Encouraged by return to prosperity at end of 1890s
Between 1897 and 1904 tendency toward concentration in industry increased
1899: more than 1,200 firms absorbed in mergers with the resulting combinations capitalized at $2.2 billion
By 1904: 318 industrial combinations with an aggregate capital of $7.5 billion
People who considered bigness an inherent evil insisted they be broken up
CARNEGIE STEEL PLANT, HOMESTEAD, PA, 1905
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection
ROOTS OF PROGRESSIVISM
Settlement house workers and reformers concerned with the welfare of the poor
Women big contributors
In 1900 about 1.7 million children under the age of 16 were working full time
Laws regulating the hours and conditions of women in industry were inadequate
Little done to enforce safety rules or provide compensation for workers hurt on the job
Movement for social welfare legislation spurred by growing number of social workers
ROOTS OF PROGRESSIVISM
U.S. was becoming more urban, more industrial, more mechanized, more centralized, more complex
Premium on efficiency and cooperation
Return of prosperity after 1896 encouraged growth of progressive movement
Good times made people more tolerant and generous
As long as profits were on the rise, the average employer did not object if labor improved its position
Middle class Americans increasingly found their conscience bothered by conditions of immigrants and others less well off than they
ROOTS OF PROGRESSIVISM
Giant industrial and commercial corporations undermined the ambitions and sense of importance of the middle class
Growth of labor organizations also worried them
Character and moral values seemed to matter less
Cold, impersonal organizations were coming to dominate business, politics, and other aspects of life
ROOTS OF PROGRESSIVISM
Protestant pastors found their moral authority challenged by materialistic congregations
College professors worried that universities were falling under control of businessmen with little respect for learning
Lawyers were no longer “aristocrats” but industrial “cogs”
The middle class could support reform because they were not being radical but were, in fact, resisting change, and the intellectual currents of the time harmonized with ideas of social improvement and the welfare state
THE MUCKRAKERS
Fall 1902: McClure’s published two hard hitting articles that provoked comment and helped bring the progressive movement into focus
Attack on Standard Oil by Ida Tarbell
Attack on big-city political machines by Lincoln Steffens
January 1903: further installments were accompanied by an article attacking labor gangsterism in the coal fields
McClure included an editorial in which he commented that these articles showed that Americans had lost their moral compass
THE MUCKRAKERS
Other editors adopted the McClure formula
A small army of journalists flooded the market with attacks on dozens of subjects
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection
THE PROGRESSIVE MIND
Progressives believed human beings were, by nature, decent, well intentioned, and kind
Believed the source of society’s problems lay in the structure of institutions; not, as previous reformers believed, in the weaknesses or sinfulness of individuals
Local, state, and national government must be made more responsive to the will of its virtuous citizens
Unfortunately, in the South it meant “reformers” often supported methods used to disenfranchise blacks since they considered them unthinking and shiftless
THE PROGRESSIVE MIND
Progressivism was paternalistic, moderate and often soft-headed
Over simplified issues
Treated personal values as absolute standards of truth and morality
Progressives often worked at cross purposes
Progressives never challenged the basic principles of capitalism nor did they try to reorganize society
Most Progressives were anti-immigrant and had little interest in the welfare of blacks
THE PROGRESSIVE MIND
ASHCAN SCHOOL
Tried to develop a distinctly American style by turning to city streets and slums for their models and depended on inspiration and inner conviction more than careful craftsmanship
Were individualists but supported political and social reform
Most saw themselves as rebels but were really not very advanced as painters
Idols were long dead European painters
Uninfluenced by postimpressionists
“RADICAL” PROGRESSIVES: The Wave of the Future
Hard times of 1890s and callous reaction of conservatives pushed many in the direction of Marxian socialism
Eugene V. Debs ran for President on socialist ticket in 1900 but got less than 100,000 votes
In 1904 he got 400,000 and did even better in later elections
1905: Debs; William “Big Bill” Haywood of Western Federation of Miners; Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, a former organizer for United Mine Workers; Daniel De Leon of the Socialist Labor Party and a few others formed the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) which was openly anti-capitalist
LABOR DAY PARADE, MAIN STREET, Buffalo, NY 1895-1910
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection
“RADICAL” PROGRESSIVES: The Wave of the Future
IWW never attracted many ordinary workers
Big Bill Haywood
