Chapter 29
Wilsonian Progressivism at Home and Abroad
1912-1916
1912 Election
• Democrats nominated Woodrow Wilson
– Platform= New Freedom
• 3rd party formed- The Progressive Party
(Bull Moose Party)
– TR nominated at Chicago convention
– Platform= New Nationalism
– Based on Herbert Croly: The Promise of
American Life
• Wilson won with 435 EV (41% of popular
vote) to TR’s 88 EV and Taft’s 8
• Taft+TR=1.25 million more votes than
Wilson
• Real winner= progressivism
• 1912 election= death to Bull Moose party
GOP Divided by Bull Moose Equals
Democratic Victory, 1912
President Wilson
• Wilson= intellectual and standoffish
• Idealistic about humanity, stubborn in
own convictions= no compromise
• Born in pre-Civil War Virginia=
somewhat sympathetic to Southern
cause self determination
• Jeffersonian, loved words and gave
powerful speeches
• Role of president= leader of Congress
and the people
Tariff Reform
• “Triple Wall of Privilege”= tariff, banks
and trusts
• Wanted a lower tariff Underwood
Tariff Bill
– Reduce tariff rate and establish a graduated
income tax (after 16th amendment)
– Used public opinion to push through
– By 1917: more revenue from income tax
than the tariff
Bank Reform
• Needed a national banking system
(problems with elasticity from 1907 Panic)
• 1908 commission headed by Senator
Nelson Aldrich Aldrich Plan
– People feared the Money Trusts!
– Congressional hearings on power of the
Money Trusts by Congressman Arsene Pujo
– Modifications to Aldrich Plan needed
• Federal Reserve Act of 1913
– 12 regional reserve districts, board appointed
by President, acted independent afterward
– Issue Federal Reserve Notes
– Expand and contract economy as necessary
Trust Busting- Wilson Style!
• Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914
– Monopolies using unfair trade practices
– Consumer protection
• The Clayton Anti Trust Act of 1914
– Expand on Sherman Anti Trust Act
– Exempted labor unions and agricultural
organizations (close loophole)
– Didn’t necessarily stop the courts from
attacking unions in coming years
Wilson’s Foreign Policy
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Wilson=anti imperialist
Repeal of Panama Canal Tolls Act
Passed Jones Act of 1916
Changed policies with execution of
Hatian president
• Marines occupied until 1934
• 1915 Dominican Republic
The United States in the Caribbean, 1898–1941
“Pancho” Villa with His Ragtag Army in Mexico, ca. 1916
His daring, impetuosity, and horsemanship made Villa a hero to the
masses of northern Mexico. Yet he proved to be a violent and ineffective
crusader against social abuses, and he was assassinated in 1923.
WWI in Europe
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System of alliances in Europe
Franz Ferdinand assassinated 1914
Austria-Hungary allied with Germany
Serbia allied with Russia (slavic)
France allied with Russia Germany
attacked France through Belgium
Great Britain sided with France and Russia
Central Powers= Germany, AustriaHungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria
Allied Powers= France, GB, Russia, Serbia,
Japan, Italy, Belgium
US determined to stay neutral
US Neutrality
• GB and US share a common language
British propaganda
• 11 million people in US had direct ties to
Central Powers fatherland!
• Business profited from war
• Germany blockaded by GB, could only
trade with Allies!
• February 1915: unrestricted submarine
warfare
• May 7, 1915: Lusitania sunk (128
Americans)
• The Arabic and The Sussex
• Germany= Sussex Pledge
British Military Area (declared November 3, 1914) and German
Submarine War Zone (declared February 4, 1915)
1916 Election
• Progressives tried to nominate TR=
refused
• Republicans nominated SC Justice Charles
Evans Hughes (entice Progressives back
to party)
– Platform= against Democrat tariff, attack on
trusts and the pacifism of Wilson military
preparedness
– Straddled the fence
• Wilson for the Democrats= “He kept us
out of war”
• Hughes won eastern states, Wilson won
South and west
• Came down to California with 3,800 votes
Presidential Election of 1916 (with electoral vote by state)
Wilson was so worried about being a lame duck president in a time of great international tensions
that he drew up a plan whereby Hughes, if victorious, would be appointed secretary of state,
Wilson and the vice president would resign, and Hughes would thus succeed immediately to the
presidency.