William McKinley – 1897-1901

1. William McKinley – 1897-1901 • Political Party - Republican

2. Domestic Policy • 1900 – Gold Standard Act – U.S. money placed on the gold standard • Dingley Tariff Act – raised tariff rates • Discussion of strengthening Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 • Some civil service reform

3. Foreign Affairs • Discussion of quest for American expansionism abroad • Some concerns over expansion – South concerned about adding territory in the Caribbean, concerns over race relations • Anti-imperialists include William Jennings Bryan, Benjamin Harrison, Andrew Carnegie

4. Spanish-American War - Causes • Spanish control of Cuba • Repressive regime controlled the Cuban people • Cuban revolt in 1895 • Spain responds by arresting 300,000 revolutionaries • Americans begin to raise money for Cuban nationalists • McKinley pressures Spain to resolve the dispute

5. Spanish-American War - Causes • January 1898 – pro-Spanish riot in Havana, McKinley orders the U.S.S. Maine to Havana harbor to protect American citizens and property • De Lome Letter – Spanish minister to the U.S. writers letter critical of President McKinley • February 15, 1898 – explosion on the U.S.S. Maine – 266 killed – “To hell with Spain, Remember the Maine”

6. Spanish-American War • April 23 1898 – Spain declares war on the U.S. • April 25 1898 – U.S. declares war on Spain • Teller Amendment – U.S. committed to independence of Cuba once the war was over • May 1 1898 – U.S. destroys Spanish fleet in Cuba • Annex Hawaii • Cease-fire declared on August 12 • August 13 – U.S. captures Spanish controlled Philippines

7. Paris Peace Treaty • December 10 1898 • U.S. control of Puerto Rico, Guam and Philippines for $20 million • U.S. military occupation of Cuba until 1902 • Treaty ratified on February 6 1899 • Acquisition of the Philippines causes the most controversy in the United States • Debate over the expansion of a U.S. empire • Filipino Revolt – American military conflict until 1902, 200,000 Filipinos killed

8. Asia • Open Door Policy – stresses U.S. interests in all nations having equal commercial access in China, declares support for a non-colonized and independent China • McKinley dispatches 2500 troops to China during the Boxer Rebellion

9. Theodore Roosevelt – 1901-1909 • Political Party – Republican • Assumes office in September 1901 following the assassination of President McKinley • Considered the first “modern” president

10. Regulation • “good” trusts vs. “bad” trusts • 1902 lawsuit against Northern Securities Company – giant railroad corporation, led by J.P. Morgan, charges of a monopoly • 1904 – Supreme Court orders Northern Securities Company broken up • Hepburn Railroad Act – powers to regulate shipping rates on railroads

11. Square Deal • Roosevelt believed in economic and social justice • 1902 coal strike – Roosevelt uses his position to negotiate an end to strike, first president to end a labor dispute • Conservation – created 150 national forests, 5 national parks

12. Square Deal • Roosevelt works with “muckrakers” • Meat Inspection Act of 1906 • Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 • Use of the “bully pulpit” of the media to take his message directly to the public • Invited Booker T. Washington to dinner at the White House in 1901 • Roosevelt does not accomplish much in terms of improving race relations

13. Foreign Affairs • “Speak softly and carry a big stick” • Expansion of the U.S. • Negotiated an end to the Russo-Japanese War • Philippines • Roosevelt appointed William Howard Taft civilian governor in 1901 • Taft recommended the creation of a civil government

14. Panama Canal • U.S. supports a Panamanian revolution against Colombia with money and a naval blockade • 1903 – U.S. gains control of canal territory for $10 million and an annual payment of $250,000 • 1906 visit by Roosevelt to oversee construction, first time a president leaves the country while in office • Canal complete in 1914, shortens the route from San Francisco to New York by 8,000 miles

15. Roosevelt Corollary • Roosevelt added to the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. • U.S. would serve essentially as a police force in Latin America, concerns about new European imperialism as a result of Latin American economic instability • Roosevelt built the U.S. Navy into one of the largest in the world • “Great White Fleet” tour

16. Roosevelt Corollary • Roosevelt stated that in keeping with the Monroe Doctrine, the United States was justified in exercising "international police power" to put an end to chronic unrest or wrongdoing in the Western Hemisphere. • The Monroe Doctrine had been sought to prevent European intervention in the Western Hemisphere, but now the Roosevelt Corollary justified American intervention throughout the Western Hemisphere.

