Chapter 8, Section 3

Chapter 8, Section 3

Big Ideas: The Election of 1912 Wilson won the election because Republican voters split with some voting for Taft and others for Roosevelt.

Election of 1912 Roosevelt felt that Taft was not progressive enough and did not live up to expectations. Roosevelt told his friends that he would challenge Taft for the Republican nomination. At the Republican Convention, conservatives supported Taft while progressives supported Roosevelt. Taft won the nomination, so Roosevelt left the Republican to run as an independent.

Election of 1912 Taft won the nomination, so Roosevelt decided to create his own political party. Roosevelt created the Progressive Party which was referred to as the Bull Moose Party. The Democrats nominated New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson.

Election of 1912 While both Wilson and Roosevelt were progressives, they had different approaches to making reforms. Roosevelt called his program New Nationalism which focused on: Women s rights Worker s compensation

Election of 1912 "The essence of any struggle for healthy liberty has always been, and must always be, to take from some one man or class of men the right to enjoy power, or wealth, or position, or immunity, which has not been earned by service to his or their fellows. That is what you fought for in the Civil War, and that is what we strive for now."

Election of 1912 Wilson called his program New Freedom which focused on: Destroying monopolies Worker s compensation (payment for workers injured on the job)

Election of 1912 "If America is not to have free enterprise, he can have freedom of no sort whatever."

Since Republican voters were split between Taft and Roosevelt, Wilson won a landslide victory. Wilson 435 votes Roosevelt 88 votes Taft 8 votes Election of 1912

Wilson s Reforms Big Ideas: Wilson focused on reforming banks, stock trading, and tariffs.

Wilson s Reforms Wilson wanted to lower tariffs. He believed that lower tariffs would lead to more efficient businesses and lower prices. In 1913 Wilson signed the Underwood Tariff which cut the tax on imported goods by 50%. The Underwood Tariff also created an income tax.

Wilson s Reforms During bad economic times, it was not uncommon for banks to fail. When this happened people who had money in the bank, lost their savings. In order to restore confidence in banks, Wilson supported a Federal Reserve System. Banks would have to keep a portion of their money in a federal bank, so that if the bank collapsed, people would not lose everything. The Federal Reserve Act created 12 regional federal banks.

Wilson s Reforms Wilson campaigned against trusts and monopolies, but once he became president he feared that breaking up big companies would hurt the economy and cost jobs. Wilson did request the creation of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The job of the FTC is to investigate and stop unfair trading practices.

Wilson s Reforms Progressives in Congress did not think the FTC was enough to stop corruption, so they passed the Clayton Antitrust Act in 1914. The act stated that: Businesses could not charge different customers different prices Unions were exempt from antitrust laws.

Wilson s Reforms Wilson also signed the Keating-Owen Child Labor Act (the first federal law regulating child labor). But the Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional since child labor did not involve interstate commerce. That left the issue up to individual states.

Progressivism s Legacy & Limits Big Ideas: Progressivism changed how people viewed the government s role in managing social issues. Before progressivism most Americans did not expect the government to pass laws that regulated businesses or protected workers, consumers, & children.

Progressivism s Legacy & Limits While progressives were successful in many areas, they failed to address issues of racial and religious discrimination.

Progressivism s Legacy & Limits While Wilson is thought of as a progressive, his forward thinking did not extend to improving conditions for African Americans. As the president of Princeton University, he refused to allow black students to attend. Princeton was the only university in the North to refuse black students. After becoming president, Wilson re-segregated the federal government. He supported the passage of a law making interracial marriage in Washington D.C. a felony.

Progressivism s Legacy & Limits John Abraham Davis, for example, experienced declining fortunes in the Progressive Era. In 1912, the year of the presidential election that pitted Progressive Theodore Roosevelt against progressive Democrat Woodrow Wilson, Davis was earning $1200 a year supervising federal clerks in the Government Printing Office. At 50 years old, he owned valuable real estate in Virginia and the District of Columbia, and he was so confident of his rising status that he chose the inimitable Roosevelt as his personal model. Two years later, Davis was ferrying letters as a low-level messenger, his pay a paltry $500 a year. In order to continue to educate his brilliant children (at the elite colleges Williams and Wellesley), Davis was forced to liquidate his wealth and take on debt. He died in 1928, 66 years old and financially ruined.

Progressivism s Legacy & Limits However, a new organization was created to demand equal rights for African Americans. W.E.B. Du Bois and 28 other Americans met on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls and launched the NAACP. The goal of the NAACP was to secure voting rights.

Progressivism s Legacy & Limits Jewish people also lived in fear of mob violence. Sigmund Livingston, a lawyer, started the Anti Defamation League (ADL). The goal of the ADL was to combat stereotypes and discrimination.