Chapter 21 Progressivism at Its Height 1910-1914 Taft Succeeds Roosevelt Though very popular with the general public TR chooses not to run in 1908. Conservative Republicans were unhappy with his progressive practices. To placate them he allows U.S. Steel to acquire another large company when he had originally opposed the action. TR chooses Taft as his successor. Roosevelt & Big Business TR believed that industrialists had become so powerful and important to so many people s well-being that it was the federal government s responsibility to regulate them TR believed that the environment was being jeopardized by the industrialist. TR believed that the federal government had to protect wilderness from development. The 1908 Presidential Election TR thought that Taft would be progressive. Taft was not, he was pro industrialist. A rift develops between the two men. Democrats nominate William Jennings Bryan a third time; he was a populist. No formal break between TR & Taft Taft wins; carries North & most of West. Bryan carries South + CO., NE, & NV. The Socialists Nearly 1.7 million members in 1904. Formed as a union known as The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Nickname became The Wobblies. They got nearly 400,000 votes in 1904 Opponents claimed they opposed private property, which is false, they proposed that large industries be publicly owned. Race as a Political Issue African Americans moving to the North to gain employment; often recruited
Poverty in the South is endemic for both Whites and Blacks; never industrialized. African Americans moving to cities of the South; rural South has worst poverty. Economic dislocation, scarce jobs, & ravages of industrialism, all provoke racism among poor whites; violence errupts. Chapter 21...p. 2 Political Expediency & Race TR, like many politicians, advocate for African Americans until they realize that the position is unpopular in the South and among many of the North and West. Progressives abandon the African Americans even though their plight was much worse & part of the same pattern. Addressing racial injustice will be delayed 50-60 years because of political factor. Taft as the Ultimate Conservative TR was wrong about Taft s views. Unlike TR, Taft had no charisma. What angered TR the most was that Taft believed the federal government could not play a major role in conservation. The Taft family has played a dominant role in Ohio politics; a Taft is now governor. This rift would divide the Republican party. Roosevelt forms a New Party Frustrated by Taft s conservatism, TR forms his own political party. He calls it the Progressive Party. Also known as the Bull Moose Party TR wins 9 of 12 Republican primaries Party leaders still choose President Taft. TR s delegates walk out of Republican Convention & form their own party. Progressivism s Reforms Women s Suffrage gains momentum. Anti-Saloon League gains political power. By 1914 eight states are dry. Drinkers merely travel to a wet state. Laws passed restricting alcohol delivery to states where drinking is prohibited. Progressives seek the limitation of immigrants reduction of labor competition.
Chapter 21...p. 3 Bull Moose Party Formally the Progressive Party Supported Women s Suffrage. Women were in prominent positions in the party; many other reforms part of platform. TR will win six states in the 1912 election. Many future women leaders would get their start in the Progressive Party. The Party dissolves in 1916. Election of 1912 Taft and TR split the Republican constituency. Socialists run Eugene V. Debs. This precedes the Russian Revolution after which Socialism becomes totalitarian. The Progressives are an official party. Conservative Democrat W oodrow Wilson wins the presidency. African-Americans Abandoned The Progressive Party, to gain power among the poor Whites of the South, excluded African Americans from the party This exclusion would not deter African American leaders from advocating change Wilson was a racist who allowed many racial reforms started by TR to lapse. Despite this Blacks become Democrats. Industrialists Look for Models Seeking to increase profits America s industrialists look to other examples. Ther turn to German examples. Germany does has neither an egalitarian or democratic tradition to support workers. The German model is adopted by America Efficiency becomes the hallmark of worker assessment; much of the burden on worker. Woodrow Wilson s Complexities Like many Progressives who championed the need for reform with regard to the poorer classes, Wilson was a racist. Like racism, many Progressives, though challenging the conditions produced by industrialists, blamed immigrants for the problems.
Wilson reflected these contradictions. Chapter 21...p. 4 Wilson and Foreign Policy Wilson recognized that when America became an imperial power it had a responsibility to act in world politics. Most Americans, and the politicians they elect, were still isolationists. It had been industrialists & other businesses which had promoted conquest and the resulting imperialism. Wilson Deals with Industrialists What should be the role of government when businesses are so powerful? Should the federal government play the role of referee in commerce? The Founders listed interstate commerce as being a federal function. How much regulation is Constitutional? Wilson promotes social justice in labor. The Election of 1912 Wilson wins 435 electoral votes with 42% of the vote. Roosevelt wins 88 electoral votes with 30.1% of the vote. President Taft wins 8 electoral votes with 24.9% of the vote. Again the Electoral College distorts true distribution of votes among electorate. Monetary Reform Wilson reforms the nation s banking system Signs the legislation for the Federal Reserve Bank System. The Am ount of money controlled by policy. In response to another crisis in 1907. Another example that a totally unregulated marketplace could not function properly. Downturns ruined lives; destroyed families. Sixteenth Amendment Tax had existed only on property. Supreme Court rules that income taxes are unconstitutional. Constitutional amendment is needed. A response to the unimaginable wealth accumulated by the industrialists. Passed February 1913. Debatable as to whether is was necessary.
Curbing Industrialism TR had proposed and Wilson signed a bill that created the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); regulate trusts. Industrialism had spawned growth but placed too much wealth & power in too few hands; not all were talented leaders. These companies became so powerful that they could harm the overall economy. Chapter 21...p. 5 The Automobile The character of the nation is changed by the mobility provided by the automobile. The whole culture will be changed by the freedom and anonymity provided. Crime becomes mobile, criminals not limited to walking or riding distance. The American tradition of liberty will see a practical application provided by the car. Wilson s New Freedom As a college professor, and college president, Wilson had contact with scholars throughout the world. He believed the U.S. should be an example to the world. Wilson saw TR s intrusion into Latin America as disregarding their rights. Kept troops in Nicaragua-Sent troops to Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Immigrants in the Southwest Political upheaval in Mexico. A revolution results in a dramatic increase of immigrants fleeing the conflict. No natural barriers except the Rio Grande River on Texas border; usually waste deep Wilson send navy to block importing weapons. Immigrants put to work in agriculture. World War I Begins Europe had been thrust into war periodically; caused by different countries. Much of the conflict was between France and Germany. Much like the Cold War a series of treaties were signed where nations picked sides. Those treaties become the rationale to drag most of Europe into a needless war.