Progressivism & the Republican Roosevelt
1901-1912
The American Pageant
Chapter 31
Progressive Roots
 New century saw greatest reform movement since 1840:
progressivism.
 Progressives fought against monopoly, corruption, inefficiency &
social injustice.
 Goal: use gov’t as agency of human welfare.
Progressive Roots (2)
 Movement traced roots to anti-establishment Greenback Labor Party
(1870s) & Populists (1890s).
 Progressives were tired of gov’t laissez-faire policies toward very
complex social/economic problems.
Progressive Roots (3)
 Attacks on trusts not new, e.g. Bryan, Altgeld, Populists.
 1894: Lloyd published Wealth Against Commonwealth targeting
Standard Oil.
 1899: Veblen’s The Theory of the Leisure Class attacked “predatory
wealth.”
Progressive Roots (4)
 1890: Jacob A. Riis shocked with How the Other Half Lives: expose of
life in NYC slums.
 Theodore Dreiser hit profiteers in The Financier (1912) & The Titan
(1914).
 Desire for reform, immigra-tion boosted Socialists.
Progressive Roots (5)
 Social gospel led Christian progressives to fight for better conditions
for poor.
 Addams, Wald inspired feminists to fight for social justice, working
conditions, safe food, & honest govern-ment.
Raking Muck
 1902: Magazines like McClure’s, Cosmo, Collier’s flourished
publishing stories exposing evil, dirt.
 1906: TR, annoyed by zeal, la-beled authors “muckrakers.”
 Most scandalous stories published as books.
Raking Muck (2)
 1902: Steffens’ “The Shame of the Cities” exposed alliance between
business & city gov’t.
 Ida M. Tarbell followed with exposé of Standard Oil.
 Muckrakers targeted insur-ance, lobbyists, beef trusts, “money trust,”
railroads.
Raking Muck (3)
 TR impressed by Phillips’ “The Treason of the Senate,” which charged
that 75 of 90 senators represented trusts.
 Muckrakers effective against social evils: slums, “white slave” traffic,
plight of blacks (Baker), child labor (Spargo).
Raking Muck (4)
 Attacks in Collier’s by Dr. Wiley & “Poison Squad” exposed patent
medicines.
 Muckrakers exposed problems, but generally did not offer solutions:
relied on aroused social conscience & democracy for solutions.
Political Progressivism
 Middle-class progressives had two goals: use state power to curb
trusts, & stem socialism by bettering living conditions.
 Progressives came from both parties, different religions.
 Political goal: free gov’t from dominance by “interests.”
Political Progressivism (2)
 Favored direct primary, “ini-tiative,” “referendum,” and “recall” to
give political power to people, not party bosses.
 Progressives attacked graft by limiting campaign spending &
contributions.
 Secret ballot reduced bribery.
Political Progressivism (3)
 Progressives argued for direct election of U.S. senators to limit power
of wealthy.
 Many states established primary elections which gave people a voice
in selection of U.S. Senators: led to passage of 17th Amendment.
Political Progressivism (4)
 Prohibitionists & political reformers fought for women’s suffrage,
claimed “Taxation without Representation.”
 More liberal western states gave women voting rights.
Prog. in Cities/States
 City manager system began in Galveston, TX (1901) to gain
efficiency, limit corruption.
 City manager system valued efficiency over democracy.
 Urban reformers attacked slumlords, juvenile delinq., prostitution,
corruption.
Prog. in Cities/States (2)
 WI gov. Robert La Follette was militant progressive: led reforms
against lumber, RR interests & regulated utilities.
 Other states, incl. OR, CA followed with regulation of RR & trusts
through public utilities commissions.
Prog. in Cities/States (3)
 CA Gov. Hiram Johnson (R) was elected in 1910, freed CA politics
from So. Pacific RR.
 NY Gov. Hughes (R) earned reputation as investigator of gas,
insurance, & coal companies/trusts.
Battling Social Ills
 Progressives attacked social problems with remarkable energy, e.g.
industrial safety codes, child labor, workmen’s compensation laws,
max. hour & min. wage laws.
 1911: Sweatshop issue came to forefront due to Triangle fire.
Battling Social Ills (2)
 Public outcry led NY to regulate sweatshops.
 1908: In Muller v. Oregon, Brandeis led Sup. Ct. to accept laws
regulating female labor due to their weaker bodies: regarded as
triumph over employers’ complete control.
Battling Social Ills (3)
 1905: Progressive setback came in Lochner v. New York – struck down
10-hour day.
 But Court upheld 10-hour day for factory workers in 1917.
 Idea that employer had responsibility to society was growing.
Battling Social Ills (4)
 Saloons, associated w/ prosti-tution, drunken voters, city bosses,
became another target.
