevelt felt that Taft had discarded many of Roosevelt's policies.

Taft won the Republican nomination after Roosevelt Republicans refused to vote at the 1912 Republican convention, claiming fraud. Roosevelt continued on as a 3rd-party candidate.

AmPag ch. 29 - 

• How did Wilson win the Election of 1912 despite getting only 41%?

Woodrow Wilson became the governor of New Jersey by campaigning against trusts and promising to return the state government to the people.

The "Bull Moose" Campaign of 1912

The Democrats chose Woodrow Wilson as their presidential candidate for the election of 1912.  The Democrats saw Wilson as a reformist leader who could beat the Republican party's candidate, Taft.  The Democrats had a strong progressive platform that called for stronger antitrust laws, banking reform, and tariff reductions (New Freedom program). They favored small enterprise, entrepreneurship, and the free functioning of unregulated and unmonopolized markets, but they did not support social-welfare programs that Roosevelt supported.—>R: New Nationalism, more government regulation of business and unions, women’s suffrage, and more welfare programs; W: New Freedom, limit both big business and big government, bring about reform by ending corruption, and revive competition by supporting small business. 

Theodore Roosevelt ran again in the election as a 3rd party candidate for the Progressive Republican party. Roosevelt ran with a New Nationalism program, which supported stronger control of trusts, woman suffrage, and programs of social welfare.  

Both candidates favored a more active government role in economic and social affairs, but they disagreed over specific strategies.  

Roosevelt was shot during the campaign, he recovered after a couple of weeks.

Woodrow Wilson:  A Minority President

Taft and Roosevelt split the Republican votes, giving Woodrow Wilson the presidency. Wilson won less than a majority of the popular bote, but with the Republicans split, he won a landslide in the electoral college and the democrats gained control of Congress. The overwhelming support for the Progressive presidential candidates ensured that reform efforts would continue under Wilson, while the failure of the Progressive party to elect local candidates suggested that the new party would not last. But the idea contained in Roosevelt's New Nationalism—of strong federal government regulations helping the people—did have a lasting influence for much of the century 

Roosevelt's Progressive Party died out because it did not have any elected officials in state and local offices.

Wilson:  The Idealist in Politics

Wilson relied on sincerity and moral appeal to attract the public.  He was smart, but he didn't have people skills. Wilson's idealism and sense of moral righteousness made him incredibly stubborn in negotiating.

What did Wilson Identify as the “Triple Wall of Privilege?” 

Wilson Tackles the Tariff

President Wilson was determined to attack "the triple wall of privilege":  the tariff, the banks, and the trusts.

Wilson called a special meeting of Congress in 1913 to address the tariff.  He convinced Congress to pass the Underwood Tariff Bill, which significantly reduced the tariff.  The 16th Amendment was ratified in 1913. This enabled Congress to collect a graduated income tax.

• How did he combat each of these?

Wilson Battles the Bankers

The most serious problem of the National Banking Act (passed during the Civil War) was the inelasticity of money. In times of financial stress, banking reserves, which were located in New York and other large cities, could not distribute money fast enough into areas of need.

In 1913, Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act.  The new Federal Reserve Board, appointed by the President, oversaw a nationwide system of 12 regional Federal Reserve banks.  Each reserve bank was the central bank for its region.  The final authority of the Federal Reserve Board guaranteed a substantial level of public control.  The board could also issue paper money, called Federal Reserve Notes (the U.S. Dollar).  Because of this, the amount of money in circulation could be increased as needed for the requirements of business.

The President Tames the Trusts

Congress passed the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914.  This law created the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which oversaw industries engaged in interstate commerce. This organization could issue cease-and-desist orders to companies engaged in unfair business tactics.

The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 lengthened the Sherman Act's list of business practices that were deemed objectionable.  It also sought to exempt labor and agricultural organizations from antitrust prosecution, while legalizing strikes and peaceful picketing.  Union leader Samuel Gompers supported the act.

Wilsonian Progressivism at High Tide

The Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916 made low-interest rate loans available to farmers.  The Warehouse Act of 1916 enabled farmers to take out loans against the value of their staple crops, which were stored in government warehouses.

The La Follette Seamen's Act of 1915 benefited sailors by requiring decent treatment and a living wage on American ships.

