Goal 7.02: Analyze how different groups of Americans made economic and political gains in the Progressive Period.
- President Theodore Roosevelt (1901 – 1909)
- Promoted his ______: promise to treat both citizens and businesses fairly – protect consumers from the dangers of “bad” trusts, but also protect businesses from unreasonable labor demands
- Anthracite Coal Mine Strike (1902)
- 150,000 Pennsylvania coal miners went on strike for higher pay, reduced hours, and union recognition
- Roosevelt offered ______when the strike threatened to leave the nation without coal for the winter; union accepted, but mine owners refused
- Roosevelt threatened to seize the mines, forcing owners to the bargaining table
- In the end, miners got more pay and fewer hours, but owners were not required to recognize the miners’ union
- ______Act of 1903
- Banned railroads from giving rebates to “preferred” shippers – railroads had to charge everyone the same shipping rates
- Strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) by giving it the ability to impose fines for violations
- US v. ______(1904)
- Three major railroads joined forces under a holding company called Northern Securities, essentially creating a dangerous monopoly
- Roosevelt sued, claiming a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act
- 1904: Supreme Court ruled in Roosevelt’s favor, ordered breakup of Northern Securities
- ______Act of 1906
- Further strengthened the ICC by giving it the authority to set railroad rates rather than just regulate them
- Actually helped the railroads because the ICC worked with them to ensure railroads were profitable while also making it difficult for new railroads to enter the marketplace
- Department of Commerce & Labor created in 1903
- Even while opposing trusts, Roosevelt knew that supporting business interests was good for the nation’s economy
- Included the Bureau of ______, a branch which monitored businesses and advised them when their practices were of concern to the government so they could self-correct and avoid bad publicity of government intervention
- Food and drug reforms
- Upton Sinclair (1878 – 1968)
- Wrote ______ (1906) which exposed the horrific conditions within the meat-packing industry
- Public outcry prompted Roosevelt to push through food inspection reforms
- ______Inspection Act of 1906
- Required the inspection of meat sold through interstate commerce and required the United States Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) to set standards of cleanliness in meatpacking plants
- Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906
- Prohibited the manufacture, sale, or shipment of impure or falsely labeled food and drugs
- Products containing drugs like alcohol, caffeine, or cocaine had to be labeled with contents and dosage
- Land Conservation
- Roosevelt supported conservation of the nation’s natural resources through limiting consumption
- Began to set aside millions of acres of public lands for national parks, forests, and wildlife preserves
- President William Howard Taft (1909 – 1913)
- Payne-Aldrich Tariff of 1909
- Progressives and Taft (but not most Republicans) supported lowering tariffs
- Taft tried to get a lower tariff passed, but ended up being forced to accept the Payne-Aldrich Tariff which actually raised tariffs on most goods
- This angered & disappointed Progressives, including Teddy Roosevelt, and badly hurt Taft’s reputation
- Ballinger-Pinchot Controversy (1909)
- Taft’s Secretary of the Interior, Richard Ballinger, was accused by head of the US Forest Service (and close friend of Roosevelt) Gifford Pinchot of corruption
- Taft’s Attorney General dismissed the charges, so Pinchot leaked his story to the press
- Taft fired the popular Pinchot, angering Progressives
- Ballinger was later cleared of any wrongdoing by congressional investigators
- Mann-Elkins Act of 1910
- Again increased the powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission by giving it more regulatory control
- Added ______(telegraph & telephone companies) to the industries overseen by the ICC
- Taft the “Trustbuster”
- Roosevelt was perceived as being a more efficient trustbuster than Taft, but Taft actually prosecuted twice as many antitrust cases in his 1 term as president as Roosevelt did in 2 terms!
