The
Progressive
Presidents
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Theodore Roosevelt
1858 – 1919
26th President (1901-09)
Republican
Promoted his “Square
Deal”: promise to treat both
citizens and businesses
fairly – protect consumers
from the dangers of “bad”
trusts, but also protect
businesses from
unreasonable labor
demands
Anthracite Coal Mine Strike
• 1902: 150,000 Pennsylvania coal miners
went on strike for higher pay, reduced
hours, and union recognition
• Roosevelt offered arbitration when the
strike threatened to leave the nation
without coal for the winter; union
accepted, but mine owners refused
• Roosevelt threatened to seize the
mines, forcing owners to the bargaining
table
• In the end, miners got more pay and
fewer hours, but owners were not
required to recognize the miners’ union
Elkins Act of 1903
• Banned railroads from giving
rebates to “preferred”
shippers – railroads had to
charge everyone the same
shipping rates
• Strengthened the
Interstate Commerce
Commission (ICC) by giving
it the ability to impose fines
for violations
US v. Northern Securities
• 1901: Three major railroads
joined forces under a
holding company called
Northern Securities,
essentially creating a
dangerous monopoly
• Roosevelt sued, claiming a
violation of the
Sherman Antitrust Act
• 1904: Supreme Court ruled
in Roosevelt’s favor,
ordered breakup of
Northern Securities
Hepburn Act of 1906
• Further strengthened the
ICC by giving it the authority
to set railroad rates
rather than just
regulate them
Actually helped the railroads
because the ICC worked with
them to ensure railroads were
profitable while also making it
difficult for new railroads to
enter the marketplace
Dept. of Commerce & Labor
• Even while opposing trusts, Roosevelt knew that supporting
business interests was good for the nation
• 1903: Created the Dept. of Commerce & Labor
• The Department of Commerce & Labor included the Bureau of
Corporations
• The Department of Commerce & Labor monitored businesses and
advised them when their practices were of concern to the
government so they could self-correct and avoid bad publicity of
government intervention
Upton Sinclair
• 1878 – 1968
• Wrote The Jungle
(1906) which exposed
the horrific conditions
within the meatpacking industry
• Public outcry prompted
Roosevelt to push
through food inspection
reforms
Meat Inspection Act of 1906
• Required the inspection of
meat sold through interstate
commerce and required the
United States Dept. of
Agriculture (USDA) to set
standards of cleanliness in
meatpacking plants
Pure Food & Drug Act of 1906
• Prohibited the manufacture,
sale, or shipment of impure or
falsely labeled food and drugs
• Products containing drugs like
alcohol, caffeine, or cocaine
had to be labeled with
contents and dosage
Land Conservation
• Roosevelt supported
conservation of the
nation’s natural
resources through
limiting consumption
• Began to set aside
millions of acres of
public lands for
national parks,
forests, and wildlife
preserves
William Howard Taft
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1857 – 1930
27th President (1909-13)
Republican
Later became Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court
(1921-30)
• Hand-picked by TR to
succeed him as President,
but was Roosevelt’s
opposite in personality
Payne-Aldrich Tariff of 1909
• Progressives and Taft (but not
most Republicans) supported
lowering tariffs
• Taft tried to get a lower tariff
passed, but ended up being
forced to accept the PayneAldrich Tariff which actually
raised tariffs on most goods
• This angered & disappointed
Progressives, including Teddy
Roosevelt, and badly hurt
Taft’s reputation
Ballinger-Pinchot Controversy
• 1909: Taft’s Secretary of the Interior, Richard
Ballinger, was accused by head of the US Forest
Service (and close friend of Roosevelt) Gifford
Pinchot of corruption
• Taft’s Attorney General dismissed the charges, so
Pinchot leaked his story to the press
• Taft fired the popular Pinchot, angering
Progressives
• Ballinger was later cleared of any wrongdoing by
congressional investigators
Mann-Elkins Act of 1910
• Again increased the powers
of the Interstate Commerce
Commission by giving it
more regulatory control
• Added communications
(telegraph & telephone
companies) to the industries
overseen by the ICC
Taft the “Trustbuster”
• Roosevelt was
perceived as being a
more efficient
trustbuster than Taft,
but Taft actually
prosecuted twice as
many antitrust cases in
his 1 term as president
as Roosevelt did in 2
terms!