Shortly after IWW founded, Haywood was charged with complicity in the murder of an antiunion governor of Idaho but was acquitted
1912: was involved with bitter strike of textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, which was settled with some benefit to strikers
Also involved in unsuccessful strike of silk workers in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1913
“RADICAL” PROGRESSIVES: The Wave of the Future
Other “advanced” European ideas of importance included Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theories
Some saw as reason for revolution in morals, advocating easy divorce, trial marriage, and doing away with double standard in all matters relating to sex
Rejected Victorian reticence and “puritan” morality and called for programs of sex education and dissemination of birth control information
Most cities had groups of these “bohemian” thinkers—the most famous was found in New York City’s Greenwich Village
“RADICAL” PROGRESSIVES: The Wave of the Future
Few bohemians were really radical
Most came from middle class backgrounds
Found Italian and Jewish neighborhoods charming but did not get involved in immigrants’ lives
JEWISH MARKET on THE EAST SIDE, New York 1890-1901
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection
POLITICAL REFORM: Cities First
For most progressives, the root of problems lay with political corruption and inefficiency, especially in the cities
Began assault on these problems in the 1890s
To destroy machines, had to change urban political institutions
“Home rule” charters that gave greater freedom from state control in dealing with local matters
Created research bureaus that investigated government problems in a scientific and nonpartisan manner
Middle sized communities experimented with a system that integrated executive and legislative powers in the hands of a small elected commission, thereby concentrating responsibility and making it easier to coordinate complex activities—became city manager system under which the commissioners appointed a professional manager to administer city affairs on a nonpartisan basis
POLITICAL REFORM: Cities First
Once the political system had been made responsive to the desires of the people, the progressives hoped to use it to improve society itself
Progressive mayors took a variety of steps:
“gas and water” socialism—taking over public utility companies and operating them as departments of the municipal government
Toledo established a minimum wage for city employees, built playgrounds and golf courses, and moderated a harsh penal code
New York improved its public transportation system and obtained passage of the tenement house law of 1901
Cleveland forced a fare cut to 3 cents on the street railways
POLITICAL REFORM: The States
To carry out this kind of change, the support of state legislatures was needed, which could not be obtained without striking at inefficiency and corruption at state level
Robert La Follette, after serving three terms as a Republican Congressman (1885-1891), became governor of Wisconsin in 1900 and transformed the state
Obtained a direct primary system for nominating candidates, a corrupt practices act, and laws limiting campaign expenditures and lobbying activities
BUT made ruthless use of patronage, demanded absolute loyalty of subordinates, and often oversimplified the truth when presenting complex issues to voters
POLITICAL REFORM: The States
La Follette realized that some state functions called for specialized knowledge and used commissions and agencies to handle railroad regulation, tax assessment, conservation, and highway construction
Wisconsin established a legislative reference library to assist lawmakers in drafting bills
La Follette enticed top-notch economists and political scientists from the faculty of the University of Wisconsin into public service
The success of the “Wisconsin Idea” led other states to duplicate it
POLITICAL REFORM: The States
Reform administrations swept into office
Iowa and Arkansas (1901)
Oregon (1902)
Minnesota, Kansas and Mississippi (1904)
New York and Georgia (1906)
Nebraska (1909)
New Jersey and Colorado (1910)
By 1910, 15 states had established legislative references services, most of them staffed by personnel trained in Wisconsin
The direct primary system became almost universal
1902: Oregon experimented with:
the initiative—a system by which a bill could be forced on the attention of the legislature by popular petition
the referendum—a method for allowing the electorate to approve measures rejected by their representatives and to repeal measures the legislature had passed
by 1914, 11 mostly western states legalized these devices
STATE SOCIAL LEGISLATION
1874: Massachusetts restricted working hours of women and children to 10 per day
By the 1890s, most states in the East and Midwest had followed suit
1893: Illinois passed an 8-hour law for women workers
A New York law of 1882 struck at the sweatshops of the slums by prohibiting the manufacture of cigars on premises occupied as a house or residence
STATE SOCIAL LEGISLATION
Some states established special rules for workers in hazardous industries
In 1890s several states limited the hours of railway workers
1896: Utah restricted miners to 8 hour days
