Wilson and
Progressivism
Semester 2, Day 23
Objective
Students will:
Discuss the key issues of the pivotal 1912 election and
the basic principles of Wilsonian progressivism.
Describe how Wilson successfully reformed the “triple wall of
privilege.”
State the basic features of Wilson’s moralistic foreign
policy, and explain how, despite his intentions, it drew him
into intervention in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America.
The “Bull Moose” Campaign of
1912
Democrats nominate Woodrow Wilson, Governor of New Jersey –
435 electoral votes, 41% popular vote
Republicans nominate William Howard Taft – 8 electoral votes and
24% popular vote
Bull Moose Party nominated T.R. – 88 electoral votes and 28%
popular vote
Roosevelt’s New Nationalism or Wilson’s New Freedom
Roosevelt followed The Promise of American Life (1910)-consolidate
trusts and unions with growth of
regulatory
agencies
woman suffrage
social welfare-minimum wage, social
insurance
Cont’d
Wilson’s New Freedom
favored small enterprise, entrepreneurship, free functioning
of unregulated and un-monopolized markets
Democrats shunned social welfare in favor of competition
Wilson: The Idealist in Politics
Considered a “phraseocrat”
Would go to the people
Difficult to work with in private-academic background may have
caused this
Black was black, wrong was wrong
a strict ideologue
The President Tames the Trusts
Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914
root out unfair business practices
unlawful competition, false advertising, mislabeling
Clayton Anti-Trust Act of 1914
outlawed price discrimination and interlocking directorates
exempted unions and agricultural organizations
Wilsonian Progressivism at High
Tide
Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916-credit to farmers at low interest rates
Warehouse Act of 1916-loans on the security of staple crops
Workingmen’s Compensation Act of 1916
federal civil service employees during times of disability
Louis Brandeis-1916, 1st person of Jewish descent on the U.S.
Supreme Court
New Directions in Foreign Policy
Wilson would not support American investors in Latin-America,
therefore American bankers withdrew a loan to China
Repealed Panama Canal Tolls Act of 1912
Jones Act 1916-Philippines territorial status/stable government
U.S. Japanese relations strained over CA law
Haiti-American troops in 1915 for 19 years to protect U.S.
interests/lives
Dominican Republic-1916 for 8 years
Virgin Islands-Wilson purchased from Denmark in 1917
Moralistic Diplomacy in Mexico
1913-A new revolutionary president murdered and General Victoriano
Huerta put in place-Taft ambassador supported Huerta, while Wilson
did not
chaos caused widespread migration to U.S.
Many wanted war with Mexico, included William Randolph Hearst
Wilson refused to recognize Huerta government
imposed arms embargo, sent ambassador home
Wilson allowed arms sales to Carranza and Pancho Villa in 1914
Pancho Villa Incidents
16 Americans killed in northern Mexico, pulled off a train
Columbus, New Mexico-19 Americans killed
Villa wanted war between U.S. and Mexico
Black Jack Pershing sent to capture Villa
A Precarious Neutrality
Both sides courted the U.S.
Britain controlled most transatlantic cables
they sent stories of German atrocities
11 million Central Power immigrants in U.S. in 1914
Most Americans anti-German
Kaiser Wilhelm II’s arrogance going into Belgium
violence in American factories and ports
America Earns Blood Money
War pulled American industry out of a recession
Morgan loaned 2.3 billion to the Allies
Central powers cried fowl, but they were free to trade with the U.S.
geography and the Royal Navy stopped trade
German subs too new for international law
Wilson put in a difficult position
Only neutral trading would be allowed
Germany torpedoed 90 ships in early 1915
Lusitania-128 Americans, did carry 4200 cases of small arm ammo
More ships sunk and Wilson demanded warning before merchant shipsSussex Pledge
Wilson Wins Reelection in
1916
TR refuses nomination of Progressive Party
Republicans nominate Charles Evans Hughes
Democrats-Wilson, “He Kept Us Out of War”
277-254 Electoral vote
Wilson thought he lost when he went to bed
California was in doubt for several days
Homework
•Read Chapter
Treaty of
Versailles
Speeches- Found
on Class Website