Roosevelt and Progressivism

1. Roosevelt and Progressivism

2. The Rise of Progressivism • The rapid growth of cities and industries in the U.S. at the turn of the century brought many problems – poverty, slums, and poor conditions in the factories. • To attack these problems, individuals organized a number of reform movements.

3. The Rise of Progressivism

4. The Rise of Progressivism • These individuals became known as reformers and they were mostly native born and lower middle class. • They could be found in either political party. Their reform movements came to be grouped under the label of progressivism.

5. The Rise of Progressivism • About 1900, a new group of writers began to expose corruption in American society. • They were called muckrakers. • These muckrakers created a public demand for reform.

6. The Rise of Progressivism • The progressive reformers shared at least one of the three basic goals: • Reform government and expand democracy. • Promote social welfare. • Create economic reform.

7. Reforming Government and Expanding Democracy • In the late 19th century, elected officials often handed out government jobs and contracts. • In return, they won political support. This practice is called patronage.

8. Reforming Government and Expanding Democracy • To combat this practice, the U.S. Congress passed legislation which required individuals to take a civil service exam for certain government jobs. • The law also prevented elected officials from firing civil service workers for political reason.

9. Reforming Government and Expanding Democracy • There were four reforms proposed by Progressives at the start of the 20th century. These reforms include: • Direct Primary – Voters, rather than Party Conventions , chose candidates to run for Public Office. • Initiative – This reform allowed voters to propose a law directly. • Referendum – A proposed law was submitted to the vote of the people. • Recall – This allowed people to vote an official out of office.

10. Promoting Social Welfare • This goal addressed such problems as poverty, unemployment, and poor working conditions. • Leaders in these movements promoted many social-welfare reforms. • Progressive reformers pushed for minimum wage laws and limits on women’s working hours.

11. Promoting Social Welfare • Another group of reformers who wanted to improve social welfare were the prohibitionists. • They worked to prevent alcohol from ruining people’s lives.

12. Creating Economic Reform • The third progressive goal was to create economic reform. This meant limiting the power of big business and regulating its activities. • By the late 1800’s, business leaders in some major industries had formed trusts. • This is a combination of businesses who work together to cut prices and squeeze out competitors.

13. Creating Economic Reform • This is a combination of businesses who work together to cut prices and squeeze out competitors. • Then the trusts would raise prices and make larger profits.

14. Creating Economic Reform • The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 made it illegal for corporations to gain control of industries by forming trusts. • However, the POTUS did not enforce the law at first. Enforcement required a strong POTUS.

15. Roosevelt and the Square Deal • Teddy Roosevelt – the first progressive POTUS – provided this strength and leadership. • He came to be POTUS by accidently. In 1898, Roosevelt returned from the Spanish American War a war hero and was elected governor of New York.

16. Roosevelt and the Square Deal • Teddy Roosevelt – the first progressive POTUS – provided this strength and leadership. • He came to be POTUS by accidently. In 1898, Roosevelt returned from the Spanish American War a war hero and was elected governor of New York.

17. Roosevelt and the Square Deal • In 1900, Roosevelt ran on the GOP ticket as President McKinley’s VPOTUS. • President McKinley was assassinated 6 months after his inauguration. At age 42, Teddy Roosevelt became the youngest President ever in American history.

18. Roosevelt and the Square Deal • Teddy Roosevelt brought his boundless energy to the office. • As POTUS, Teddy was often seen at the White House playing with his six children playing in the yard. • Americans loved Teddy’s zest for living and it caused the people to support his reforms.

19. Roosevelt and the Square Deal • Roosevelt began his reforms with an effort to break up the corporate trusts. • He thought industries should be regulate for the public interest.

20. Roosevelt and the Square Deal • Roosevelt saw the government as an umpire. It’s purpose was to ensure fairness, or a “square deal” for workers, consumers, or big business. • To root out “crookedness”, Roosevelt used the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to break up the trusts and monopolies that existed in the nation.

21. Roosevelt and the Square Deal • At the end of 1901, the nation’s railroads were run by a handful of companies and the power of the railroads continued to grow. • Roosevelt busted up the railroad trust in addition to the Standard Oil Company and tobacco trust. • In all, the government tried to break up 44 different trust during Roosevelt’s presidency.

22. Roosevelt leads Progressive Reforms • As president, Roosevelt had a great deal of power to push progressive ideas. • To make such ideas into law, Teddy caused the voters to put pressure on their representatives and senators to pass the laws that changed America.

