AP United States History
Mr. M. Pecot
Bailey, Chapter 29: Wilsonian Progressivism at Home and Abroad, 1912-1916
I.
The Emergence of Woodrow Wilson
a) Wilson's Background
1.
Early career and political philosophy
a mild conservative turned militant progressive
former academic (taught history and government) ; Doctoral Thesis = "Congressional
Government"- calls for a vigorous executive to lead Party, set tone and agenda (much like a
prime minister)
1902 - President of Princeton U; reformer
2.
Political career
1910 - Governor of NJ; nominated by bosses who thought he would be easy to control, but
instead campaigns on reform issues; "The Schoolmaster in Politics"
−
makes NJ one of the most liberal states
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enacts corrupt-practices law, workplace regulations, and curbs on trusts
1912 - nominated by the Democratic Convention (on the 46th ballot!)
b) The Election of 1912
1.
Candidates
Democratic Party: Woodrow Wilson
−
"New Freedom" platform
−
calls for small enterprise; entrepreneurship; free and unregulated markets;
opposition to government-sponsored social welfare; strong anti-trust
Progressive (Bull Moose) Party: Theodore Roosevelt
−
PP founded in August 1912 in Chicago
−
"New Nationalism" platform (influenced by Herbert Croly's The Promise of
American Life)
−
calls for regulated trusts; woman's suffrage; minimum wage laws; social
insurance
Republican Party: William Howard Taft
Socialist Party: Eugene Debs
2.
The Results: A minority president
Taft and TR attack each other and split the GOP vote, thus ensuring a Democratic victory
Wilson wins with 41% of the popular vote -- a smaller popular vote than William Jennings
Bryan had amassed in any of his three defeats
Election returns:
−
Wilson = 6,296,547 popular/435 electoral votes
−
Roosevelt = 4,118,571 popular/88 electoral votes
−
Taft = 3,486,720 popular/8 electoral votes
−
Debs = 900,672 popular/0 electoral votes
3.
A Progressive Victory
Vote total for progressives (WW, TR, and ED) far exceeds that of the conservative Taft
Socialists elect over a thousand candidates to state and local offices
II. Woodrow Wilson in the White House
a) Wilson's characteristics
1.
Southerner
sympathized with Confederacy's "lost cause"
steeped in Jeffersonian principles
2.
Religion
son of a Presbyterian minister
gifted orator, delivered "presidential sermons" -- speeches never stray far from the Bible or the
dictionary
3.
Political Philosophy
chief executive should play a dynamic role
envisioned the role of the President as leader of the party
enjoyed appealing over the heads of legislators directly to the people
4.
Personality
lacked the common touch; could appear cold and aloof
an austere and somewhat arrogant intellectual
idealistic
−
saw things in black and white, and was stubbornly unbending on principles
−
lacks the pragmatism of Roosevelt
b) Assaulting the "Triple Wall of Privilege"
1.
Lowering the Tariff
1913 Underwood-Simmons Bill
−
when the lobbyists swarm in, Wilson appeals to the people to keep the elected
representatives in line
−
a landmark in tax legislation: reduces tariff rates and includes a graduated
income tax (1% on incomes over $3000)
By 1917, revenue from the income tax replaces tariff revenues as the #1 source of
government funding
2.
Reforming the Banking system
defects of the Civil War-era banking system (under the National Banking Act) made obvious
by the Panics of 1873, 1893, 1907, especially the inelasticity of currency
−
reserves of money heavily concentrated in eastern cities, NYC, Philadelphia,
Boston
calls for reform
−
Pujo Committee - House investigation under Democrat Arsene Pujo
−
Louis D. Brandeis' (progressive attorney) Other People's Money and How the
Banker's Use It (1914)
−
Wilson appears before Congress for the second time in June 1913, making a plea
for reform, and endorsing democratic proposals for a decentralized bank in
government hands (as opposed to the Republican demands for a large central
bank in private hands - in essence a 3rd B.U.S.)
Federal Reserve Act (1913)
−
most important piece of economic legislation between the Civil War and the
New Deal
−
est. Federal Reserve Board to oversee 12 regional districts, each with its own
bank
−
Reserve Banks are "bankers' banks" -- owned by member financial institutions,
but the Federal Reserve Board ensures public control -- FRB is authorized to
issue paper money (Federal Reserve Notes) and could thus increase the currency
in circulation
3.