17. William Howard Taft – 1909 - 1913 • Political Party – Republican • Supported by Roosevelt for the presidency • Only person in U.S. history to serve as President and Chief Justice

18. Domestic Policy • Taft sought originally to continue Roosevelt’s policies, focused on conservative values • Much more focused on the execution of the law, due to his judicial background • Department of Commerce and Department of Labor are divided into separate cabinet departments • Supported statehood for New Mexico and Arizona

19. Domestic Policy • More trust-busting prosecutions under Taft than Roosevelt • Standard Oil Company • American Tobacco Company • American Sugar Refining Company • Attempt to break up U.S. steel • 16th amendment – income tax • 17th amendment – direct election of Senators

20. Domestic Policy • Conflict with Congress over Payne-Aldrich Tariff, Taft originally against but ultimately winds up supporting • Fired Gifford Pinchot – Roosevelt’s close friend, head of National Forestry Service • 1912 Election – Republican vote split amongst Taft, and Roosevelt running as a third party candidate for the “Bull Moose Party” • Democrat – Woodrow Wilson • Republican – William Howard Taft • Bull Moose (Progressive) – Theodore Roosevelt

21. 1912 Election

22. Foreign Affairs • “Dollar Diplomacy” • Designed to increase U.S. investment in South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and East Asia • Promotion of American products overseas, primarily military supplies • Economic diplomacy • Not overly successful, causes resentment among Latin Americans

23. Woodrow Wilson • Political Party – Democrat • Wins the election of 1912 as a result of the split Republican vote • Only PhD to ever serve as President of the United Sates • President during the First World War

24. Domestic Policy • Support of Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 • Pushes for ending of child labor • Supported the Adamson Act – 8 hour work day for railroad workers, set the stage for shorter working days for industrial workers • Established War Industries Board in 1917 • Appointed Herbert Hoover as National Food Administrator • Rationing of goods during First World War • Liberty Loan drives

25. Domestic Policy • “New Freedom” – expanding economic opportunities for lower classes • Graduated income tax passed prior to Wilson’s inauguration (16th amendment) • Wilson pushed for the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, which established twelve regional reserve banks controlled by the Federal Reserve Board, a new federal agency whose members were appointed by the President. • This new federal system could adjust interest rates and the nation's money supply.

26. Federal Reserve

27. First World War at Home • “Americanization” of immigrant populations • Sponsored the Espionage and Sedition Acts, prohibiting interference with the draft and criticism of the government and armed forces

28. Committee of Public Information • On April 13, 1917, Wilson created the Committee on Public Information (CPI) to promote the war domestically while publicizing American war aims abroad. • Under the leadership of a muckraking journalist named George Creel, the CPI recruited heavily from business, media, academia, and the art world. T • The CPI blended advertising techniques with a sophisticated understanding of human psychology, and its efforts represent the first time that modern government issuedpropaganda on such a large scale.

29. Foreign Affairs • 1915 involved in revolution in Haiti • 1916 involved in revolution in Dominican Republic • U.S. purchase of Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million • Sent U.S. troops to Mexico to capture Pancho Villa during the Mexican Revolution • Withdrew forces from Mexico in 1917

30. Foreign Affairs • When the First World War breaks out in the summer of 1914, Wilson encourages neutrality of the United States • May 1915 – sinking of the Lusitania • Germany ends submarine warfare for a time, but resumes in 1917 • Zimmermann Telegram – 1917 – attempt by Germany to use Mexico to preoccupy the United States • U.S. declares war on April 6 1917

31. U.S. in the First World War • Selective Service Act – May 1917 • Armistice on November 11 1918 • Wilson’s 14 Points • No secret alliances • Freedom of the seas • Disarmament • Self-government • Creation of the League of Nations

32. Treaty of Versailles • Wilson personally travels to Paris to participate in the Peace Conference • Treaty of Versailles • June 1919 • German reparations • League of Nations • U.S. – Republican opposition to the terms of the treaty, particularly U.S. involvement in the League of Nations • Wilson refuses to compromise on any part of the Treaty of Versailles, engages on a nation-wide speaking tour to garner public support of the treaty • The U.S. Congress ultimately rejects the Treaty of Versailles

