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THE WILSON ERA AND PROGRESSIVISM Kinsey Swope | | Antonio Lovato PROGRESSIVISM •  The term progressivism is a wide label for economic, political, social, and moral reforms –  The outlaw of alcohol –  Regulation on child labor –  Regulated food production –  To bust and regulate trusts –  Give the public more control over the government through direct primaries for public ofJice, direct election of senators, and women’s suffrage. PROGRESSIVISM CONT. –  They sought to build playgrounds, expand schools, and raised minimum wage. –  Antitrust laws were strengthened and tariff was lowered –  Congress pushed to create a federally controlled banking system and to improve working conditions. –  Four Amendments were passed during the Progressive era including: authorizing an income tax; the direct election of senators; voting rights for women; prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcohol. WOODROW WILSON •  Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States; 1913-­‐1919 •  Argued for a stronger central government, anti-­‐trust legislation, and labor rights •  Anti-­‐trust laws are laws intended to prevent predatory/
monopolistic businesses in an open-­‐market economy •  Wilson’s platform was known as “New Freedom” •  Because both The House and The Senate were controlled by the Democratic Party, Wilson was able to initiate and carry out his reforms with very little political opposition. •  His election to presidency allowed him to reconstruct the diminishing Democratic Party. •  Wilson was the President of the United States during WWI (1914-­‐1918) THE ELECTION OF 1912 •  Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th president of the United States and held ofJice from 1901-­‐1909 •  In The Election of 1912 the two Republican competitors were Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft •  The Democratic nominee, and unlikely candidate, Woodrow Wilson was the Jirst Democrat with a chance of success since the Civil War •  At this time the United States was revolving around the idea of Progressivism, Taft was rejected as the nominee because he betrayed the progressive platform. •  Roosevelt spoke of “New Nationalism” which was a very broad plan of social reform for America, it also did not consist of breaking up trusts. •  When the election came Wilson had an extraordinary victory. THE ELECTION OF 1912 CONT. •The Election of 1912 gave Woodrow Wilson an opportunity no Democrat in the past 50 years had been given. •The United States elected Wilson with a mandate from the people to reform government •The election of Wilson brought the Democrats into power for the Jirst time since the Civil War. •The election also represented the South’s resurrection into the political world. PRESIDENT-­‐LEGISLATION REFORM •  Wilson Jirst attacked the Tariff issue, speciJically, the Payne-­‐Aldrich Tariff in 1909 –  Payne-­‐Aldrich Tariff •  Placed tax of approximately 40% on many commonly imported foreign goods •  Kept prices on common goods extremely high •  Wilson planned to revise the tariff law in front of Congress. –  This produced the Underwood Act of 1913 which reduced the tariff on all imported goods to nearly 25%. –  The Underwood Act also created a federal income tax. –  This was Wilsons Jirst political victory as president. THE UNDERWOOD-­‐SIMMONS TARIFF OF 1913 •  This was the Jirst law to substantially lower rates in 50 years. •  No import duties were charged and was expanded to include iron, steel, wool, and sugar. •  Also imposed a federal graduated income tax; this was made possible by the 16th amendment. •  Levied a tax on one percent of all incomes over $4,000. This did not apply to most Americans because many Americans did not make over that amount. WILSON AND FARM LEGISLATION •  Congress passed several pieces of legislation used to assist farmers, during Wilson’s Jirst term. •  Farmers started to be seen not as manual workers but as business people •  The Smith-­‐Lever Act of 1914 –  Strengthened the Department of Agriculture’s extension services –  Led to the merging of large farming businesses and started to drive out small producers •  The Warehouse Act of 1916 –  Permitted the use of bonded warehouses to store various types of crops for farmers •  Federal Farm Loan Act –  Created the Federal Farm Loan Board and twelve regional Federal Land Banks –  Federal Land Banks were designed to support farms by giving long term loans with low interest rates WILSON AND SOCIAL LEGISLATION •  Wilson passed a series of laws designed to protect consumers and workers as a part of his Jirst administration •  Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914 –  Tightened regulations on pharmaceuticals and identiJied products that were only to be sold with a doctors prescription •  Seaman’s Act –  Established rules that enforced the fair treatment and the improvement