Chapter 10 Section 3 Reform Under Taft

1. Chapter 10 Section 3Reform Under Taft TR decided not to run again for re-election. He instead chose his successor in William Howard Taft. TR thought Taft had his same progressive mentality and TR went on a year-long safari to kill about everything he could in Africa. Taft was very different than TR. He hated the limelight and the hostility of politics. Taft’s Accomplishments: The Mann-Elkin’s Act- Extended the ICC regulatory powers to telephone and telegraph companies Added vast areas to the nation’s forest reserves Workers reforms –especially for children Department of Labor to enforce labor laws Mine Safety laws 8 hour work day for people with contracts with the government Sixteenth Amendment- graduated income tax

2. Taft Angers the Progressives • The Payne- Aldrich Tariff Taft and progressives favored low tariffs and conservatives favored high tariffs. The Payne-Aldrich Tariff started out as a low tariff but by the time Taft signed it was a very high tariff bill and this angered the progressives (TR supporters) a bunch. 2. The Ballinger-Pinchot Affair Gifford Pinchot, head of the US Forest Service, criticized Richard Ballinger over the sale of previously protected Alaska coal fields. Taft warned Pinchot to stop criticizing the deal and when he didn’t, Taft fired him. Pinchot was a TR guy and when TR heard about it he broke with Taft. This also was a firm message to progressives that Taft wasn’t there man like TR was.

3. TR and the Elections of 1910 TR set himself apart from Taft and campaigned with progressive republicans who opposed Taft. The republican party lost control of the HOR for the first time in 16 yrs. Almost all the defeats were by conservative republicans to progressive democrats. “New Nationalism” this was TR’s new slogan. This was even more progressive than his “Square Deal” and delighted reformers hailed this as a rebirth of the progressive spirit.

4. The Republican Party Divides“ The Cannon Debate” Speaker of the House Joseph Cannon- “Uncle Joe” was 73 YO and ruled the HOR with an iron fist. Progressives felt he blocked all progressive legislation- “Not one cent for scenery.” In 1910 Representative George Norris got legislation passed that had members elect the Rules Committee and excluded the Speaker from the Rules Committee- this was a big power grab and gave the progressives a lot more power. *One year later they also passed a motion to exclude the Speaker from appointing members to other committees as well. Taft refused to take sides which angered many progressives.

5. TR Returns to Politics *”My hat is in the ring” -TR decides to run against Taft for the republican nomination for president* • TR won almost all the primaries- including Ohio- Taft’s home state • The republican party machine didn’t want TR and refused to seat many of his delegates. When Taft won the nomination, TR’s supporters walked out. • TR and his supporters started a third party- The Progressive Party- also known as the Bull Moose Party to run for the presidency. • The BMP ran under a platform called New Nationalism which was designed to counter the conservative republicans

6. A Democratic Victory in 1912 *Woodrow Wilson was the democratic candidate who also ran under a progressive platform called “New Freedom” Wilson’s Background • Professor of political science at Princeton • President of Princeton • Governor of NY in 1910 • Outspoken reformer and eloquent speaker TR’s 3rd party split the republican and progressive vote and Wilson easily won the presidency with only 41% of the vote (Gore, Nadar, Bush)

7. Chapter 10 Section 4Wilson’s New Freedom • First policy was to lower tariffs- he did this by talking to both Houses of Congress and passed the Underwood Tariff Act of 1913. This lowered tariffs to their lowest level in 50 years. • The Graduated Income Tax was included on this bill to make up for lost revenue- both very progressive legislation. • Wilson created the Federal Reserve System in 1913 to create a big central bank to help smaller banks stay solvent. • The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914. This act clarified and extended the 1890 Sherman Antitrust act and more specifically stated what corporations could not do. EX- could not sell products below cost to drive competitors out of business. • Created the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate corporations and be able to issue :cease and desist” orders EX’s- mislabeling and false claims

8. Wilson and Workers Overall Wilson’s first term was about helping small businesses and farmers Federal Farm Loan Act (1916)- Low interest loans to farmers- 12 banks Adamson Act- cut RR workers hours to 8 a day- avoided a strike Federal Workmen’s Compensation Act- Get paid if you get hurt on the job Wilson also passed some child-labor acts that were deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court

9. The Struggle for Women’s Suffrage • Women faced major opposition to the right to vote from liquor interests- (prohibition) and business who feared women would get higher pay. National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)- Founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. NAWSA distrusted politicians and tried a non partisan approach to get state legislatures to give women the right to vote. National Woman’s Party- Founded by Alice Paul, their strategy was national- wanted to pass a Constitutional Amendment. The NWP adopted the more radical British model- chaining to fences, hunger strikes, public protests, picketing

10. Carrie Chapman Catt Was passionate about women’s rights from an early age. While in college she won the right for women to speak at the literary society and gave several persuasive suffragist’s speeches. Catt was president of NAWSA from1900-1904 then she led the International Woman Suffrage Alliance. In this capacity she traveled around the world spreading the message of feminism. Success Under Catt’s leadership women won the right to vote in 1920 with the 19th Amendment. It helped that women supported the war and this removed a lot of opposition.