Progressive Presidents

1. Progressive Presidents Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson

2. Who were the Progressive Presidents? • Theodore Roosevelt • 1901-1909 • William Howard Taft • 1909-1913 • Woodrow Wilson • 1913-1921

3. Theodore Roosevelt • In 1901 President McKinley was assassinated by a crazed anarchist • The person was upset that McKinley had not given him a job through the spoils system • McKinley’s vice president, Theodore Roosevelt became president

4. Theodore Roosevelt • Young and energetic, Roosevelt was the perfect man for the job • He used his dynamic personality to advance programs • He believed the common people deserved a square deal

5. Theodore Roosevelt • A square deal meant that the president would make sure that politicians were truthful and dedicated to bring about reforms that would make life better for people • In 1902, Roosevelt intervened in a coal strike • He felt the workers’ side was not listened to • He asked both sides to come to the White House and talk • He concluded that the mine operators were wrong • Roosevelt said if he wasn’t president, “he would have thrown one of the owners out the window”

6. Theodore Roosevelt • After the strike, the workers received a 10% pay increase and a shorter, 9 hour work day • A new progressive idea was that the federal government would now intervene in labor disputes • Roosevelt’s next step was to break up the trusts

7. Theodore Roosevelt • Let’s review…What is a monopoly? • When a person controls all of one industry • What is a Trust? • When a group of businesses get together and merge all their companies into one larger “parent” company to control an industry

8. Theodore Roosevelt • There was a beef trust, made up of different beef companies • There was Standard Oil, a trust that kept fuel prices high • There was even a tobacco trust

9. Theodore Roosevelt • The Sherman anti-trust Act had been passed in 1890… but it was not effective in breaking up the trusts • Roosevelt ordered the justice department to sue the beef trust, oil trust and tobacco trust • In Theodore Roosevelt’s administration, over 44 anti-trust suits were filed • Roosevelt began what is known as the “Trust Busting Era”

10. Theodore Roosevelt • Roosevelt had other goals • Regulation of Industry • Making it more accountable to the people • The Interstate Commerce act made it illegal for railroad officials to receive rebates for using certain railroads • The Hepburn Act limited the number of free railroad passes distributed • A form of bribery

11. Theodore Roosevelt • Another target for regulation was the food industry • There is a legend that Roosevelt threw up after reading Upton Sinclair’s book “The Jungle” • In 1906, Roosevelt pushed for the Meat Inspection Act • The next regulation was the food industry in general • Opium, cocaine and alcohol often were found in cough syrups

12. Theodore Roosevelt • Truthful labels were placed on products • The Pure Food and Drug Act, 1906 • These regulations were a start toward making food and medicine safe for consumers

13. Theodore Roosevelt • Conservation and the Environment was a cause close to Roosevelt’s heart • Before he became president, Roosevelt had actually owned a Ranch in the Dakotas • He loved the outdoors • Roosevelt knew that forests had been cut down and not replaced • Roosevelt Established the National Forest System Gifford Pinchot National Forest

14. Theodore Roosevelt • Roosevelt had camped with John Muir, a naturalist who also believed nature needed to be protected • He established more than 50 wildlife sanctuaries and several national parks • The conservation movement meant Wilderness areas needed to be protected

15. Progressive Legislation Under Roosevelt • National Reclamation Act (1902) • Encouraged conservation by allowing the building of dams and irrigations systems using money from the sale of public lands • Elkins Act (1903) • Outlawed the use of rebates by railroad officials or shippers • Pure Food and Drug Act (1906/1911) • Required that companies accurately label the ingredients contained in processed food items • Meat Inspection Act (1906) • In direct response to Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, this law required that meat processing plants be inspected to ensure the use of good meat and health-minded procedures • Hepburn Act (1906) • Strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission, allowing it to set maximum railroad rates

16. William Howard Taft • Before President Roosevelt left office, he said he would not run again in 1908 • His vice-president, William Howard Taft was voted in as president • Taft beat Roosevelt’s record by breaking up 90 trusts in just 4 1/2 years • But Taft had other concerns • He needed to reduce Tariffs