 Willard’s WCTU became largest women’s org in world.
 Many states & counties went “dry,” but cities, w/ large im-migrant
vote, remained “wet.”
Square Deal for Labor
 Influence of progressive move-ment, concern for public inter-est led to
TR’s “Square Deal” for capital, labor & public.
 TR’s program embraced 3 Cs: control of corps., consumer protection,
& conservation of natural resources.
Square Deal for Labor (2)
 Anthracite coal mines strike (PA) put Deal to test: 140,000 workers
demanded 20% pay increase, 9 hour day.
 Baer & other owners refused to negotiate, believed that God had
entrusted workers to their care.
Square Deal for Labor (3)
 Lack of coal inhibited factories, schools, hospitals.
 TR intervened: annoyed by attitude of mine owners, he threatened to
seize mines, operate with federal troops.
 Owners agreed to arbitration, gave 10% raise, 9-hour day.
Square Deal for Labor (4)
 1903: TR urged creation of Dept. of Commerce & Labor to manage
capital/labor conflicts (dept. split 10 years later).
 Part of new dept. was Bureau of Corporations, which was used to
break interstate trusts.
TR Corrals the Corps.
 Interstate Commerce Commis-sion was too weak to regulate RRs, TR
encouraged more effective laws.
 1903: Congress passed Elkins Act to provide heavy fines for RR
rebates.
TR Corrals the Corps. (2)
 1906: Hepburn Act restricted free passes, strengthened ICC.
 TR knew efficient trusts were here to stay, but distinguished between
“good” trusts with public consciences, and greedy “bad” trusts.
TR Corrals the Corps. (3)
 1902: TR’s 1st attack on trusts came against the Morgan/Hill Northern
Securities RR trust.
 1904: Sup. Ct. upheld TR’s antitrust suit, dissolved North-ern Sec.,
shocked Wall Street.
 TR initiated over 40 suits vs. beef, sugar, fertilizer, etc.
TR Corrals the Corps. (4)
 TR knew trustbusting was popular, but unsound econo-mically: real
purpose was to prove that gov’t, not business, ruled the country.
 Threat of dissolution would make corporations more agreeable to
regulation.
TR Corrals the Corps. (5)
 Actually TR was not a heavy trustbuster – many trusts were healthier,
though more “tame,” after his presidency.
 William H. Taft actually busted more trusts, including TR-blessed
U.S. Steel in 1911.
Caring for the Consumer
 Occasionally tainted U.S. meat was being shut out in some European
markets.
 For safety, Americans also wanted canned meat products.
 1906: Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle tried to focus on condi-tion of
workers in meat plants.
Caring for the Consumer (2)
 But public reacted in disgust not to workers’ conditions, but to
contamination of meat.
 Report of presidential com-mission confirmed Sinclair’s report: found
that rats, ropes, debris were dumped into canned ham, etc.
Caring for the Consumer (3)
 1906: TR led passage of Meat Inspection Act – applied to meat
shipped interstate.
 Large packers used gov’t seal of approval to drive smaller companies
out of business.
 1906: Food & Drug Act req’d safe, labeled foods, drugs.
Earth Control
 Many assumed natural resour-ces were inexhaustible: pollut-ion and
waste widespread.
 1877: 1st attempt at conserva-tion, Desert Land Act req’d land buyers
to irrigate.
 1891 Forest Reserve Act: pres. could set aside national parks.
Earth Control (2)
 1894 Carey Act: Fed. land giv-en to states if irrigated, settled.
 Naturalist TR took lead to conserve resources.
 1902: TR led Congress to pass Newlands Act – $ from land sales used
to develop irrigation projects, repaid by settlers.
Earth Control (3)
 Newlands Act resulted in Roosevelt Dam (AZ) in 1911.
 1900: only 1/4 of original U.S. timber remained so TR set aside 125M
acres in reserves, almost 3x as much as predecessors.
Earth Control (4)
 TR’s conservation & closing of frontier led city dwellers to question if
too much urban life was good for national soul.
 1903: London’s Call of the Wild, nature books popular.
 Boy Scouts/Sierra Club rose in prominence.
Earth Control (5)
 1913 battle over dam in Hetch Hetchy valley showed division among
conservationists.
 Sierra Club, Muir: it was a “temple” of nature, should not be touched.
 TR, Pinchot: “wilderness is waste” – land should be used.
Earth Control (6)
 Under TR, foresters developed “multiple-use” policy: combine
recreation, sustained-yield logging, watershed protection, & summer
stock grazing on same fed. land.
 Req’d large scale planning & working with biggest users.