1901: New York enacted an effective tenement law, greatly increasing the area of open space on building lots and requiring toilets for each apartment, better ventilation systems and more adequate fireproofing
Before 1900 the collective impact of such legislation was blunted by powerful manufacturers, landlords, or the federal system itself
Role of 14th amendment
INTERIOR OF TENEMENT, NEW YORK CITY, 1900-1910
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection
STATE SOCIAL LEGISLATION
Judges took increasingly conservative view as new, far-reaching laws emerged
1905: Supreme Court in Lochner v. New York ruled that a New York 10 hour law for bakers deprived bakers of the liberty of working as long as they chose and thus violated their 14th amendment rights
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes dissented: if the people of New York believed that public health was endangered by bakers working long hours, it was not the court’s job to overrule them
STATE SOCIAL LEGISLATION
Progressives, especially women, continued to struggle for state legislation to control business
1904: National Child Labor Committee organized
Over next 10 years obtained laws in every state banning the employment of young children and limiting the hours of older ones
Congress passed a federal law in 1916
1918: Supreme Court, in Hammer v Dagenhart, ruled the federal law unconstitutional
STATE SOCIAL LEGISLATION
By 1917 nearly all states limited the hours of women industrial workers and 10 had set wage standards for women
A minimum wage law for women in the District of Columbia was overturned by the Supreme Court in Adkins v. Children’s Hospital (1923)
Laws protecting workers against on-the-job accidents were also enacted in many states
Stricter municipal building codes and factory inspection acts
By 1910 many states had modified the common law principle that a worker accepted the risk of accident as a condition of employment and was not entitled to compensation unless it could be proved that the employer had been negligent
States adopted accident insurance plans
Some began to grant pensions to widows with small children
Most manufacturers favored such measures because they regularized procedures and avoided costly lawsuits
STATE SOCIAL LEGISLATION
Conservatives reacted to this new legislation with judicial proceedings, believing that no government had the power to deprive either workers or employers of the right to negotiate any kind of labor contract they wished
Muller v. Oregon (1908): case challenging an Oregon law limiting women laundry workers to 10 hours a day
Consumers’ League, probably the most effective of women’s reform organizations, persuaded Louis D. Brandeis to defend the Law
Brandeis provided research showing long hours damaged health of women and society causing Court to uphold the law
After 1908 the right of states to protect women, children and workers performing dangerous and hazardous tasks by special legislation was accepted
STATE SOCIAL LEGISLATION
Progressives also launched an attack on problems related to monopoly between 1900 and 1917
Wisconsin passed a graduated personal income tax, forced corporations to bear a larger share of the cost of government, created an industrial commission to enforce the state’s labor and factory legislation and established a conservation commission
Under governor Woodrow Wilson (1911-1913) New Jersey enacted similar legislation
POLITICAL REFORM: The Woman Suffrage Movement
Leaders of suffrage embittered by failure of 14th and 15th amendment to give women the right to vote
American Woman’s Suffrage Association (AWSA) focused on vote question alone
National Woman’s Suffrage Association (NWSA), led by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, concerned itself with other women’s issues as well, such as unionization of women
ELIZABETH CADY STANTON, seated, and SUSAN B. ANTHONY
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division [reproduction number, e.g., LC-USZ62-110212]
POLITICAL REFORM: The Woman Suffrage Movement
Women also handicapped by Victorian sexual inhibitions
Believed, based on scientific thinking, that the female personality was inherently different than that of the male
SUFFRAGE PARADE, New York City, May 6, 1912
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division [reproduction number, e.g., LC-USZ62-110212]
POLITICAL REFORM: The Woman Suffrage Movement
Led to concept that since women were morally superior to men, giving them the vote would improve the electorate
Politics would be come less corrupt
War would become a thing of the past
Not only was the argument wrong, it surrendered the principle of equality which would have long term consequences for the women’s movement
POLITICAL REFORM: The Woman Suffrage Movement
1890: two major women’s groups combined to form the National American Woman’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA)
Stanton and Anthony were the first two presidents of the association
Carrie Chapman Catt was a rising leader
NAWSA made winning the vote its main objective and concentrated on a state-by-state approach
1869: Wyoming gave women the right to vote
By 1896, Utah, Colorado, and Idaho had also given women the right to vote