President Wilson assisted the workers with the Workingmen's Compensation Act of 1916, giving assistance to federal civil-service employees during periods of disability.  Also in 1916, the President approved an act restricting child labor on products flowing into interstate commerce.  The Adamson Act of 1916 established an 8-hour work day for all employees on trains in interstate commerce.

Wilson nominated Louis D. Brandeis to the Supreme Court. He was a progressive reformer, and he was the first Jew to be a Supreme Court justice.

• What was Wilson’s new direction in foreign policy? 

New Directions in Foreign Policy

President Wilson was an anti-imperialist and he opposed an aggressive foreign policy.

He persuaded Congress in 1914 to repeal the Panama Canal Tolls Act of 1912, which had exempted American coastal shipping from tolls.  He also signed the Jones Act in 1916, which granted the Philippines territorial status and promised independence as soon as a stable government could be established.

When political turmoil broke out in Haiti in 1915, Wilson dispatched marines to protect American lives and property.  In 1916, he signed a treaty with Haiti that provided for U.S. supervision of finances and the police.

In 1917, Wilson purchased the Virgin Islands from Denmark.

—> Moralistic Diplomacy in Mexico

In 1913, a Mexican revolution occurred and the Mexican president was murdered and replaced by General Victoriano Huerta. He was a brutal dictator. Because of the chaos in Mexico, millions of Spanish-speaking immigrants came to America.

President Wilson initially refused to directly intervene with the war in Mexico; he wanted the Mexican citizens to overthrow their government, themselves. After a small party of American sailors was accidentally captured by the Mexicans (Tampico Incident), Wilson ordered the navy to seize the Mexican port of Vera Cruz.

Just as war seemed imminent with Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile intervened and pressured Huerta to step down.

Venustiano Carranza became the president of Mexico.  Francisco Villa, rival to President Carranza, attempted to provoke a war between Mexico and the U.S by killing Americans.  Wilson ordered General John J. Perishing to break up Villa's band of outlaws.  The invading American army was withdrawn from Mexico in 1917 as the threat of war with Germany loomed.

• Explain Wilson’s “neutrality” at the start of WWI, how “neutral” was it? 

Thunder Across the Sea

In 1914, World War I broke out when the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary was murdered by a Serb patriot.  An outraged Vienna government (backed by Germany) presented a series of demands to Serbia.  Serbia (backed by Russia) refused to comply.  Russia mobilized its army, causing Germany to also mobilize its army. 

France initially implied that it would be neutral in the Germany-Russia conflict. But, as Germany was bordered on both sides by potential enemies, it decided to first defeat France so that it could focus on fighting Russia. The Central Powers consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria.  The Allies consisted of France, Britain, Russia, Japan, and Italy.

A Precarious Neutrality

President Wilson issued the neutrality proclamation at the outbreak of WWI.

Most Americans were anti-German from the start of the war. Americans viewed Kaiser Wilhelm II, the leader of Germany, as the embodiment of arrogant autocracy.  The majority of Americans were opposed to war.

America Earns Blood Money

American industry prospered off trade with the Allies.  The Central Powers protested American trade with the Allies, but America wasn't breaking any international neutrality laws. Germany was free to trade with the U.S., but Britain prevented this trade by controlling the Atlantic Ocean through which Germany had to cross to trade with the U.S.

In 1915, several months after Germany started to use submarines in the war (U-boats), one of Germany's submarines sank the British ship, Lusitania, killing 128 Americans.

Americans demanded war but President Wilson firmly opposed war.  When Germany sunk another British ship, the Arabic, in 1915, Berlin agreed to not sink unarmed passenger ships without warning.  

After Germany sunk a French passenger steamer, the Sussex, Germany agreed to the Sussex pledge, which again said that Germany would not sink unarmed ships without warning. A German caveat to this pledge was that the U.S. would have to convince the Allies to stop their trade blockade. This was not possible, so war with Germany became imminent.

—> Wilson Wins the Reelection in 1916

The Progressive Party and the Republican Party met in 1916 to choose their presidential candidate.  Although nominated by the Progressives, Theodore Roosevelt refused to run for president because he didn't want to split the party again.  The Republicans chose Supreme Court justice Charles Evans Hughes.  The Republican platform condemned the Democratic tariff, assaults on the trusts, and Wilson's dealings with Mexico and Germany.

The Democrats chose Wilson and ran an anti-war campaign.  Woodrow Wilson won the election of 1916.