The Battle for National Reform
CH.22BRCH.29/30BA
The Battle for National Reform
Seventeenth Amendment
WHAT national reform required the direct election of senators ?
1. The Progressive movement switched emphasis
from the state to the federal level because it encountered failure in trying to regulate business at the state level.
2. The one branch of the US government capable of providing leadership to the national reform
movement of the early 1900s was the presidency.
Progressive Presidents:
T. Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson
Theodore Roosevelt
1901-1909
Theodore Roosevelt The Accidental President
“that damn cowboy” – Mark Hanna
philosophy = Conservative Progressivism- saw his reforms as a way to prevent radicalism from taking control in the future- believed that corruption in big business could be controlled by applying the pressure of an informed public
TR became the most powerful symbol of the reform impulse at the national level
Theodore Roosevelt
The debates over the federal govs role in progressive reform seems really to be a philosophical debate about capitalism v. socialism.
Many moderate progressives including TR were trying to find middle ground.
Socialism • radical criticism of the capitalist system 1900-
1914• supporters of socialism argued that the main
problem of American society was not the abuse of economic system by big business but the economic system as a whole
• differed on – the extent of the changes needed – the tactics necessary needed to achieve the
changes Radical Socialists Moderate Socialists
IWW = WobbliesBig Bill Haywood
Eugene V. Debsleader of the Socialist party perennial presidential candidate
Progressive versions of the debate• Louis Brandeis (14)• brilliant lawyer,
Supreme Court Justice , and author
• associated with the economic viewpoint that government must regulate competition in such a way as to ensure that large combinations did not emerge
• Gov must protect competition
• Monopolies inefficient & threat to freedom
• Herbert Croly • 1st editor of New
Republic• 1909 book, The Promise
of American Life, was one of the most influential progressive documents– expressed a “nationalist”
position on the American economy. This nationalist policy called for guarding against abuses of power by large institutions by distinguishing between good trusts and bad trusts
• Gov must promote efficiency & “public good”
Theodore Roosevelt Influenced by Herbert Croly
• At heart , TR was not a Trust Buster but rather a Trust Regulator
Department of Commerce & Labor
Northern Securities CaseJ.P. Morgan
Good Trusts Bad Trusts
Efficiency encouraged by economic concentration Gov policy should not fight “bigness” but guard against abuses of power by large institutionsGood Trusts = acted responsibly Bad Trusts = ignored the public interest regulation requires oversight by a STRONG modernized gov
Ag. the public good ; ignored the public interestTR quote (596)“We should enter upon a course of supervision , control and regulation of those great corporations … if necessary to bring to the point of control of monopoly prices.”
Theodore Roosevelt • 1st term economic program was
hampered by preoccupation with winning reelection
• Election of 1904 – TR won overwhelming victory
because:•he had neutralized opposition from
within the Republican Party• the Democrats fielded a weak candidate
– Alton B. Parker (4)
•he pursued business reforms without antagonizing financial leaders
Theodore Roosevelt“Square Deal” (5)
• TRs 1904 reform programSecond term yielded reform legislation
-Hepburn Railroad Regulation Act (21)-Pure Food & Drug Act (6)
-Meat Inspection Act (8) 1906- Support was generated by Upton Sinclair’s novel –
The Jungle (7)
In 1907 TR proposed: - 8 hour work days - increased compensation for victims of industrial accidents - inheritance and income taxes
Reaction to TRs reform programs revealed a growing split in the Republican party
Theodore Roosevelt •conservation policy =
–desire to put the gov. in charge of natural resource management
– influenced by Gifford Pinchot
9. John Muir
10. Sierra Club19. conservation20. Yosemite National Park22. Newlands Act
destruction of nature = Jack London
Theodore Roosevelt
The Panic of 1907 (5) showed the largely uncontrolled nature of banking and the stock market
Theodore RooseveltMuckrakers • group of crusading journalists
-late 1880s and early 1900s -who attacked corruption in business
and government & tried to uncover injustice
• Pres. T.R. gave the name because he was annoyed by their excessive zeal
Taft 1909-1913
Taft Election of 1908
-Taft enjoyed the support of : -Progressives -Conservatives -TR
Taft differed from TR :-passive & obese man -believed in following the letter of the law
Taft and Progressivism-first year = less progressive than some had thought
-Payne-Aldrich Tariff of 1909 = little change in the tariff rates
-Pinchot-Ballinger affair (11) Taft fired Gifford Pinchot for leaking
internal administration matters to the press
TaftThe Return of Roosevelt
– 1910 = TR reacted to Taft’s actions as president by setting out on a speaking tour to announce his position
– The New Nationalism speech• A call for a strong federal gov
– an income tax– workers compensation– tariff revision
- 1910 congressional elections showed that the people wanted a return to reform - TR opposed Taft’s handling of the antitrust suit ag. US Steel because it reflected badly on TRs presidency - Robert La Follette (12) candidacy faltered- In 1912, TR reacted to President Taft’s actions by announcing his own candidacy
TaftElection of 1912 = TR
-Lost the Rep. nominationTo progressives , the
Republican party convention of 1912 symbolized the victory of party leaders over the rank and file -Ran as a 3rd Party candidate
“Bull Moose” Party (13)
-Split the Republican Party = Dems win
Woodrow Wilson 1913-1921
Woodrow Wilson
Political characteristics : -self-righteously moral ( NOT - willing to compromise ) -energetic & firm -a dynamic leader
Program called New Freedom – differed fundamentally from TR
on the issue of antitrust laws
Woodrow Wilson•As President
–delegated little authority to others
–used his position as head of the Democratic party to influence Congress
–held close control over his cabinet
Woodrow Wilson• 1st two years, persuaded Congress to :
– created an income tax– regulated the banking industry
•most important piece of domestic legislation was the Federal Reserve Act
•The Federal Reserve System represented a compromise between public and private interests
– Federal Reserve notes (15)– Est. an agency to regulate trade
•The Federal Trade Commission Act allowed business regulation through:
– advising of corporations on whether their behavior was acceptable to the gov;
– the investigation of corporate behavior;– the outlawing of “unfair trade practices”
• 1914 – began pushing reforms again because
Democrats lost heavily in the 1914 elections
Immigration Restriction• Many progressives believed the continuing influx of
foreigners caused many urban problems = Overcrowding , Unemployment , Strained social services
• The so-called “science” of eugenics– argued that human inequalities were hereditary – Was used by some progressives to justify the federal
laws that limited immigration• Progressives used all of the following reasons to
justify immigration restriction:– The introduction of immigrants was polluting the
nation’s racial stock– Newer immigrant groups had proven themselves less
adaptable to American society than earlier groups – The flow of immigrants into urban areas was creating
social unrest• The American Protective Association supported
immigration restrictions• a. eugenics (38)
b. nativism (39)c. New Immigration (40)