Wilsonian
Progressivism At
Home And Abroad
Chapter 30
The Emergence Of Woodrow Wilson
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Democrats were thrilled about
Republican split.
Dems nominate Woodrow
Wilson, a militant progressive.
President of Princeton, instituted
sweeping educational reforms
Governor of New Jersey;
ignored party bosses.
Progressive. Very Popular
Woodrow Wilson
Eloquent and somewhat of a zealot.
 Strong moral streak; unwilling to
compromise matters of principle.
 Appealed to the people over the heads of
the bosses and legislature.
 In 1912 Democrats nominated him on the
46th ballot when Bryan swings his support
to Wilson.
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 “New
Freedom”.
The Bull Moose Campaign
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Roosevelt not
ready to give up the
fight.
New Progressive
Party nominates
him as their
candidate.
Roosevelt and Taft
rhetoric.
Teddy v. Wilson
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TR’s New Nationalism
Attitude toward
government regulation?
Attitude toward trusts?
favored women’s suffrage
Attitude toward social
welfare programs.
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Wilson’s New Freedom.
Attitude toward
government regulation?
Attitude toward trusts?
Attitude toward social
welfare programs
Which parties would they
fit in today?
Presidential Election of 1912
Analyze this Cartoon…
Meaning of Wilson’s Win?
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Wilson wins with 41%.
Wilson gets fewer votes than Byran in any of his
three defeats.
Taft-TR combined had 1.2 Million more votes
Progressives (Wilson and Roosevelt) together
got far more votes than Taft.
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Thus, Progressivism was the winner.
Wilson wins because Republicans split the vote
Woodrow Wilson: A Minority President
Republicans minority in Congress and out
of the White House for only the second
time since before the Civil War.
 Why TR loses.
 Socialist Eugene Debs.
 Taft after the White House.
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Wilson: The Idealist In Politics
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Wilson second democratic president since 1861.
First southerner in the White House since Taylor.
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Racist; Jeffersonian
Son of a Presbyterian Minister; fervent piety and a stark
view of good and bad that makes it hard for him to
compromise. He is rigid.
Moving orator, but cold personally.
Student of government; professor of political science.
Believed in strong president.
Idealist
Intellectual
Wilson’s Defects
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Cold and austere
Lacked the common touch;
not good with humans
individually.
Intellectually arrogant.
Morally righteous. Rigid
and uncompromising
Stubborn
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Racist
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Wilson Tackles The Tariff
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Triple wall of privilege
Called a special session of congress. Personal
State of the Union address.
The house passed the Underwood Tariff Bill.
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goal.
Senate attempts to gut it.
What does Wilson do?
What happens to it?
Graduated income tax under the authority of the
16th Amendment
Wilson Battles The Bankers
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US financial system is antiquated.
Most serious problem is the inelasticity
of the currency
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money reserves heavily concentrated in NY
and a few other large cities
could not be mobilized easily to places under
financial stress
The republicans favored a Third Bank of
the United States with 15 branches.
Wilson opted for a decentralized bank in
federal hands. Why?
Federal Reserve Act
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Federal Reserve Act: most
important piece of economic
legislation between the Civil War
and the New Deal.
Federal Reserve Board
How organized, managed and
owned
Empowered to issue federal
reserve notes backed by
commercial paper
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Purpose?
The President Tames The Trusts
Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914
 Clayton Anti-Trust Act of 1914
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 Strengthened
Sherman Anti-Trust Act by
lengthening the list of unfair trade practices.
 labor and agriculture.
 Provisions on strikes and picketing
Wilson At High Tide
Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916
 Warehouse Act of 1916
 Highway Construction
 Ag extension work in state colleges
 La Follette Seamen’s Act
 Workingmen’s Compensation Act of 1916
 Restriction on child labor on products in
interstate commerce
 Adamson Act of 1916
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Wilson’s Blind Spot
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Wilson’s one failure in
broadening the rights of the
downtrodden was Blacks.
