

Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson

Believed that an efficient
government could protect
public interest & restore order
to society

Middle class reformers
addressed many social
problems, including
•
•
•
•
•
Working conditions
Rights for women & children
Economic reforms
Environmental issues
Social welfare

1st president to use the
government to directly help the
public interest

Saw the presidency as a "bully
pulpit" to preach his ideas

Often bypassed congressional
opposition (like Jackson)

Offered Americans a Square Deal

Was enormously popular with
many Americans
 Anthracite
Coal Strike (1902)
o United Mine Workers union in Pennsylvania went on strike
o The president of the company demanded that Roosevelt
prosecute the union leader for violation of the Sherman
Antitrust Act
o Roosevelt threatened to seize the mines & operate them
with federal troops if the owners refused compromise
o The owners consented to arbitration
 Elkins Act (1903)
o Allowed heavy fines for
railroads & shippers that
abused rebates
 Hepburn Act (1906)
o Restricted the railroad’s
use of free passes
o Allowed the government to
stipulate maximum rates
o Concluded that there were
“good trusts” & “bad
trusts”

European markets threatened to ban American meat
since some was found to be tainted

The public was sickened by Upton Sinclair’s description
of unsanitary food products
o He had detailed accounts of filth, disease, & putrefaction in
Chicago’s damp and ill-ventilated slaughterhouses

Roosevelt appointed a special investigating commission
whose report almost out-did Sinclair’s novel

Meat Inspection Act
(1906)
o Made meat shipped
across state lines subject
to federal inspection
throughout the meatmaking process

Pure Food & Drug Act
(1906)
o Prevented the mislabeling
of food & drugs
 Newlands
Reclamation Act (1902)
o Authorized the government to collect money from the sale of
public lands in western states & use the funds for the
development of irrigation projects
o Settlers repaid the cost of reclamation by building successful
farms
o Money was put into a revolving account in order to finance
additional projects
o Allowed for the construction of dams on virtually every major
western river
 Won
the election of 1908
 Lacked
Roosevelt’s fire &
guts
o Content to keep the status
quo rather than rock the
boat
o Adopted a passive attitude
towards Congress
 Brought
90 suits against trusts during his 4 years in
office – twice as many as Roosevelt
o United States v. American Tobacco Company (1911)
• The Supreme Court ordered the company to reorganize
based on the “rule of reason” which allowed only
“reasonable” restraints on trade
• Worked to impair the government’s anti-trust activities
o Also in 1911, the Court ordered the dissolution of the
Standard Oil Company
• Determined that it violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of
1890
 Taft’s
contributions to conservation rivaled those of
Roosevelt
o Established the Bureau of Mines to control mineral
resources
o Protected water-power sites from private development
 Postal Savings Bank System (1910)
o Authorized the Post Office Department to receive savings
deposits from individuals & pay interest of 2% per year
 Mann
Elkins Act (1911)
o Put telegraph, telephone, & cable corporations under federal
jurisdiction

Payne-Aldrich Tariff (1909)
o Taft had made a campaign
promise to address the tariff
o The House passed a
moderately reductive bill, but
the Senate made revisions
that raised the tariff to 37%
o Taft signed the Payne-Aldrich
Tariff, thus betraying his
campaign promises
o The Progressive wing of the
party was outraged

National Progressive Republican League (1911)
o Robert La Follette of Wisconsin emerged as the party’s
leading candidate only to be pushed aside by Roosevelt

Republican Convention (1912)
o Although Roosevelt clearly had a majority of Republican
votes, Taft was given the nomination
o Prompted the Progressives to leave the party & create their
own – Roosevelt “Bull Moose” Party
o Gave the Republican Old Guard control of the GOP

Republican – William Howard Taft
o Supported by “Old Guard” Republicans
o Did little campaigning

Progressive – Theodore Roosevelt
o Supported by cultured, middle-class people
o Called for a “New Nationalism”
• Believed that only a powerful federal government could regulate the
economy & guarantee social justice
• Thought that concentration in industry was a natural part of the
economy that should be paralleled by the growth of powerful
regulatory agencies
• Wanted a broad program of social welfare
 Democrat
– Woodrow Wilson
o Supported by young Southern progressives
o Called for a “New Freedom”
• Attacked the Triple Wall of Privilege: The tariff, the banks, & the
trusts
• Favored small businesses & a return to a free competitive economy
without monopolies
• Believed that all trusts were bad
• Rejected a stronger role for the government in human affairs

Socialist – Eugene V. Debs
o Found support in industrial cities &
ethnic communities
o Divided into conservative & radical
wings
• Conservatives called for
government ownership of the
railroads & utilities, factory
inspections, & the abolition of the
Senate & the presidential veto
• Radicals – supported by the
International Workers of the World
(IWW) – advocated strikes &
sabotage over politics

Born in Virginia

Former president of Princeton
University

Governor of New Jersey

Believed the president should play a
dynamic role in government

Lacked Roosevelt’s common touch

Moral righteousness often made
him uncompromising

Wilson called for a special session of Congress to address
the tariff issue

The Underwood Tariff Bill was passed by the House
o Reduced the tariff to 25%
o Enacted a graduated income tax under authority granted by the
16th Amendment
• 1% on incomes over $4000
• 7% on incomes over $500,000

The Senate then allowed numerous increases in rates to be
added
o Wilson appealed to the people to demand that their Senators
pass the bill

Created the Federal Reserve System & granted it the
authority to issue paper money

Established a Federal Reserve Board – appointed by the
president – to oversee a nationwide system of privately
owned regional banks

Current functions of the Fed include:
o Addressing the problem of banking panics
o Managing the nation’s money supply
o Maintaining the stability of the financial system
o Strengthening the US’s standing in the world economy

Empowered a commission –
appointed by the president – to
monitor industries engaged in
interstate commerce

Allowed commissioners to issue
cease & desist orders, ending
unfair trade practices such as
false advertising, mislabeling, &
bribery

Supplemented the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) by:
o Outlawing price discrimination
o Regulating mergers & acquisitions

Enforced by the Federal Trade Commission

Exempted labor & agricultural organizations from antitrust
prosecution while explicitly legalizing strike & peaceful
picketing
o Union leader Samuel Gompers hailed the act as the “Magna Carta
of labor”

Federal Farm Loan Act (1916) – Low interest loans for
farmers

Federal Highway Act (1916) – Highway construction in rural
areas

Workingmen’s Disability Act (1916) – Assistance to federal
civil-service employees during periods of disability

Keating-Owen Act (1916) – Child labor restrictions on
products sold through interstate commerce
o Ruled unconstitutional in 1918 on the grounds that it interfered
with states’ powers

Adamson Act (1916) – 8-hour workday, with extra pay for
overtime, for interstate rail workers

Minimum wages

Prisons & “reform” schools forced to shift from punishment
to rehabilitation