- US v. ______(1911)
- Supreme Court ruled that James Duke’s American Tobacco Co. had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by establishing an illegal monopoly on the cigarette industry; Court ordered the company broken up
- The ______Bureau (created in 1912)
- Designed to protect children from abuse, both at home and in the workplace and to monitor orphanages, foster care, and adoptions
- First federal agency to be headed by a woman (Julia Lathrop)
- Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911)
- Exit doors to the factory were kept locked from the outside to prevent employees from stealing
- When fire broke out, workers could not escape and 146 women workers died
- Public outrage led to major reforms in working conditions and building codes
- The ______Party
- Disappointed in Taft, Teddy decided to run for president once again in 1912, but the Republican Party nominated Taft
- Roosevelt formed his own Progressive Party, better known as the “Bull Moose” Party and ran as its candidate, splitting the Republican vote
- The Bull Moose platform of “New ______” supported a federal government which was powerful enough to regulate corporations
- Roosevelt was shot while campaigning, limiting his ability to appear in public over the last several weeks of the election
- Election of 1912
- Democratic Party nominated Progressive NJ governor (and political newcomer) Woodrow Wilson
- With the Republicans split, Wilson won the election fairly easily
- President Woodrow Wilson (1913 – 1921)
- Ran on the “New ______” platform: rather than empower government to regulate monopolies and trusts, simply destroy monopolies to ensure fair competition
- Believed in limited government, especially where the economy was concerned
- ______Amendment (1913)
- Created the federal tax on personal income
- US now taxed individuals rather than the states
- ______Amendment (1913)
- US Senators had been appointed by state legislatures, but after David Graham Phillips’ articles on corruption in the Senate, this Amendment changed the law to direct election of Senators by the people
- ______Tariff of 1913
- Wilson believed that competition with European companies would force American companies to produce better products more efficiently (cheaper)
- New tariff cut tariff rates in half, to about 30%
- ______Act of 1913
- Wilson revived the idea of having a “national bank”
- Required private banks to keep a portion of their deposits on reserve in federally run reserve banks to act as a cushion against unexpected losses; federal reserve banks would set national interest rates and regulate the amount of money in circulation, allowing them to control inflation and prevent recessions
- ______Commission created in 1914
- Created to monitor businesses
- Had the authority to investigate and issue cease-and-desist orders against businesses using unfair trade practices which hurt competition
- Not designed to breakup trusts, but rather to deter companies from using unethical practices
- ______Antitrust Act of 1914
- Banned agreements which required retailers who bought products from one company to stop selling products from competitors
- Required businesses to charge all customers the same price for a product
- Banned manufacturers from giving price discounts to retailers who bought larger volumes of goods
- Declared labor unions to be exempt from antitrust laws
- Keating-Owen ______Act of 1916
- Prohibited the employment of children under 14 in factories producing goods sold through interstate commerce
- Later struck down by the Supreme Court as being outside of federal jurisdiction
- ______Act of 1916
- Established the 8-hour workday for railroad workers, created overtime pay
- Passed by Congress to avoid a national railroad strike
- First US law to regulate the hours of workers in private industry
- Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916
- Created special federal banks to provide loans to farmers and small businesses
- Encouraged small businesses to compete with bigger rivals, thereby avoiding trusts and monopolies
- ______Amendment (1919)
- Growing support for the temperance (anti-alcohol) in the US led to a ban on the manufacture, transport, or sale of alcoholic beverages anywhere in the US
- Amendment was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933
- ______Amendment (1920)
- Finally granted women suffrage (the right to vote) in federal elections
- Suffrage had been sought by women since the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848!
- Changes in state and local government
- Robert ______(1855 – 1925)
- Leader in Progressive reforms at the state level as governor of Wisconsin
- Developed the “Wisconsin idea” of applying scientific methods to the running of state government
- Changes in City Government
- Efficiency experts began calling for cities to be “managed” by experts rather than by politicians and their buddies
- Divided city services into departments, each headed by an expert in that field under the leadership of a hired city manager
- Voting Reforms
- ______: all party members vote for who will be nominated as a candidate rather than just party leadership
- ______: individual’s votes would be kept secret, not published
- ______allows citizens to vote directly on important issues rather than leave the issues in the hands of elected officials
- ______: allows voters to remove an elected official from office before their term is up
- ______: allows voters to force elected officials to vote on a certain issue