of safety conditions for maritime workers. •  Workmen’s Compensation Act of 1916 –  Set up insurance programs that would compensate federal employees that were injured on the job or families of an employees that died while working. •  Federal Roads Act –  Provided funding for the development of a new network of road ways that would accommodate for new motorized trafJic –  Costs were shared between the federal governments and the states, this established a road-­‐planning system WILSON’S REFORMING OF THE NATIONAL BANKING SYSTEM •  Before Wilson, the federal banking system was inefJicient •  The central bank had little power over the nation’s money and no way to monitor the country’s Jinancial system. •  His new central bank would be controlled by smaller banks throughout the country •  Democrats believed that the plan was too strong because it showed strong favor for plutocracy. WILSONS REFORMING OF THE NATIONAL BANKING SYSTEM CONT. •  Wilson approved the idea but proposed that a board of overseers appointed by the President should govern the new bank. •  After much debate a compromise known as the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 created the Federal Reserve Bank: numerous branches of the country’s central bank were put throughout the country which would be controlled by the Federal Reserve Board •  The creation of this new banking system is seen as Wilson’s greatest domestic achievement. FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM OF 1913 •  The United States’ credit were largely controlled by a small group of banks in the east. •  Federal Reserve banks were setup in 12 different regions across the United States -­‐have a map-­‐ •  Basically “banks for banks”, this means that the Federal Reserves are depositories for all the national banks and state banks if they chose to participate. •  Took over outstanding of their members in return for Federal Reserve notes, or paper money. •  Lowered interest rates supported the growth of business because they began making more money available for expansion •  Higher rates help control economic growth and inJlation WILSON’S STRENGTHENING OF THE NATIONS ANTITRUST LAWS •  Many of the nation’s primary industries had developed into trusts. –  Trusts are large corporations designed to create a monopoly on a speciJic product by eliminating competition. •  Trusts existed on almost every type of good output; there was a sugar trust, a steel trust, an iron trust, etc. •  With the 1890 Sherman Anti-­‐Trust Act President Theodore Roosevelt had achieved success in his Jight against trusts but none of his consequences were accomplished during Taft’s presidency. –  The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was the Jirst measure passed by Congress to prohibit trusts. WILSON’S STRENGTHENING OF THE NATIONS ANTITRUST LAWS CONT. •  Wilson was determined to strengthen the Sherman Act and created commissions and acts to do so. –  Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 •  Was intended to control unfair competition in interstate commerce. •  It was designed to investigate companies that were suspected of unfair practices and could issue cease-­‐and-­‐desist orders. –  Clayton Antitrust Act •  Passed three weeks after the Federal Trade Commission Act. •  Exempted labor unions from its provisions, and legalized labor’s right to strike. •  Outlawed speciJic business practices such as price discrimination or “tying” which was an agreement that a buyer could not buy products from a competing seller. •  Also prevented a company from acquiring stocks of a competing company. MORAL DIPLOMACY •  Moral diplomacy is a foreign policy that promised to promote human rights and the development of “constitutional liberty” worldwide, used morality as a guiding principle. –  Christian concepts where the base of the guiding principle. –  Wilson wanted to use the United States as a model to the rest of the world. –  Moral diplomacy depended on its ability to back up good intentions and moral concepts with military force MORAL DIPLOMACY CONT. •  Wilson supported government as a role in the expansion of international trade. He also saw how the US Jinancial interests played a role in that expansion, –  Expansion was done with or without consent of trading partners –  Gap between Wilson’s perception of the US in international affairs and the perceptions of other nations –  Wilson was very endocentric and saw United States a Jinical model for the rest of the world. MORAL DIPLOMACY WITH CHINA •  Wilson supported the Chinese Revolution –  Viewed it as the birth of a modern state that overcame a corrupt out of date era –  Trying to build Chinese independence, Wilson removed the US from a banking agreement with China. This left China very vulnerable to Japan. –  In order to replace US military might with the power of its economy. The US would manage countries Jinancial affairs in order