Taming the Trusts
Wilson appears before Congress again in 1914 to call for an assault on the trusts
Federal Trade Commision Act (1914)
−
est. Federal Trade Commission to "turn a searchlight" on businesses engaged in
interstate commerce
−
FTC's job is to root out unfair trade practices including unlawful competion,
false advertising, mislabeling, adulteration, and bribery
Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914)
−
added to the illegal business acts specified in the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of
1890; e.g., price discrimination and interlocking directorates
−
exempted human labor as a "commodity or article of commerce," in an attempt
to protect labor unions and agricultural organizations from anti-trust
prosecution.
−
Samuel Gompers calls the Clayton Act the "Magna Carta of labor"
c) Other progressive reforms under WW (a means of cultivating progressive support for in his reelection year)
1.
Reforms for Farmers
Federal Farm Loan Act (1916)
−
makes credit loans available to farmers at low interest rates
Warehouse Act (1916)
−
authorizes federally sponsored loans on security of staple crops (not unlike the
Populists' subtreasury plan)
Highways Act (1916)
−
allows dollar-matching to states for construction and improvement of roads (say
buh-bye to the old Jacksonian internal improvements phobia); greatly aids rural
areas in modernizing their transportation network
2.
Reforms for Laborers
Seamen's Act (1915)
−
sponsored by Robert LaFollete (R-WI)
−
requires decent treatment and wages on American merchant ships
−
ends brutality and desertion punishments
Workingmen's Compensation Act (1916)
−
grants assistance to federal civil-service employees during periods of disability
Keating-Owen Act (1916)
−
bars products made by children under the age of 14 from interstate commerce;
declared unconstitutional within a year
3.
Race Relations
WW appoints Louis D. Brandeis to the Supreme Court; the first Jew to be nominated to the
bench
Wilson has a poor record on race relations with blacks
−
resegregation of the federal government
III. Wilsonian Foreign Policy
a) Wilson the Anti-Imperialist
1.
WW repudiates Big Stickism and Dollar Diplomacy
Revokes special support for American investors in Asia and Latin America
Repeal of the Canal Tolls Act of 1912
−
Canal Tolls Act had exempted American coastwise shipping from paying tolls,
much to the annoyance of Great Britain
Jones Act 1916
−
Grants territorial status to the Phillipines, with the promise of independence as
soon as "a stable government" is established; (Phillipine independence will
come on July 4, 1946)
Averts a conflict with Japan after California passed laws restricting the right of Japanese
citizens to own land by sending William Jennings Bryan to negotiate with the California
legislature.
−
b) Wilson the Imperialist
1.
Military Interventions
Haiti (1915)
−
Wilson dispatches Marines to protect American investments and citizens when a
civil war erupts in Haiti
−
1916 - concludes a treaty calling for US supervision of Haitian finances and
police (ala the Roosevelt Corrollary); financial supervision maintained until 1941
Dominican Republic (1915)
−
Marines dispatched to the DR; military presence there until 1924; financial
supervision of the DR maintained until 1941
Mexico (1914, 1916)
−
see below
2.
Acquisitions
Virgin Islands from Denmark in 1917
3.
The Mexican Imbroglio
Mexican revolution in 1913 puts into power General Victoriano Huerta
−
WW refuses to recognize the Huerta government, and allowed American arms
to be sold to his chief rivals: Venustiano Carranza and Fransisco ("Pancho")
Villa
Following an incident in which a party of American sailors was arrested, Woodrow Wilson
asks Congress to authorize the use of troops, and before Congress gives the approval, orders
the seizure of Vera Cruz, Mexico by the US Navy in 1914.
−
Further conflict is averted by the mediation of the ABC nations
Huerta's government collapses in 1914, putting Venustiano Carranza in power
−
WW recognizes Carranza, but Mexican-American relations are soured by
Wilson's meddling
Carranza's chief rival, Pancho Villa, attempts to bring Wilson into a conflict with Carranza
through a series of raids.
−
January 1916, PV's men kidnap and murder 16 American mining engineers on a
train in Northern Mexico;
−
February, PV raids Columbus, New Mexico, killing 19
General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing
−
dispatched to break up Villa's forces
−
drives into Mexico with several thousand men, clashing with both Carranza's
men and the Villistas. PV goes uncaptured, but will be assassinated in 1923.