POLITICAL REFORM: The Woman Suffrage Movement
Growing progressive movement led middle class recruits of both sexes to join the cause
1911: California, which had rejected the proposal 15 years earlier, passed woman suffrage
Within three years most other western states joined in
ELECTION DAY! 1909
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division [reproduction number, e.g., LC-USZ62-110212]
POLITICAL REFORM: The Woman Suffrage Movement
For the first time, large numbers of working class women began to agitate for the vote
1917: Tammany Hall bosses threw their support behind what they saw as an inevitable progression and the movement passed
Suffragists shifted attention back to national level under the leadership of Alice Paul and Alva Belmont of the Congressional Union
ALICE PAUL, 1920
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division [reproduction number, e.g., LC-USZ62-110212]
POLITICAL REFORM: The Woman Suffrage Movement
When President Wilson refused to support the idea of a constitutional amendment, militant women picketed the White House
A number were arrested and sentenced to 60 days in a workhouse
THE FIRST PICKET LINE - College day in the picket line, February 1917
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division [reproduction number, e.g., LC-USZ62-110212]
POLITICAL REFORM: The Woman Suffrage Movement
The arrest of the picketers aroused a storm of protest and Wilson was forced to pardon them
NAWSA stopped concentrating on a state-by-state approach and began to campaign for a national amendment
Pressure on Congress mounted steadily
1919: The amendment won Congressional approval
By 1920, three-fourths of the states had ratified the Nineteenth Amendment
POLITICAL REFORM: Income Taxes and Popular Election of Senators
1913: Progressive reform drive led to:
16th Amendment: authorizing federal income taxes
17th Amendment: requiring the popular election of senators
“Insurgent” congressmen reformed the House by limiting the power of the Speaker
During early years of the century, the speaker appointed the members of all committees and controlled the course of legislation
Representatives could seldom gain the floor without first obtaining the Speaker’s consent
1910: insurgents stripped the Speaker of control of the House Rules Committee
Thereafter, appointments made to committees determined by entire membership, acting through party caucuses
THEODORE ROOSEVELT: Cowboy in the White House
September 6, 1901: anarchist Leon Czolgosz shot President McKinley during a public reception at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York
8 days later McKinley died
At 42, Theodore Roosevelt became the youngest American president
THEODORE ROOSEVELT, by George Burroughs Torrey 1905
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection
THEODORE ROOSEVELT: Cowboy in the White House
Theodore Roosevelt
Son of a well-to-do New York merchant
Graduated from Harvard in 1880 and studied law, but did not receive a degree, at Columbia
Three terms in New York assembly, six years on the Civil Service Commission, two years as police commissioner of New York City, another as assistant secretary of the navy, term as governor of New York
Had also been rancher in Dakota Territory and soldier in Spanish-American War
Also a well-know historian: Naval War of 1812 (1882) & 4 volume Winning of the West (1889-1896), two popular biographies, and other books as well
Was a loyal Republican
THEODORE ROOSEVELT: Cowboy in the White House
Conservatives were worried about “Teddy” Roosevelt
Too undignified
Too energetic
Too outspoken
Too unconventional
To compensate for a sickly childhood, Roosevelt carried displays of physical stamina, personal courage, his love of athletics, and big game hunting to great lengths
THEODORE ROOSEVELT: Cowboy in the White House
Roosevelt was energetic and hard-driving and often got what he wanted by using executive power rather than by persuading Congress to pass new laws
Domestic program
Some measure of control of big corporations
More power for the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)
Conservation of natural resources
TEDDY ROOSEVELT by Gari Melchers 1908
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection
THEODORE ROOSEVELT: Cowboy in the White House
Obtained new laws
1902: New Lands Act funneled proceeds from land sales in West into federal irrigation projects
Department of Commerce and Labor, which was to include a Bureau of Corporations, with authority to investigate industrial combines and issue reports, was established
1903: The Elkins Railroad Act strengthened the ICC’s hand against the railroads by making the receiving as well as the granting of rebates illegal, and by forbidding the roads to deviate in any way from their published rates
ROOSEVELT AND BIG BUSINESS
Roosevelt considered monopoly problem the most pressing issue of the time, but did not believe in breaking corporations indiscriminately
Wanted to regulate, but Congress was unwilling to pass necessary legislation, so resorted to Sherman Antitrust Act
1902: Roosevelt had the Justice Department sue the Northern Securities Company
created in 1901
