Progressivism
• Please pick up Focus #24: TR Video Guide
• Take out Class Notes #21: Progressivism
• Turn in Focus 23 and Homework 13
We will:
*discuss how Theodore Roosevelt transformed
the modern presidency
*examine progressive reforms brought about in
the Progressive Era (1901-1920)
Political/Social Reformers
• Robert La Follette – progressive Republican
governor of Wisconsin who supported the
“Wisconsin Idea” of electoral reform (direct
primaries, initiatives, referendums, recalls)
combined with business regulation, labor
reform, and social welfare programs
• Robert Wagner – New York politician who
investigated the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
Fire of 1911 and proposed significant labor
reforms (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owk_LE1GcKY)
• Florence Kelley – campaigned for child
labor laws and labor reform for women
workers; argued that consumers had just as
much interest as laborers in bringing about
much-needed changes
Focus #24: TR Video Guide
• We will preview the focus questions before
watching the video segment on President
Theodore Roosevelt
• Be prepared to discuss your responses and turn
in Focus 24 by the end of class today
Theodore Roosevelt’s “Square Deal”
• Philosophy – TR believed that the interests of all Americans
needed to be represented, not just the special interests; used
his power as president and the so-called “bully pulpit” to
balance between the interests of rich and poor
• Coal Strike of 1902 – TR intervened to help negotiate an end
to the strike that favored miners but did not meet all of their
demands; his goal was to prevent a coal shortage that could
have resulted in a national crisis; this was the first time a
president directly supported labor interests
• Northern Securities Trust case (1903-04) – TR started the
process of “trust-busting” to curb the power of big business
but not eliminate it; TR’s government sued J.P. Morgan’s trust
for acting in “restraint of trade” under the terms of the
Sherman Anti-Trust Act; this was the first time a president
ever took on big business and won
Reform Measures
• Use your textbook to identify the following for your
assigned term:
*what was the problem that needed to be solved?
*what was the solution? (describe the measure)
*who was involved in pushing for this solution?
Roosevelt’s Reforms
• Consumer Safety – aimed at protecting the
consumer against poor-quality and even
dangerous products
-- Meat Inspection Act (1906)
-- Pure Food & Drug Act (1906)
• Conservation – aimed at conserving
resources to ensure future use
-- Land Reclamation Act (1902)
-- Gifford Pinchot appointed as head of the
U.S. Forest Service (1905)
• Railroad Regulation – designed to strengthen
the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)
-- Elkins Act (1903)
-- Hepburn Act (1906)
TR’s “New Nationalism”
• Roosevelt declined to run for a third term in 1908 even
though he would have likely been re-elected; he hand-picked
his successor, Secretary of War William Howard Taft
• Even though Taft encouraged trust-busting (as evidenced by
the break up of the Standard Oil Trust in 1911), he was not
perceived as being as dedicated to progressive reform as TR
• Taft supported Secretary of the Interior Ballinger in his
decision to fire Gifford Pinchot after Pinchot protested the
opening of federal lands to timber companies; this decision
created a rift between Taft and Roosevelt
• By 1910, Roosevelt was already positioning himself to reclaim
the presidency and advocated even greater government
intervention to encourage progressive goals; this program
(which advocated big government) became known as the
“New Nationalism”
The Watershed Election of 1912
There were four major presidential candidates in
the 1912 election campaign:
President Taft won the Republican nomination
despite a major challenge from TR, who won in
nearly every state that had a direct primary; he
represented conservative elements in the GOP
Woodrow Wilson, progressive governor of New
Jersey, won the Democratic nomination and
campaigned on a progressive “New Freedom”
platform
Theodore Roosevelt won the Progressive Party
(Bull Moose) nomination and advocated his
“New Nationalism”
Eugene V. Debs ran as the Socialist candidate,
representing the far left’s radical views
Election of 1912 Results
• Why did Wilson win the 1912 election?
Wilson’s “New Freedom” Agenda
• Wilson’s first years in office produced a flood of progressive
reform measures, matched only by FDR’s first “Hundred Days”
in 1933 and LBJ’s “Great Society” reforms in 1964-65
• Financial Reforms – provided government with a consistent
source of revenue and more control of the financial system
-- Underwood Tariff Act (1913)
-- 16th Amendment (1913) – income tax
-- Federal Reserve Act (1913)
• Corporate Regulation – sought to further limit the power of
large corporations by regulating them more closely
-- Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914)
-- Federal Trade Commission Act (1914)
Wilson Political Cartoons
Wilson’s Agenda (continued)
Labor Reforms – built on the groundwork of TR’s handling of the
coal strike, cases such as Mueller v. Oregon (1908), and
incidents such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911)
-- Keating-Owen Act (1916) – banned child labor
-- Adamson Act (1916) – 8-hour day for railway workers
-- Workman’s Compensation Act (1916) – disability
benefits established for federal workers
Social Welfare Reform – sought to regulate social behavior
-- Mann Act (1910), approved by Taft
-- Narcotics Act (1914)
-- 18th Amendment (1919) – made Prohibition possible
Political Reforms
17th Amendment (1913) – direct election of U.S. senators
19th Amendment (1920) – women’s suffrage!
resulted from several factors:
-- growing role of women in the work force
-- leadership of women in reform movements
(ex: Jane Addams, Carry Nation, Florence Kelley)
-- political leadership of NAWSA (Carrie Chapman Catt) and
the more radical Women’s Party (led by Alice Paul)
-- growth of educational opportunities for women
-- emergence of the “New Woman” in American culture
-- role of women in World War I made the critical difference
Women’s Suffrage Movement
Before we leave…
• Turn in Focus 24: TR Video Guide
• Complete Homework 13 to turn in asap
• Homework 14 is due next Wednesday