33. Warren G. Harding – 1921-1923 • Political Party – Republican • “Return to Normalcy” • Andrew Mellon – Secretary of Treasury

34. Domestic Policy • The “Ohio Gang” – corruption, fraud, political associates of President Harding • Teapot Dome Scandal – Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall accepted bribes to allow oil companies to tap oil reserves • Pardoned Eugene Debs, Socialist leader • Immigration Quota Act of 1921 - which stipulated that the annual immigration of a given nationality could not exceed 3 percent of the number of immigrants from that nation residing in the U.S. in 1910 • Makes it difficult for Southern and Eastern Europeans to enter the U.S., favored Northern and Western Europeans

35. Domestic Policy • Supported proposal by Secretary Mellon to cut taxes for the wealthy and corporations • Supported businesses • Encouraged cooperation between the government and corporations

36. Foreign Affairs • Become involved in energy resources in the Middle East • Dawes Plan – scaled down German reparation payments to the United States • Naval Conference in Washington – open door to trade and investment in East Asia

37. Calvin Coolidge – 1923-1929 • Political Party – Republican • Assumed office upon the death of President Harding • “Silent Cal”

38. Domestic Policy • Favored tax cuts and a “trickle down” approach to the economy • Encouraged speculation, margin trading • “Coolidge Prosperity” • Radio Act – airwaves are public property, subject to regulation by Federal Communications Commission • Mississippi River flood of 1927 • President during the Jazz Age • Immigration Act of 1924 (National Origins Act) - which set strict quotas on the number of eastern and southern Europeans allowed into America and excluded the Japanese altogether

39. Foreign Affairs • Signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact – renounced war as a means of solving conflicts • Direct investments in Latin America • Criticism of U.S. role in Latin America lays the groundwork for the Good Neighbor Policy of 1933

40. Herbert Hoover – 1929-1933 • Political Party – Republican

41. Domestic Policy • Focus on improving Native American lives • Wins passage of what will become the Hoover Dam • Commissions studies on child labor, law enforcement, social issues • Created the Federal Farm Board

42. Great Depression - Causes • Overproduction of agricultural products leads to a decline in prices for crops, therefore negatively impacting small farmers • Speculation in the stock market • Industrial stagnation • Decline in the European economy • Lack of regulation in the American economy • 80% of Americans had no savings, wealthy Americans for the most part invested their money and did not spend it

43. Great Depression • 1929 – stock owners try to sell their shares and are unsuccessful • October 24 – Black Thursday • October 29 – Black Tuesday • “Great Crash” is an outcome of the economic factors of the 1920’s • Rural banks fail due to lack of repayment from small farmers • Drought conditions in the Midwest • “Hoovervilles”

44. Hoover and the Depression • Discusses expansion of public works project • Discussions of reduction in taxes • Asks for pledges from industry not to cut jobs • Believed that the economy faced a downturn and was not on the verge of a complete collapse • High unemployment rates • Hoover vetoed creation of employment agencies in 1931 • By 1931, belief was that the worst of the depression had passed, when in fact it was getting worse • Hoover opposed federal intervention in the economy • Created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation – designed to provide credit to banks and industries

45. Hoover and the Depression • 1931-1932 – Hoover begins to change his approach to solving the economic crisis • 1932 – Emergency Relief Construction Act – money for public works and direct relief • Hoover still opposed to large scale relief efforts • Criticism for an attempt to pass a sales tax • 1932 – Bonus Army March on Washington D.C. to demand early payment of bonuses promised for service in the First World War • Although Hoover wanted a peaceful breakup of the protest, General Douglas MacArthur exceeded orders and used tanks, tear gas, and guns to break up the march

46. Foreign Affairs • Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930 – raised taxes on agricultural and industrial imports • Calls for moratorium of reparation payments from Germany • Disarmament • Origins of the “Good Neighbor Policy” with Latin America • Stimson Doctrine – the U.S. would not recognize Japan’s territorial claims in Manchuria, following the Japanese invasion