UNIT #5 – PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENTLESSON #6 Wilson as President

(176-179)

LESSON #3 – Wilson as President

VOCABULARYUnderwood Tariff (177)Income tax (177)Federal Reserve Act of 1913 (177)Federal Trade Commission (177)Unfair trade practices (177)Keating-Owen Child Labor Act (178)Unconstitutional (177)Niagara Movement (177)NAACP (177)Anti-Defamation League (177)

• ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

11. In what way was Wilson the best Progressive President of the three Progressive presidents?

12. Name a couple ways lives improved during Wilson’s Presidential years.

Reforming Tariffs (1)• Wilson pushed for tariff reduction bill• Conservatives liked tariffs, since they made cheap

imports as much as American products• Progressives hated tariffs, since they pushed prices

higher, which hurt the average American consumer.• Lobbied Congress directly

– Not normal for a President– Not even TR was so bold

Reforming Tariffs (2)• Wilson got Congress to pass the Underwood Tariff.

What did that do? (p.177)• Reduced tariffs in imports• What kind of tax started with Wilson?• Income tax• When income tax is graduated, what increases with

your wealth?• The % that you pay• example on next slide:

Example of the Graduated Income Tax

• $30,000 income: 5% tax• $50,000 income: 10% tax on all of the tax

over $30,000• $100,000 income:

– 5% on first $30,000– 10% on next $20,000– 20% on all tax over $100,000

Reforming the Banks

• Banks could be a dangerous place to store $$ - they had a tendency to collapse

• What did the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 create?

• Regional banks• What were banks expected to do?• Bank deposits

Antitrust Action• Wilson ran on trust busting: breaking up

monopolies, saying smaller competitive businesses were better than one big monopoly.

• Why do you think he said that?

• Why did he change his mind and not go after the monopolies?

• Monopolies were more efficient

Regulating Big Business• Wilson created the Federal Trade Commission

(FTC).• What was its purpose? (p.177)• Monitor businesses• Wilson no longer wanted to beak apart

successful business. Instead, what did he want to do with them? (end, p. 177)

• Limit unfair trade practices

Child Labor• Wilson signed into law the first Federal

protection to protect kids.• What was this called? (p. 178)• Keating-Owen Child Labor Law Act• Why was the year 14 significance.• That’s the youngest a worker can be• What (2) did the Adamson Act change?• Eight hour days for workers • Low interest loans for farmers

New Roles for Government• Up to this era, Americans never expected the

government to pass laws protecting them.• But, by the end of the Progressive Era…• What were Americans starting to expect from the

Federal Government? (p.178)– Regulate the economy– Solve social problems

The limits to Progressivism• What was the greatest failure of Progressivism?• Failure to address racial and religious discrimination• What did the Niagara Movement believe that the key to

ending racial discrimination?• Voting rights for blacks• What is the whole name of the NAACP?• National Association for Advancement of Colored

People• What was (is) the purpose of the NAACP? (just

analyze the name…)• To help blacks advance in society• What is the purpose of the ADL?• To end the negative portrayals of Jews, and to end

prejudice against Jewish people

Unconstitutional

• What does this mean?• What’s an example of an unconstitutional

law?• Come up with three examples in your

group of laws that would be unconstitutional.