Progressive Presidents – National Reform€¦ · • Progressive Democrat – proven dedication...
Transcript of Progressive Presidents – National Reform€¦ · • Progressive Democrat – proven dedication...
Progressive Presidents – National Reform
National Level Reform • Progressives look to the national government for reform
• 17th Amendment – make senate more responsive to public demands
• Look to the presidency • Become more actively engaged in domestic and foreign affairs
The Accidental President • McKinley assassinated in 1901
• Theodore Roosevelt was his vice president
• Roosevelt had reputation as a “wild man” • One of the most well-liked presidents in history
Roosevelt’s View of Federal Power • Regulation, not destruction of the trusts • Power to investigate activities of corporations and
publicize results • Educate the public
“Trust Busting” • Invoked Sherman Antitrust Act against Northern Securities
Company • No serious commitment to reverse trend towards
economic consolidation
Roosevelt and Labor • Considered labor’s position – shift from the past • Offered federal arbitration
when United Mine Workers went on strike
• When mine operators refused, he threatened to send troops to resume operations
• Arbitrators awarded a 10% pay raise and a nine-hour day
“The Square Deal” • Committed to reform during second term • Committed to a “square deal” for Americans • Targeted railroads: The Hepburn Act – restored some
regulatory authority • Pure Food and Drug Act: restricted sale of dangerous and
ineffective medicines • Meat Inspection Act
Roosevelt and Conservation • Restricted development on government land – added to national forest program
• Established role of federal government as manager of developing the wilderness
• The Newlands Act: provided federal funds for the construction of dams, reservoirs, and canals in the West
Roosevelt and Preservation • Added significantly to the National Park System
• Crater Lake: Oregon • Mesa Verde: Utah • Platt: Oklahoma • Wind Cave: South Dakota
Hetch Hetchy Valley Controversy • Seen as an ideal location for a reservoir for San Francisco • Roosevelt turned decision over to his chief forester,
Gifford Pinchot • Led to battle between naturalists and dam advocates
• John Muir
The Panic of 1907 • American industrial production outran demand as it had in
1893 • Conservatives blamed Roosevelt • Roosevelt allowed U.S. Steel to buy shares of Tennessee
Coal and Iron Co.
Roosevelt’s Foreign Policy • Active approach to foreign policy
• “Speak softly, but carry a big stick”
• Distinction between “civilized” and “uncivilized” nations • “civilized” produced industrial goods • “uncivilized” provided raw materials and markets
• “civilized” nations had the right to intervene in “uncivilized” nations
Protecting the “Open Door” • Roosevelt mediated negotiation between Japan and
Russia over Manchuria • Russo-Japanese War
• Negotiated secret agreement that would allow U.S. to continue free trade in the region • Japanese began to restrict American trade in Pacific territories • Roosevelt sent “Great White Fleet” to demonstrate power of U.S.
Roosevelt and Latin America • Added “Roosevelt Corrollary” to the Monroe Doctrine
• U.S. had right to intervene itself in the affairs of its neighbors if they could not maintain order and national sovereignty on their own
• Platt Amendment: gave U.S. right to prevent any foreign influence in Cuba
The Panama Canal • Linked Atlantic to Pacific – opened in 1914
• Completed failed French attempt
• Had to negotiate with Colombia – negotiations broke down • Orchestrated Panamanian
revolt against Colombia
The Troubled Succession: William Howard Taft • Roosevelt’s hand-picked successor
• Easily won election in 1908 over William Jennings Bryan • Failed to match
Roosevelt’s popularity
Taft and “Dollar Diplomacy” • Worked aggressively to invest in less developed regions
• Especially in Latin America
• Supported insurgency in Nicaragua • Bankers offered loans to the freed nation – increased financial
leverage over the country
Taft and the Progressives • Payne-Aldrich Tariff: lowered tariff rates little, raised in
some areas • Progressives resented Taft’s reluctance to challenge “Old Guard”
• Created federal Children’s Bureau to investigate “all matters pertaining to the welfare of children…”
• Controversies: • Replaced Roosevelt’s conservationist secretary of the interior with
a conservative corporate lawyer • Ballinger-Pinchot Dispute: new secretary charged with turning over
public coal lands in Alaska for personal profit
The Return of Roosevelt • Taft contributed to split of Republican Party: Progressives
and Conservatives • Roosevelt furious with Taft – intended to reunite the
Republican Party • “New Nationalism”: social justice through strong federal
government
Roosevelt vs. Taft • Campaign for Republican nomination in 1912 election • Roosevelt won all primaries, but Taft was the choice of
most party leaders • Roosevelt continued campaign without Republicans –
launched Progressive Party (Bull Moose Party)
Woodrow Wilson • Progressive Democrat – proven dedication to reform as
New Jersey governor • “New Freedom” – Wilson’s progressive program
• Believed in destroying monopoly, not regulating it • Roosevelt and Taft split the Republican vote – gave
Wilson the win
The Scholar as President • Concentrated executive power
• Underwood-Simmons Tariff: significantly lowered rates
• Graduated income tax to make up revenue
• Federal Reserve Act: created twelve regional banks • Issued new “Federal
Reserve notes” • Established Federal
Reserve Board
Wilson and Monopoly • Federal Trade Commission Act: created a regulatory
agency to help businesses determine in advance if their actions would be acceptable to the government
• Clayton Antitrust Act: meant to limit trusts – greatly weakened by conservative opponents
Retreat and Advance • Believed progressive goals had been met by 1912
• Refused to support women’s suffrage and condoned racial segregation in the South
• 1914 Congressional elections ended complacency • Supported second wave of reforms
• Keating-Owen Act: regulated child labor
Wilson and Foreign Policy • Little experience or interest in international affairs at first
• Established military government in Dominican Republic • Quelled revolution in Haiti • Bought Virgin Islands from Denmark
• Moral Diplomacy: • Opposed Huerta regime in Mexico • Seized Mexican port of Veracruz • Expedition to pursue Pancho Villa • Narrowly avoided war with Mexico