1907 “Roosevelt Panic”
 TR easily reelected in 1904, had enormous personal popu-larity, e.g.
“teddy bear.”
 But TR alienated conservative Reps during 2nd term by increased calls
for business regulation, income tax, protection of workers.
1907 “Roosevelt Panic” (2)
 1904: TR also became lame duck by renouncing 3rd term.
 1907: Wall St. panic included runs on banks, suicides, criminal
indictments.
 Conservative financial world said TR had unsettled indus-try, named
“Roosevelt Panic.”
1907 “Roosevelt Panic” (3)
 TR responded: rich had deli-berately created panic to curb his assault
on trusts.
 Panic resulted in reforms: 1908 Aldrich-Vreeland Act allowed national
banks to issue emergency currency - led to Federal Reserve Act in
1913.
TR Thunders Out
 1908: TR could have won reelection, but felt obligated by pledge not
to run again.
 Selected successor: Taft would carry out TR’s policies, TR ensured his
nomination.
 Dems nominated Bryan, com-plained TR stole his policies.
TR Thunders Out (2)
 Taft won easily 321-162, but surprise was 420,793 votes for Socialist
Debs.
 TR’s reputation as radical undeserved: was largely friend of industry,
tamed capitalism to ensure its long life.
TR Thunders Out (3)
 TR served as lightning rod to protect capitalists against socialism:
fought for middle ground.
 Centrist conservation crusade was most typical and lasting
achievement.
TR Thunders Out (4)
Other TR contributions:
1. Enhanced power of president.
2. Shaped progressive & later liberal reform movements (Square Deal to
New Deal).
3. Showed Americans their responsibilities as a world power.
Taft: Round Peg
 Taft initially inspired confid-ence, had solid reputation as lawyer,
judge.
 But Taft lacked force of TR’s personality, withdrew from conflict,
Congress.
 Preferred status quo: no reformers in cabinet.
Dollar as Diplomat
 Normally passive Taft was active in encouraging U.S. investment
abroad in strategic places (Far East, Canal zone) so that U.S. political
influence could follow.
 Policy denounced as “dollar diplomacy.”
Dollar as Diplomat (2)
 Dollar diplomacy failed in Manchuria: Japan/Russia re-jected offer by
U.S. financiers to buy RR - Taft ridiculed.
 Taft admin. urged U.S. bank-ers to invest in Honduras & Haiti to keep
out foreign money, support Monroe Doct.
Dollar as Diplomat (3)
 Then disorder in Cuba, Honduras & Dominican Rep. required U.S.
military intervention to protect U.S. investment.
 1912: intervention in Nicara-gua near canal zone resulted in 13 yr.
U.S. troop presence.
Taft the Trustbuster
 1-term Taft brought 2x the anti-trust suits as 2-term TR.
 1911: Taft won breakup of Standard Oil Co., but Sup. Ct. initiated
“rule of reason” – only combinations which “unreasonably” restrained
trade are illegal.
Taft the Trustbuster (2)
 “Rule of reason” hurt gov’t anti-trust actions.
 1911: Taft pressed antitrust suit against U.S. Steel – angered TR who
was involved in one of the mergers which prompted suit.
Taft Splits Republicans
 Progressive Reps wanted lower tariff, for which Taft called Congress
into special session in March, 1909.
 House reduced rates, but Senate, led by Aldrich, added hundreds of
increases to Payne-Aldrich bill.
Taft Splits Republicans (2)
 Taft betrayed progressives by signing bill, then proclaiming it “best
bill Reps ever passed.”
 Taft tarnished his outstanding conservation record with BallingerPinchot quarrel.
 TR ally Pinchot dismissed, further split Taft & TR.
Taft Splits Republicans (3)
 Through tariff & support for Ballinger, Taft alienated reform wing of
Rep party.
 Taft placed firmly with Old Guard wing of party through support of
Speaker “Uncle Joe” Cannon during progressive attack.
Taft Splits Republicans (4)
 1910: Taft mistakes complete-ly split party, TR hit stump to proclaim
“New Nationalism” - more gov’t power to remedy social/ economic
abuses.
 Split weakened party, Dems grabbed 228-161 House majority in 1910
election.
Taft-Roosevelt Rupture
 1911: National Progressive Republican League formed, with Sen. La
Follette (WI) as leading candidate for pres. nomination, assuming TR
would not accept.
 Feb, 1912: Annoyed by Taft, TR said he would accept nom.
Taft-Roosevelt Rupture (2)
 TR argued that non-consecu-tive 3rd-term is acceptable.
 TR pushed La Follette aside, ran as progressive in primary.
 June, 1912: Taft supporters held power at convention, Taft awarded
nomination.
 TR ready for 3rd-party effort.