Chapter 29
Wilsonian
Progressivism at
Home and Abroad,
1912–1916
I. The “Bull Moose” Campaign of 1912
• Republicans nominate Howard Taft
• Progressives (Bull Moose) = Theodore Roosevelt
– New Nationalism philosophy
• Favored continued consolidation of trusts & labor unions
• Increased regulatory agencies in Washington
• Campaigned for woman suffrage & more social welfare
• Democrats nominate Woodrow Wilson
– New Freedom program
• Called for stronger antitrust legislation
• Banking reform
• Tariff reduction
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II. Woodrow Wilson: A Minority President
• 1912 Election returns
Wilson(D)
Electoral 435
Popular 6,296,547
TR(P)
88
4,118,571
Taft(R)
8
3,484,720
– Democrats won a majority in Congress
– Socialists (Debs) won ~6% of vote (900,672 votes)
• Progressivism was the real winner
Map 29-1 p663
III. Wilson: The Idealist in Politics
• The second Democratic president since 1861
• Believed in self-determination and in the masses
• Wilson’s burning idealism
– Desired to reform ever-present wickedness
– His moral righteousness made compromise
– He had a strong and inflexible personaility
IV. Wilson Tackles the Tariff
• Wilson’s attacked “the triple wall of privilege”
– The tariff, the banks, and the trusts
– Announced in 1st State of the Union address
• The Underwood Tariff
– Appealed to the people
– And ‘public opinion’ worked
• He secured late in 1913 final approval of the bill he wanted
• Provided for a substantial reduction of rates
• In 1916 the Sixteenth Amendment was ratified
– Income tax would replace tariffs
IV. Wilson Tackles the Tariff
(cont.)
– The Underwood Tariff:
• When challenged by lobbyists,
– Wilson promptly issued a combative message to the people
urging them to hold their elected representatives in line
• Public opinion worked:
– He secured late in 1913 final approval of the bill he wanted
• Provided for a substantial reduction of rates:
• Land mark in tax legislation:
– By the ratified Sixteenth Amendment—Congress enacted a
graduated income tax beginning with a moderate levy over
$3,000
– By 1917 revenue from the income tax shot ahead of
revenue from the tariffs.
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V. Wilson Battles the Bankers
• Banks had a antiquated & inadequate system
– Developed during the Civil War
– The Aldrich report recommended
• Third Bank of the United States with branches
• The Federal Reserve Act (1913)
– Federal Reserve Board appointed by POTUS
• Oversee a nationwide system of 12 reserve districts
• The board could issue ‘paper money’
– Able to get nation through WWI (1914-1918)
– Created a modern banking system
• Like other developed nations
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VI. The President Tames the Trusts
• Federal Trade Commission Act (1914)
– Investigated unfair trade practices
• Unlawful competition, false advertising, mislabeling,
adulteration, and bribery
• The Clayton Anti-Trust (1914)
– Made illegal price discrimination and interlocking
directorates (holding companies)
– Conferred long-overdue benefits on labor:
• Exempted labor/agricultural workers from anti-trust laws
• Legalized strikes and peaceful picketing
VII. Wilsonian Progressivism at High Tide
•
•
•
•
The Federal Farm Loan Act (1916)
Highway construction, agricultural extension
La Follette Seaman’s Act (1915)
The Workingmen’s Compensation Act (1916)
– For federal civil-service employees
• The Adamson Act (8 hour workday)(1916)
• Reformer Louis D. Brandeis to SCOTUS
• Wilson didn’t try to improve treatment of blacks
VIII. New Directions in Foreign Policy
• Wilson against imperialism and dollar diplomacy
• The Jones Act (1916)
– Promised Philippines independence when stable
• His Japanese situation (1913)
– Law prohibited Japanese from owning land
– Feds encouraged loophole to lease land for 3 years
• The Haiti political situation (1914-1915)
– Political rebellion, cruel dictator killed
– Wilson dispatched marines (for 19 years)
• Dominican Republic (1916)
– Under American control for next 18 years
• U.S. bought Virgin Islands from Denmark (1917)
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IX. Moralistic Diplomacy in Mexico
• Mexican revolution (1913)
– Increased immigration to the U.S.
– U.S. sent weapons
• The Tampico Incident (1914)
– U.S. sailors captured, released, but not saluted
• War avoided by negotiations
• “Pancho” Villa attacks Americans
– In Mexico and New Mexico (Jan – Feb 1916)
– General John J. (“Black Jack”) Pershing
• Leads invasion of Mexico and attacked Villa troops
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X. Thunder Across the Sea
• Europe’s ‘powder keg’ explodes
– Francis Ferdinand (A-H heir to throne) assassinated
– An explosive chain reaction followed
• A-H, Serbia, Russia, Germany, France, GB at war
• Central Powers vs The Allies:
• Americans thankful for oceans to separate us
– America felt strong, snug, smug, and secure
• But not for long.
XI. A Precarious Neutrality
– Both sides wooed the United States
• The British enjoyed:
– Cultural, linguistic, and economic ties with America
– The advantage of controlling the transatlantic cables
• The Germans and the Austro-Hungarians
– Had fewer, but more recent immigrants in the U.S.
• Most Americans
– Were anti-German from the outset, tool autocratic
– Heavily influenced b y British propaganda
– Upset b/c German spy left sabotage plans on el (1915)
– Earnestly hoped to stay out of the horrible war
XII. America Earns Blood Money
• 1914 U.S. business in a worrisome recession
– British and French war orders helped business
• Germany U-boat blockade of Grt Brit (1915)
– Tried not to sink neutral ships
– Lusitania sank, US passengers, 4200 cases of ammo
• President’s Wilson’s Sussex ultimatum
– Don’t sink passenger/merchant ships w/o warning
• AKA = restricted submarine warfare
• Germany accepts Sussex pledge
– With a few differences
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XIII. Wilson Wins Reelection in 1916
• Wilson renominated by Democrats
– “He kept us out of the war”
– Wilson never said we would not gol to war
• Progressives nominated Theodore Roosevelt
– T.R. refuses to run
• Republicans nominated Tcharles Evans Hughes
– Many wanted TR, ‘Old guard’ bitter about 1912
– Against lower tariff, trust attacks, Mexico & Germany
• 1916 election results
– Wilson wins 277 to 254 in the Electoral College
– Wilson wins popular vote 9,127,695 to 8,533,507
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United States presidential election in California, 1916[1]
Party
Candidate
Votes
Percentage
Electoral
votes
Democratic
Woodrow
Wilson
466,289
46.65%
13
Republican
Charles
Evans
Hughes
462,516
46.27%
0
Socialist
Allan L.
Benson
42,898
4.29%
0
Prohibition
J. Franklin
Hanley
27,713
2.77%
0
No party
Write-ins
187
0.02%
0
Invalid or blank votes
Totals
—
999,603
100.00%
13
Woodrow
Wilson (D)
Charles
Hughes (R)
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3/15/2016
CH 23 - AN ERA OF SOCIAL CHANGE
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