Chapter 18 Section 3
Progressivism Under Taft and Wilson
Conservationist
• People who favor the
protection of natural
resources
How did Taft offend conservationists,
and what was the result?
• He appointed Richard
Ballinger as Secretary of
the Interior
– Ballinger opposed
conservation
– Sided with businesses
and unrestricted
development
How did Taft offend conservationists,
and what was the result?
• This offended Gifford
Pinchot
• Head of the U.S. Forest
Service
• He’s the guy that
developed many of
Teddy’s conservationist
policies
• His opposition eventually
resulted in Taft firing him
How did Taft offend conservationists,
and what was the result?
• It turn out, Ballinger
may have illegally given
some businesses access
to land in Alaska
– Never proven
– But eventually had to
resign
– Pinchot was a hero in
the eyes of the people
– Hurt Taft’s popularity
What progressive reforms did Taft
achieve?
• Reserved public lands
• Antitrust suits
• Supported Children’s
Bureau
• Supported 16th and 17th
Amendments
• Supported Mann-Elkins
Act (helped ICC regulate
telegraph & telephone
rates)
New Nationalism
• Teddy ran on his
platform of New
Nationalism in 1912
– Business regulation
– Welfare laws
– Workplace protection for
women and children
– Income and inheritance
taxes
– Voting reform
Bull Moose Party
• Nickname of the
Progressive Party
• TR ran for President in
1912 as a member of
this party
– The Republicans
nominated a more
conservative Taft over TR
What effect did the Bull Moose Party
have on the election of 1912?
• It split the Republican
vote
– Allowing the Democratic
candidate, Woodrow
Wilson, to win the
Presidency with only
42% of the vote
What reforms did Woodrow Wilson
seek?
• Reduce tariffs
• Eliminating trusts
• Overhaul of American
banking
• Impose federal limits on
child labor
Clayton Antitrust Act
• Legalized unions and
strikes, limited the
issuing of injunctions
against unions
Federal Trade Commission
• Worked to eliminate
unfair business tactics
Federal Reserve System
• Established a national
banking system
– Divided country into 12
districts)
• Created a new form of
currency (federal
reserve notes)
• Stabilized banking
system as a whole
In what ways were the achievements
of progressivism limited?
• Focused mainly on
municipal reform
• Did little for tenant and
migrant farmers
• Did not really help
nonunionized workers
• Did little to help African
Americans
• Actually help to extend
Jim Crow laws
– Especially under
Woodrow Wilson