23. Roosevelt leads Progressive Reforms • Roosevelt acted to regulate the meat-packing industry after reading the novel “The Jungle”. • The novel described a packing plant in which dead rats end up in the sausage. The author focused attention on the poor sanitary conditions by which the meat-packers workerd.

24. Roosevelt leads Progressive Reforms • Roosevelt launched an investigation of the meat-packing industry. In 1906, he signed the Meat Inspection Act. • This act created a government meat inspection program. • He also signed a law that banned the sale of impure foods and medicines.

25. Roosevelt leads Progressive Reforms • While Roosevelt tried to win a square deal for most Americans, he did not push for civil rights for African-Americans. • He believed that discrimination was morally wrong. • However, he did not take the political risk of leading a fight for civil rights.

26. Taft and Wilson as Progressives Progressive reforms continued under President William Howard Taft and President Woodrow Wilson. Constitutional amendments passed during this time continue to affect Americans today.

27. Taft and Progressivism • In the 1908 election, William Howard Taft was elected POTUS because he was President Roosevelt’s handpicked successor after his 8 years as POTUS. • Roosevelt's popularity swayed many people to vote for Taft, who promised to follow Roosevelt’s progressive policies.

28. Taft and Progressivism • President Taft continued Roosevelt’s attack on trusts. • During his four years in office, Taft purposed almost twice as many antitrust suits as Roosevelt had in nearly eight years in office.

29. Taft and Progressivism • Taft received less credit for his progressivism because he aligned himself with conservative republicans than progressive republicans. • Nevertheless, Taft moved forward with progressive reforms and two of the major progressive achievements under Taft were constitutional amendments.

30. Two Progressive Amendments • The Sixteenth Amendment (16th) was passed in 1909 and ratified in 1913. • It gave Congress the power to create income taxes. • The U.S. Constitution did not allow direct taxes on an individuals income.

31. Two Progressive Amendments • This amendment was intended to provide a means of spreading the cost of running the government among more people. • The income tax soon became the main source of federal revenue.

32. Two Progressive Amendments • The Seventeenth Amendment (17th) was ratified in 1913. • It provided for the direct election of U.S. senators by voters in each state. • Formerly, state legislatures had chosen their U.S. senators.

33. Two Progressive Amendments • Under this system, many senators obtained their positions through corrupt bargains. • The Seventeenth Amendment (17th) gave people a more direct voice in the government.

34. The Election of 1912 • Taft achieved a number of progressive reforms. • However, a deep split developed between him and progressive leaders in the Republican party because he was NOT progressive enough.

35. The Election of 1912 • However, many progressive Republicans supported former President Teddy Roosevelt. • He had entered the race and formed the Progressive Party, also known as the Bull Moose Party. • With the Republicans deeply divided, Woodrow Wilson (A Democrat) won the election of 1912.

36. The Wilson Presidency • As president, Wilson established a progressive record. Wilson believed that “bigness” itself was dangerous. • Wilson believed the government must use its powers to break up monopoles – groups that sought complete control over an industry. • He also wanted the government to help workers in their struggles against business owners.

37. The Wilson Presidency • At Wilson’s urging, the Congress passed the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914. • The new law laid down rules for bidding, business practices that lesson competition. • A business, for example, could no longer buy the stock of a competitor.

38. The Wilson Presidency • The government also had more power to regulate trusts. • The new antitrust act was also pro-labor: • It said labor unions could merge and expand. • It limited the ability of the Courts to force workers to end strikes. • It legalized labor tactics such as strikes, picketing, and boycotts.

39. The Wilson Presidency • During Wilson’s two terms, reforms to the nation’s financial system occurred. • In 1913, the Federal Reserve Act was passed. This improved the nation’s monetary and banking system. • The Federal Reserve Act created a more flexible currency system by allowing the banks to control the money supply.

40. The Wilson Presidency • Wilson did no more to advance civil rights for African-Americans than Roosevelt did. • In fact, Wilson approved segregation, or separation, of African-American and white employees in the federal government. • Throughout the Progressive Era, President’s Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson did not promote civil rights for African-Americans.

41. The Eighteenth Amendment (18th) • Another amendment passed during the Progressive Era – it was called the Prohibition Amendment. • During Wilson’s administration, supporters of prohibition started to gain strength. • Reformers thought an alcohol ban would reduce poverty because they believed alcohol led to unemployment and violence.

42. The Eighteenth Amendment (18th) • Finally, in 1917, Congress passed a constitutional amendment that banned the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages – the 18th amendment. • The states ratified the 18thamendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1919.

43. Women Win New Rights Women became leaders in social reform movements and won the right to vote during the Progressive Era. Today, American women enjoy the right to vote because of the women reformers in the Progressive Era