Controlled the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroads—essentially a monopoly of western railroads
ROOSEVELT AND BIG BUSINESS
1904: Despite J.P. Morgan’s attempt to preempt the suit, the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of the Northern Securities Company
Roosevelt then ordered suits against the meat packers, the Standard Oil Trust, and the American Tobacco Company
President, however, went out of his way to assure cooperative corporate magnates that he was not against size per se
Agreement with U.S. Steel: investigate, with their cooperation, in return for a chance to fix problems
Similar deal with International Harvester
Standard Oil reneged on their deal and were sued and broken up under the Sherman Antitrust Act
ROOSEVELT AND THE COAL STRIKE
June 1902: United Mine Workers (UMW), led by John Mitchell, went on strike for higher wages, an 8 hour day, and recognition of the union
Most of the anthracite mines were owned by railroads
Two years earlier miners had won a 10% wage raise in a similar strike because the owners had feared labor unrest might interfere with McKinley’s election
When workers struck, owners shut down mines and prepared to starve the workers out
BREAKER BOYS, Woodward Coal Mines, Kingston, Pa
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection
ROOSEVELT AND THE COAL STRIKE
Strike dragged on through summer and early fall
Miners avoided violence and offered to submit their claims for arbitration
Sentiment on their behalf rose along with price of coal
Mine owners acted poorly
October: Roosevelt summoned both sides for a meeting and urged them to come to agreement in the face of impending coal shortage
Mine owners outraged at interference and refused to come to conference, instead demanding that Roosevelt end the strike with force and sue the union under the Sherman Antitrust Act
ROOSEVELT AND THE COAL STRIKE
Management’s attitude only furthered public support for miners
Roosevelt responded by announcing that unless a settlement was forthcoming he would order troops to the anthracite regions to seize and operate the mines
The owners gave in
Miners would return to the mines
All issues would be submitted for arbitration to a commission appointed by Roosevelt
March 1903: the commission gave the workers a 10% raise and a 9 hour day
ROOSEVELT AND THE COAL STRIKE
The public saw this event as the perfect example of the progressive spirit
Actually, miners gained little and the companies lost less
Companies not required to recognize the union
Commission also recommended a 10% increase in the price of coal (covered wage raise)
Main winner was Roosevelt, who was seen as a fearless, imaginative, public-spirited leader
Expanded power of presidency
TR’S TRIUMPHS
1904: Roosevelt easily defeated Democrat Judge Alton B. Parker of New York
Pressed for further reforms but Congress refused to act
1906: Got an increase in the power of the ICC with Hepburn Bill
Commission could inspect books of railroad companies
Could set maximum rates
Could control sleeping car companies, owners of oil pipelines and other firms engaged in transportation
Railroads could not issue passes freely
TR’S TRIUMPHS
1906: Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle exposed the filthy conditions in the Chicago meatpacking industry
Roosevelt sent two officials to Chicago to investigate
Report was shocking and Roosevelt threatened to release it unless Congress acted by passing the meat inspection Act
Pure Food and Drug Act: forbid the manufacture and sale of adulterated and fraudulently labeled products
ROOSEVELT TILTS LEFT
Roosevelt took increasingly liberal positions
Very concerned about conservation of natural resources
Strictly enforced laws governing grazing, mining and lumbering
October 1907: financial panic increased concern of conservative Republicans over Roosevelt’s direction
To deal with run on Stock Exchange Roosevelt authorized the deposit of large amounts of government cash in New York Banks and agreed to acquisition of the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company by U.S. Steel
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT: The Listless Progressive, or More Is Less
Roosevelt chose his Secretary of War, William Howard Taft, to succeed him as the Republican candidate
Easily defeated William Jennings Bryan 321 to 162 electoral votes in 1908
Taft had been a lawyer, judge, solicitor general, federal circuit judge, and civil governor of the Philippines before becoming Secretary of War in 1904
Loyally supported Roosevelt’s Square Deal
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT: The Listless Progressive, or More Is Less
Enforced the Sherman Act vigorously
Continued to expand the forest reserves
Signed the Mann-Elkins Act of 1910: empowered the ICC to suspend rate increases without waiting for a shipper to complain and established the Commerce Court to speed the settlement of railroad rate cases
Approved 8 hour day for all persons working on government contracts, and mine safety legislation
Summoned Congress to special session to reduce tariff duties
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT by George Burroughs Torrey, 1912
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT: The Listless Progressive, or More Is Less
