PROGRESSIVE ERA & THE PRESIDENTS:
ROOSEVELT, TAFT, WILSON
Match the following president’s to items
during their presidency
1.
President
Theodor
(Teddy)
Roosevelt
A) This person weighted 335 and got stuck in a
B)
C)
2.
3.
President
William
Taft
President
Woodrow
Wilson
D)
E)
F)
bath tub
Women received the right to vote under
this president
This person preserved 150 national forests
and 5 national parks (including Yosemite,
Yellowstone, and Crater Lake)
World War I broke out during his
presidency.
This person created income taxes
(deducted from your paycheck if you have a
job)
This person was the first president to leave
a country while in office
Theodore Roosevelt:
The Square Deal
 The “Square Deal” was the name of the domestic
program formed upon three basic ideas:
conservation of natural resources, control of
corporations, and consumer protection.
 Roosevelt saw his job as stewardship- leading the
nation in the public interest like a manager or
supervisor and believed that a president had any
powers not specifically denied to the president in the
Constitution. (“I can do it as long as the Constitution
doesn’t say I can’t…)
Theodore Roosevelt:
Regulating Business
 Signed the Hepburn Act which strengthened the
Interstate Commerce Commission (created in 1887)
allowing it to regulate railroad shipping rates and also
regulate pipelines, ferries, bridges, and terminals.
 TR was known as the “trust buster”. He made
distinction between “good” trusts subject only to
regulation and “bad” trusts which were to be
dissolved.
Theodore Roosevelt:
Regulating Business
 The Supreme Court also ruled against companies
(Northern Securities Co. v. United States, 1901)
which controlled the railroad system in the Northwest
and ordered it to be dissolved.
Theodore Roosevelt:
Labor Conditions
 Roosevelt also achieved important reforms in working conditions:
 Anthracite Coal Strike (1907): when coal mine
owners in PA refused to negotiate with striking
workers, Roosevelt threatened to send in the army.
Owners then agreed to arbitration.
 Roosevelt also signed the Employers Liability Act
(1906) to provide accident insurance for workers and
also the Supreme Court ruled that workers hours on
the job could be limited -- Lochner v. New York
(1905), Muller v. Oregon (1908). Both of which were
goals of Progressive reformers.
Theodore Roosevelt:
Conservation
 Roosevelt is probably the most well-remembered for his
efforts to protect the environment and wilderness lands.
 Forest Reserve Act (1891): Roosevelt used this act to
put 150 million acres of public lands under protection of
the federal government. When he left office, he had tripled
the amount of land set aside for national forests, national
parks, and wildlife refuges.
 National (Newlands) Reclamation Act (1902): set
aside $$ to build dams and irrigation systems.
 Created the U.S. Forest Service (1905): to manage the
nation’s water and timber resources.
William Howard Taft:
Progressive Reforms continue…
 Justice Department brought twice as many lawsuits against big
business as it had under Roosevelt.
 Mann-Elkins Act (1910): gave the ICC power to regulate
communication by telephone and telegraph.
 16th Amendment: gave Congress authority to impose income
tax.
 Wanted lower tariffs but Congress raised them – Payne-
Aldrich Act (1909).
 Republican party split during his presidency- a Taft faction and
Progressive faction. This ultimately allowed a DemocratWoodrow Wilson to win the presidency in November 1913.
 Taft and the bathtub– his claim to fame! 
William Howard Taft
 The Justice department brought twice as many lawsuits
against big business as it had under Roosevelt.
 Mann Elkins Act (1910): gave the ICC the power to
regulate communication by telegraph and telephone .
 16th amendment: gave Congress authority to improve
income tax
William Howard Taft
 The Justice department brought twice as many lawsuits
against big business as it had under Roosevelt.
 Mann Elkins Act (1910): gave the ICC the power to
regulate communication by telegraph and telephone .
 16th amendment: gave Congress authority to improve
income tax
Woodrow Wilson:
New Freedom
 “New Freedom” was the name of Wilson’s Progressive
philosophy. He aimed for a return to competition in the
marketplace with enforcement of antitrust laws.
 Underwood Tariff Act (1913): lowered tariffs for
first time since Civil War and provided for graduated
income tax.
 Created the Federal Reserve System (1913):
divided the nation’s banking system into 12 districts
each with a federal reserve bank which gave the
government more control over the money supply and
control interest rates.
Woodrow Wilson:
New Freedom
 Wilson also signed the Clayton Antitrust Act (1914):
the act strengthened the government’s power to
control business practices that threatened competition.
Prohibited companies from price fixing and from
buying stocks from competing firms.
 Ratification of the 19th Amendment: gave women
the right to vote (suffrage).