17. William Howard Taft • Tariffs are taxes on goods that enter the United States • Tariffs reduced competition, because they made goods entering the United States too expensive to compete with local goods • But without competition, local goods began to rise in price because there is no competition • This meant that prices on everything from clothing, shoes, dishes, and food became expensive

18. William Howard Taft • Taft did not act forcefully enough and he allowed the Payne-Aldrich Tariff • This tariff again, hindered competition • Taft also bowed to special interests by not enforcing Roosevelt’s policies on conservatism • Taft did not have the personal charisma that Teddy Roosevelt had • In fact, he made a lot of enemies, including, Teddy Roosevelt • Roosevelt will run for President again in 1912

19. Progressive Legislation Under Taft • Taft helped to pass the 16th Amendment to the US Constitution • The 16th Amendment allowed for congress to levy an income tax • With the expansion in government money was needed to pay for the new and various programs • A graduated income tax meant that everyone paid their fair share of taxes • Taft also helped to pass the 17th Amendment • The 17th Amendment allowed citizens to directly elect their United State Senators • This meant that the Senators were a direct reflection of the population in each state and they held a general interest in passing federal laws that would help the people of their home state

20. The Presidential Election of 1912 • The Presidential election of 1912 was between Roosevelt, Taft, and Woodrow Wilson who was the current governor of New Jersey • William Howard Taft was nominated by the Republican Party • Roosevelt, having himself been a Republican, was upset with Taft’s actions regarding Tariffs and therefore created the Progressive Party (often called the Bull-Moose party) • Woodrow Wilson was nominated by the Democratic Party

21. The Presidential Election of 1912 • While the Republicans had been highly successful in the previous elections the rift between Taft and Roosevelt ultimately effected the outcome • Woodrow Wilson won the office of the President by receiving more electoral college votes than either of the other 2 candidates • Wilson became the only elected Democrat between 1892 and 1932

22. Woodrow Wilson • Wilson continued with Progressive ideas • He signed the Clayton Anti-trust act • This act strengthen the Sherman anti-trust act • But it also did some other things • Labor unions could strike • Peaceful picketing could occur

23. Woodrow Wilson • Additionally, people had the right to protest unfair work conditions • This act was called the Magna-Carta for labor • What was the Magna-Carta? • The Magna-Carta was a document signed in 1215 which was the beginning of modern human rights

24. Woodrow Wilson • The Federal Trade Commission was set up to regulate unfair business competition • Next, Wilson proposed to reduce the tariff and replace it with an income tax • Wilson also established the Federal Reserve System to help regulate and monitor the dispersal of money to banks

25. Progressive Legislation Under Wilson • Federal Reserve Act (1913) • Created 12 district Federal Reserve Banks, each able to issue new currency and loan member banks funds at the prime interest rate, as established by the Federal Reserve Board • Clayton Antitrust Act (1914) • Strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act by outlawing the creation of a monopoly through any means, and stated that unions were not subject to antitrust legislation • Federal Trade Act (1914) • Established the Federal Trade Commission, charged with investigating unfair business practices including monopolistic activity and inaccurate product labeling

26. Progressive Legislation Under Wilson • Underwood Tariff (1913) • Substantially reduced import fees and enacted a graduated income tax (under the approval of the recent 16th Amendment • Keating-Owen Act (1916) • Enacted by U.S. Congress which sought to address the perceived evils of child labor by prohibiting the sale in interstate commerce of goods manufactured by children • Signed into law by President Wilson • Act declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court

27. Progressive Legislation Under Wilson • The 18th Amendment (Prohibition) • Made the sale, possession, or manufacturing of alcohol illegal • So how did this come about?