US v. American Tobacco
• 1911: Supreme Court
ruled that James Duke’s
American Tobacco Co.
had violated the
Sherman Antitrust Act
by establishing an illegal
monopoly on the
cigarette industry; Court
ordered the company
broken up
Children’s Bureau
• Created by Taft in 1912
• Designed to protect
children from abuse, both
at home and in the
workplace and to
monitor orphanages,
foster care, and adoptions
• First federal agency to be
headed by a woman (Julia
Lathrop)
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
(REMEMBER VIDEO!)
• March 25, 1911
• Exit doors to the factory were
kept locked from the outside
to prevent employees from
stealing
• When fire broke out, workers
could not escape and 146
women workers died
• Public outrage led to major
reforms in working conditions
and building codes
Bull Moose Party
• Disappointed in Taft, Teddy decided to
run for president once again in 1912, but
the Republican Party nominated Taft
• Roosevelt formed his own
Progressive Party, better known as
the “Bull Moose” Party and ran as its
candidate, splitting the Republican vote
• The Bull Moose platform of “New
Nationalism” supported a federal
government which was powerful enough
to regulate corporations
• Roosevelt was shot while campaigning,
limiting his ability to appear in public over
the last several weeks of the election
Election of 1912
• Democratic Party
nominated Progressive
NJ governor (and
political newcomer)
Woodrow Wilson
• With the Republicans
split, Wilson won the
election fairly easily
Woodrow Wilson
• 1856 – 1924
• 28th President (1913-21)
• Ran on the “New
Freedom” platform: rather
than empower government
to regulate monopolies and
trusts, simply destroy
monopolies to ensure fair
competition
• Believed in limited
government, especially
where the economy was
concerned
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16
Amendment
• 1913
• “The Congress shall have power
to lay and collect taxes on
incomes, from whatever source
derived, without apportionment
among the several States, and
without regard to any census or
enumeration”
• Created the federal tax on
personal income
• US now taxed individuals
rather than the states
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17
Amendment
• 1913
• US Senators had been
appointed by state
legislatures, but after
David Graham Phillips’
articles on corruption in
the Senate, the 17th
Amendment changed the
law to direct election of
Senators by the people
Underwood Tariff of 1913
• Wilson believed that
competition with
European companies
would force American
companies to produce
better products more
efficiently (cheaper)
• Underwood Tariff cut
tariff rates in half, to
about 30%
Federal Reserve Act of 1913
• Wilson revived the idea of a
“national bank”
• Federal Reserve Act required private
banks to keep a portion of their
deposits on reserve in federally run
reserve banks to act as a cushion
against unexpected losses; federal
reserve banks would set national
interest rates and regulate the
amount of money in circulation,
allowing them to control inflation
and prevent recessions
Federal Trade Commission
• Created in 1914 to
monitor businesses
• Had the authority to
investigate and issue ceaseand-desist orders against
businesses using unfair
trade practices which hurt
competition
• Not designed to breakup
trusts, but rather to deter
companies from using
unethical practices
Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914
• Banned “tying” agreements
which required retailers who
bought products from one
company to stop selling
products from competitors
• Required businesses to charge
all customers the same price
for a product
• Banned manufacturers from
giving price discounts to
retailers who bought larger
volumes of goods
• Declared labor unions to be
exempt from antitrust laws
Keating-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916
• Prohibited the
employment of
children under 14 in
factories producing
goods sold through
interstate commerce
• Later struck down by
the Supreme Court as
being outside of federal
jurisdiction
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18
Amendment
• 1919
• Growing support for the
temperance (anti-alcohol)
in the US led to a ban on
the manufacture, transport,
or sale of alcoholic
beverages anywhere in the
US
• 18th Amendment was
repealed by the 21st
Amendment in 1933
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19
Amendment
• 1920
• Finally granted women
suffrage (the right to
vote) in federal
elections
• Suffrage had been
sought by women since
the Seneca Falls
Convention of 1848!
Voting Reforms
• Direct Primaries: all party members
vote for who will be nominated as a
candidate rather than just party
leadership
• Secret ballot: individual’s votes would
be kept secret, not published
• Referendum: allows citizens to vote
directly on important issues rather than
leave the issues in the hands of elected
officials
• Recall: allows voters to remove an
elected official from office before their
term is up
• Initiative: allows voters to force elected
officials to vote on a certain issue
The NAACP
• Limits to the Progressive Movement:
– The Progressive Era failed to address African American
reform issues
• Niagara Movement
– W.E.B. Du Bois & 28 other African American leaders met
at Niagara Falls to demand full political rights and
responsibilities for African Americans
• This meeting was one of many steps taken to establish National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
– This organization is still in place today and continues to strive for
full equality for African Americans