He increased segregation in the
Civil Service and generally had a
very blind eye—even a hostile
eye—toward concerns of blacks
regarding civil rights.
Proclaimed Birth of a Nation an
important insight into history.
New Directions In Foreign Policy
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Wilson’s had a much different view of foreign
policy than either Roosevelt or Taft.
Attitude toward TR’s big-stickism and American
imperialism.
Attitude toward dollar diplomacy.
Wilson looked at foreign policy issues through
the lens of moralism.
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What was the thesis of Wilsonian foreign policy.
 Ironically, he intervened in foreign countries MORE
than had Roosevelt of Taft.
Wilson Foreign Policy
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Jones Act of 1916: What did it do for the
Philippines?
Wilson continued republican policy of
intervening in Caribbean affairs.
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Sent the Marines into Haiti in 1915
Same year sent marines into the Dominican Republic
to quell riots.
Why was Caribbean increasingly important to
US?
Purchases the Virgin Islands in the West Indies
from Denmark in 1917
Caribbean Intervention
Moralistic Diplomacy In Mexico
Huerta becomes president. Wilson
refuses to recognize him. Why?
 Carranza and Pancho Villa.
 Tampico dispute
 US seizure of Vera Cruz. Germans
 Carranza v. Villa
 Columbus, NM raid
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US Invasion of Mexico
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Wilson and America are
outraged.
He sends General Pershing
across the border to capture Villa.
Pershing chases Villa across
northern Mexico but can’t find
him.
Mexicans love seeing the inept
Americans floundering around in
the desert.
Wilson withdraws in 1917 as war
for America looms in Europe
Road to WWI
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Serb patriot killed Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand, the heir
to the throne of the Austria-Hungary “empire” in Serajevo
in 1914.
Austrians blame Serbia. Backed by Germany, send stern
ultimatum to Serbia
Serbia backed by Russia, mobilizes, menacing Germany
on the east.
France mobilizes on Germany’s other side.
Germans strike at France through Belgium.
England enters the war against Germans.
Japan eventually comes in against Germany, as well.
Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey
and Bulgaria
Allies: France, Russia, Britain, Japan.
A Precarious Neutrality
Americans had no desire to get involved.
 Wilson neutrality proclamation
 Trade with belligerents allowed?
 Impact on US economy?
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A Precarious Neutrality
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US population overwhelmingly
in support of allies and staying
out of the war.
Reasons citizens favored
allies?
Wilson saw himself as the
neutral arbitrator above the
fray and hoped to be called
upon to negotiate a peace.
He calls for “peace without
victory”.
America Earns Blood Money
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Orders from European nations quickly
snap us out of recession and starts a
business boom.
 US
banks provide a great deal of financing to
the allies.
International law on trade with combatants
 Shipping causes strain with combatants.
 US trade is a much greater benefit to
Allies than Axis. Why?
 British Blockade
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U-Boats
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Feb. 1915 German U-Boat
war around the British Isles.
Sank merchant ships headed
to England without warning.
German actions violate
international law.
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How?
Why does Germany do it?
What did Germans pledge?
In the early months of 1915
German U-boats sink about
90 ships.
Lusitania
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May 1915 Germans sink the British passenger liner the
Lusitania.
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1198 killed including 128 Americans.
It was secretly carrying munitions in cargo compartment
US public outraged.
Sussex Pledge
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Americans on the east coast
started drumming for war.
But Midwest is very
isolationist.
Wilson does not want war.
Why?
TR tried to push Wilson into
the war.
Wilson’s warning to
Germany.
German Sussex Pledge
US nevertheless at the brink
of war. Why?
Wilson Wins Reelection In 1916
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Wilson faced a tough battle in 1916.
Progressive renominate TR, but he refuses to
run.
Republicans nominate Charles Evans Hughes.
Hughes is a poor candidate who tailors his
rhetoric concerning the war depending on his
audience.
Impact of TR rhetoric
Wilson runs on the slogan, “He kept us out of
war.”
Wilson wins narrowly
Election of 1916