to remove European debt, and remove any European interaction with these countries. This authorized the United States to give private loans to China. MORAL DIPLOMACY WITH THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC •  Wilson imposed free elections in 1913, did not bring republic closer to stability with civil war and revolution constantly under the surface •  Wilson’s Secretary of State, William Jennings Bryan, appealed to the Dominicans to formally renounce the revolution that did not beneJit their country. •  In 1915, Wilson ordered the US military to intervene and establish order in the Dominican Republic. The United States occupied the Dominican Republic until 1924. •  Haiti had similar revolutionary disturbances as well as was in debt to Europe which persuaded Wilson to also occupy half of Hispaniola until 1934. MORAL DIPLOMACY WITH MEXICO •  Wilson favored reforming elements brought in place by Francisco Madero in the 1911 revolution that brought down regime of PortJirio Diaz. •  Under Diaz, US oil and railroads concerns had prospered while the Mexican elite were proJiting. •  Francisco Madero reforming government was over thrown by General Victoriano Huerta •  Wilson put a lot of pressure on Huerta by trying to gain support internationally. •  By 1914, the US did not recognize the government of Mexico as an ofJicial government. MORAL DIPLOMACY CONT. •  Wilson ordered US navy to occupy Verecruz in April 1914 causing an attempt at intervention by Chile, Brazil and Argentina –  During the course of the Mexican Civil War, Pancho Villa mounted a raid into US territory –  Towards the start of WWI it looked more likely that the US would join the Allies in their war against Germany. This caused Wilson to order troops out of Mexico in early 1917. GROWTH OF CITIES •  Factory output grew, small businesses Jlourished, and incomes rose. –  The promise of higher wages brought more people into the cities causing a large population growth. •  The emerging middle class beneJited from department stores, chain stores, and shopping centers which emerged to meet the growing demand for material goods. •  Parks, amusement parks, and sports stadiums were built. •  Transportation systems improved. THE GROWTH OF CITIES POLITICALLY •  Reformers had a vision that the government of cities would be a “public business”. –  This meant that it would be ran by educated people who provided services and social justice for a wide range of citizens. •  Many cities during the progressive era were well governed especially the cities that were growing rapidly. •  Political machines in cities were a large problem. –  Political machines were organizations that corrupted city governments through bribery. •  Eventually cities were organized to work efJiciently with the people and the Federal Government in order to meet the needs of the people who voiced their opinion through labor unions. SOCIAL REFORM •  Women: –  Women pushed for labor, birth control, and labor rights. –  Many groups of women organized, such as the General Federation of Women’s Clubs , in order to demand more rights for their charitable, intellectual, and religious purposes. –  The GFWC was brought to the political sphere when they pushed for legislation that beneJited children. –  Women such as Margaret Sanger pushed for the legalization of birth control but failed until 1938. –  Middle class women pushed hard for protective legislation for women workers. –  Women also pushed for the right to vote resulting in the ratiJication of the 19th Amendment in 1920. SOCIAL REFORM CONT. •  Workers –  Many people in 1900 worked for 59 hours per week for less than $2 a day, this wage decreased once women and children began entering the factories. –  By 1910 there were two million children workers and four million women. –  Labor Unions began to rise to attention; they fought for beneJits such as higher wages, shorter hours, and safer working conditions. –  Organizations like the AFL (American Federation of Labor) fought primarily to win gains for male workers in order to have the women and children stay at home. –  By 1917 there were a total of 3,104,000 members in 133 labor unions representing 20% of all industrial workers. SOCIAL REFORM CONT. •  Immigrants –  The country began to see that the immigrants life in the country was poor allowing for many reforms in the life of the immigrants. –  Papers in support of all ethnic communities began to be published in order to improve the life of immigrants. –  Many Americans were angry with the immigrants and blamed the problems in city employment on them. A NEW MIDDLE CLASS •  Industrialization was a large component in the creation of the middle class. –  This included employees that were paid by salary –  Salespeople, professionals/technicians, government workers, social workers, and teachers. •  Many small businessmen began emerging throughout cities though