28. The 18th Amendment: Prohibition • The “Temperance Movement” was an organized campaign to eliminate alcohol consumption • Prohibition Party • Women’s Christian temperance Union • Anti-Saloon League • Alcohol was leading to the corruption of society

29. The 18th Amendment: Prohibition • The Women’s Christian Temperance Union was the leading voice for Prohibition • Founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1874 • Used Educational, social, and political means to promote legislation which dealt with issues ranging from health and hygiene, prison reform, and world peace

30. The 18th Amendment: Prohibition • The Women’s Christian Temperance Union was the leading voice for Prohibition • Protection of women and children at home and work • Women’s right to work • Shelters for abused women • Support from labor movements such as the Knights of Labor • The 8 hour work day • Equal pay for equal work • Founding of Kindergartens • Assistance in funding of the PTA • Federal aid for Education • Stiffer penalties for sexual crimes against girls and women • Uniform marriage and divorce laws

31. The 18th Amendment: Prohibition • The Women’s Christian Temperance Union was the leading voice for Prohibition • Prison reform, police matrons and women police officers • Homes and education for wayward girls • Pure food and drug act • Legal Aid • World Peace • The opposed and worked against • Drug Trafficking • The use of alcohol and tobacco • White slavery and child labor • Army brothels

32. The 18th Amendment: Prohibition • The WCTU was most successful in alerting the nation of the evils of alcohol and promoting legislation to outlaw it • In 1919 the 18th Amendment passed outlawing alcohol in the United States • The most successful and well known WCTU member was Carrie Nation • She would march into a bar and sing and pray while smashing bar fixtures and stock with a hatchet

33. The 18th Amendment: Prohibition

34. Progressive Legislation Under Wilson • The 19th Amendment (Women’s Suffrage) • Women were granted the right to vote • American Women Activists first demanded the right to vote in 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention in New York • In 1872, in an act of civil disobedience, a suffrage leader, Susan B. Anthony, insisted on voting in Rochester, NY and was subsequently arrested • In 1890 Wyoming entered the union (became a state) and granted women the right to vote

35. The 19th Amendment (Women’s Suffrage) • The movement eventually split into 2 groups • The National Women Suffrage Association (NWSA) • They fought for a constitutional amendment • The American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) • The fought to win voting rights at the state level

36. The 19th Amendment (Women’s Suffrage) • In 1890 NAWSA was formed: National American Woman Suffrage Association headed by Carrie Chapman Catt • Alice Paul, and Lucy Burns eventually take over the congressional platform in Washington D.C. • Through a series of arguments Paul and Burns split from NAWSA and Catt • They form the National Women’s Party NWP • NWP used aggressive tactics including protesting in front of the white house during World War I: Iron Jawed Angels Video Link

37. The 19th Amendment (Women’s Suffrage) • Both Paul and Burns are arrested and sent to a women’s work prison on false charges • Paul goes on a hunger strike and is force fed • Upon their release President Wilson backs a bill in congress that would give women the right to vote • In August of 1920 the 19th amendment gave women the right to vote

38. Outlawed monopolies and practices that restrained trade, such as price fixing. Sherman Antitrust Act, 1890 National Reclamation Act, 1902 Created to plan and develop irrigation projects. United States Forest Service, 1905 Created to manage the nation’s water and timber resources. Hepburn Act, 1906 Authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroad rates. Banned interstate shipping of impure food and deliberate mislabeling of food and drugs. Pure Food and Drug Act, 1906 Required federal inspection of meat processing to ensure sanitary conditions. Meat Inspection Act, 1906 Cabinet department created to promote the welfare and employment of working people. Department of Labor, 1913 Gave Congress the power to levy an income tax. 16th Amendment, 1913 Provided for the direct election of senators. 17th Amendment, 1913 Federal Reserve Act, 1913 Created Federal Reserve System of government banks to supervise private banks and provide a flexible money supply. Created to administer the nation’s parks. National Park Service, 1916 Prohibited the manufacture and sale of liquor. (Repealed in 1933) 18th Amendment, 1919 Granted women full suffrage. 19th Amendment, 1920 Created within the Department of Labor to improve the status of working women. Women’s Bureau, 1920 Progressive Era Legislation

39. Progressive Presidents • Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson all worked to make conditions fairer and safer for all Americans • They were successful in many areas • What group of people gained the least? • African Americans continued to face struggles for equality and acceptance • In his second term, Wilson faced the decision of American’s entry into World War I, the world would now be focused on Europe for the next few years