−
Pershing withdrawn in 1917 as US threat of war with Germany looms
IV. War in Europe
a) The Powder Keg of Europe explodes
1.
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (heir the Austria-Hungarian throne) and his wife Sophie in
Sarajevo by a Serb nationalist, Gavrilo Princip starts off a chain reaction that embroils Europe in war
Central Powers:
−
Principals: Germany, Austria-Hungary,
−
Other nations: Turkey, and Bulgaria
Allied Powers:
−
Principals: France, Britain, Russia
−
Other nations: Japan, Italy
b) American neutrality in WWI
1.
Wilson issues a neutrality proclamation at the start of the war and calls for America to be neutral in "thought as
well as deed."
2.
Neutrality proves difficult, but most Americans favor staying out of the war (witness Wilson's campaign
slogan in 1916: "He Kept Us Out of War" )
Both sides try to curry favor with the US
British
−
appeal to cultural, linguistic, and economic ties with America
−
cut the TransAtlantic cable from Germany to the US and control the flow of
information; shower the US with German atrocity stories
Germany
−
appeal to the large numbers of emigrants in the US
−
over 11 million persons in American (over 10% of the population) had blood ties
to one of the Central Powers. (Additionally, many Irish immigrants supported
Germany against Britain: the enemy of my enemy is my friend!)
American sympathy toward Allies
−
Germany is an autocratic state under an Emperor, v. liberal democracy in France
and England
−
Germany plans for sabotage of American factories further the image of the
German's as "barbaric" -- later, U-boat warfare will reinforce this
3.
Economic ties threaten neutrality
Loans and trade with the Allies anger the Germany
−
By 1917 - over $2 billion of goods had been sold to the Allies
−
Ban on loans to belligerent nations lifted, and American bankers such as JP
Morgan and Co. advance huge sums to Allied nations (need the money in order
to buy American supplies!)
−
British blockade of the Atlantic sea lanes of the North Sea cuts any trade with
Germany to vitually nil; American ships en route to Germany are stopped,
harassed, and pulled into British ports
German response to the British blockade: The U-Boat
−
an entirely new form of weapon; used to prey on shipping to Britain -- British
Isles are a war zone
−
Germany declares that it will not target neutral vessels, but warns that mistakes
may happen: Wilson responds by declaring the Germany will be held to "strict
accountability" for any attacks on American vessels.
−
Early 1915, U-boats sink over 90 ships
4.
Creeping towards war with Germany
The sinking of the Lustitania: May 1915
−
British passenger ship sunk off the Irish coast, killing 1,198 (127 Americans)
−
Lusitania was actually carrying 4200 cases of small arms ammunition in the hold
−
Draws America closer to war, but nation is divided, with many Easterners
calling for war, and most midwesterners calling for more isolationism
Wilson responds by issuing a series of increasingly strong diplomatic notes (a measure
opposed by Sec. State William Jennings Bryan because it might lead to war and decried as
"weasel words" by Theodore Roosevelt)
−
Arabic Pledge - August 1915 -- after another British liner, the Arabic was sunk (2
Americans killed) -- Berlin agrees not to sink unarmed and unresisting
passenger ships without warning.
−
Sussex Pledge -- March 1916 -- Germany sinks a French passenger vessel in
violation of the Arabic Pledge; Wilson warns Germany that unless Germany
abandons the practice of sinking merchant ships without warning he would cut
off diplomatic relations with Germany. German agrees, but only if the US
promises to persuade the Allies to modify the blockade of Germany
V. The Election of 1916
a) The Candidates
1.
Progressive Party: None
TR refuses to accept their nomination
He hates Wilson so much that he refuses to split the GOP vote again
2.
Republican
Old Guard Republicans refuse to allow TR to be nominated, select Supreme Court Justice
Charles Evans Hughes
−
Platform: condemns the Democratic tariff, assaults on the trusts, and the
Wilson's wishy-washy foreign policy in Mexico and with Germany
Democratic: Woodrow Wilson
−
Platform: "Wilson and Peace with Honor; Hughes with Roosevelt and War"; "He
Kept us Out of War"; progressive reforms
b) The Results
1.
A close election, Wilson barely squeaks by Hughes
Wilson: 9,127,695 popular/277 electoral votes
Hughes: 8,533,507 popular/254 electoral votes
2.
Hughes sweeps the more pro-war east; Wilson carries the South and the anti-war (and progressive) midwest
(see how those farm policies paid off!)