many feared the large corporations held together by trusts. •  These salaried workers took over medical jobs allowing for an upgrade in medical education. –  The spreading of immunizations and antiseptic surgery allowed for the advancement in public health and modernization of medicine. THE “MUCKRAKERS” •  Group of American news reporters that wrote exposes to induce social reform –  Detailed and accurate journalistic accounts of the political and economic corruption and social hardships –  These exposes called attention to social issues such as; child labor, corruption in city government, lynching, and some big business practices –  The name Muckraker was Jirst used by Theodore Roosevelt in his speech on April 14, 1906, was borrowed by a passage from John Bunyan’s, Pilgrim Progress, which described a Jictional man who was committed to rake muck endlessly and never look up from his labor. –  Roosevelt accused muckrakers of excessive investigative journalism. The term Muckraker came to take on a favorable connotation of social concern and courageous exposition. THE “MUCKRAKERS” CONT. •  Muckraking grew out of the yellow journalism of the 1890’s and a public appetite for strikingly presented news from popular magazines •  One of the Jirst muckrakers was Lincoln Steffens –  In 1902, published an article in McClure’s magazine –  “Tweed Days in St. Louis.” –  Exposed city ofJicials and how they worked in league with big business to maintain power while corrupting the public treasury. THE “MUCKRAKERS” CONT. •  Upton Sinclair published, The Jungle (1905) –  Exposes the labor abuses in the meat packing industry –  Brought public view to food concerns –  The release of this eposes was followed by the passage of food regulation acts such as the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act •  Publications started to notice that muckraker eposes were proJitable, and started to hire their own muckraker journalists. •  Great public interest rallied journalists, novelists and reformers to sharpen their criticism of the American government. AN ETHNIC MOSAIC •  Between 1900 and 1930, 19,000,000 immigrants migrated to America. •  Many Jewish families came together while Italian men came alone. –  Italians worked in construction and railroads. –  Jewish men worked in garment factories and were assigned to help women and children. •  Immigrants lived where they could get work which were around the Atlantic cities. •  The large cities were considered “mosaics” –  New York had twenty-­‐seven different groups, including blacks, Chinese, Czechs, Germans, Italians, Irish, Jews, Syrians, and Poles in East Harlem alone. AN ETHNIC MOSAIC CONT. •  African-­‐Americans and immigrants did not beneJit from the progressive era •  Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907 –  Japan agreed to voluntarily limited the number of its labor immigrants to the United States •  Immigration to the United States reached its highest after World War I, immigration numbers was over one million about six time between 1900 and 1914 –  Public started to support restrictions on immigration •  Literacy tests became a part of immigration law –  Vetoed by President Wilson but still passed in Congress and became part of legislation. •  Legislation concerning immigration was not implemented of enforced till the 1920s AN ETHNIC MOSAIC CONT. •  Great Migration is used to describe the internal movement of African-­‐
American from land of the South to the industrialized North –  In the South, segregation started to be established in law, the rights that were given to African-­‐Americans were being denied •  Organizations were established to help the migrants adjust to the cities, such as the Negro Fellowship League and the National Urban League. •  Niagara Movement of 1905 –  Pressed for political and economic equality for African-­‐Americans. –  The organization demanded both suffrage and civil rights for African •  National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) –  Established by white social progressives and African-­‐Americans to work for equality with the country –  Mounted legal challenges aimed making sure the 14 and 15 amendment was being enforced BIBLIOGRAPHY •  Shmoop Editorial Team. "Woodrow Wilson in Progressive Era Politics." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 30 Nov. 2014. •  "Cities in the Progressive Era -­‐ American Memory Timeline-­‐ Classroom Presentation | Teacher Resources -­‐ Library of Congress." Cities in the Progressive Era -­‐ American Memory Timeline-­‐ Classroom Presentation | Teacher Resources – Library of Congress. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2014. •  "The Election of 1912." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. •  Burner, David, Virginia Bernhard, and Stanley I. Kutler. Firsthand America: A History of the United States. 6th ed. St. James, NY: Brandywine, 2000. Print.