Taft disliked Roosevelt’s method of circumventing Congress
Conservationists concerned about Taft’s secretary of the interior, Richard A. Ballinger
Less than ardent conservationist
Returned to the public domain certain waterpower sites that Roosevelt had removed on legally dubious grounds that they were to become ranger stations
This action alarmed Chief Forester Gifford Pinchot, who launched an attack on Ballinger when he learned Ballinger intended to validate the shaky claim of mining interests to a large tract of coal land in Alaska
Taft supported Ballinger and eventually dismissed Pinchot
BREAKUP OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
Theodore Roosevelt was a close friend of Pinchot
March 1910: when he emerged from big game hunting in Africa, Roosevelt was confronted with accusations that Taft was lazy and dangerous to the Republican Party, and pleas for Roosevelt’s assistance
Taft offended by Roosevelt’s increasing coolness
Republican Party was dividing into two factions: Progressives and Old Guard
BREAKUP OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
August 1910: Roosevelt sided with progressives and backed comprehensive package of social legislation, “New Nationalism”
October 1911: Final break came when Taft ordered an antitrust suit filed against U.S. Steel based, in part, on its absorption of Tennessee Coal and Iron, which Roosevelt had agreed to
Early 1912: Roosevelt declared himself a candidate for president
BREAKUP OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
While Roosevelt won in most states with presidential primaries, Taft controlled Republican Party machinery and emerged with the nomination
Upset at Taft’s tactics, Roosevelt agreed to organize a third party and run for election
August 1912: Progressive (Bull Moose) Party met in Chicago and nominated Roosevelt
Called for strict regulation of corporations, a tariff commission, national presidential primaries, minimum wage and workers’ compensation laws, the elimination of child labor, and other reforms
THE ELECTION OF 1912
Democrats, after 46 ballots, nominated the liberal governor of New Jersey, Woodrow Wilson
A political scientist who criticized status quo and took a pragmatic approach to the idea of government regulation of the economy
Called his brand of reform “New Freedom”
Wilson wanted to eradicate special privileges and restore competition by breaking up the great trusts, establishing fair rules for doing business and subjecting violators to stiff punishments
In the end, Wilson’s New Freedom defeated Roosevelt’s New Nationalism with 435 electoral votes to 88
Taft had only 8 electoral votes
Eugene V. Debs, running on the Socialist ticket, gained no electoral votes but 897,000 popular votes
WILSON: The New Freedom
Wilson achieved an avalanche of legislation when he entered office
Underwood Tariff 1913: first significant reduction of tariffs since before the Civil War and compensated for lost revenues with a graduated tax on personal incomes
WOODROW WILSON
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection
WILSON: The New Freedom
Federal Reserve Act gave the country a central banking system by dividing the nation into 12 banking districts, each under the supervision of a Federal Reserve bank
All national and state banks who wished to participate had to invest 6 percent of their capital and surplus in the reserve bank which was empowered to exchange paper money (rediscount) for the commercial and agricultural paper that members took in as security from borrowers
Volume of currency was no longer at the mercy of the supply of gold or any other commodity
Federal Reserve Board in Washington, DC, appointed the majority of directors of the federal reserve banks and had some control over rediscount rates
When inflation threatened, reserve banks could raise the rediscount rate, reducing amount of money in circulation, or, in bad times it could lower the rate, making it easier to borrow, and injecting money into the economy
WILSON: The New Freedom
1914: Congress passed two laws affecting corporations:
One created the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to replace Roosevelt’s Bureau of Corporations
Could issue cease-and-desist orders against “unfair” trade practices (though the law did not define “unfair”)
Commission’s rulings could be appealed in federal courts
Clayton Antitrust Act made certain specific business practices illegal, including price discrimination that tended to foster monopolies, “tying” agreements that forbade retailers from handling the products of a firm’s competitors, and the creation of interlocking directorates as a means of controlling competing companies
Exempted labor unions and agricultural organizations from the antitrust laws and curtailed use of injunctions in labor disputes
Officers of corporations could be held personally responsible if their companies violated antitrust laws
WILSON: The New Freedom
April 1913: Wilson called Congress (both houses were controlled by Democrats) into special session, and became first president since John Adams to personally address it
Closely followed the course of administration bills
Had private phone line installed to Capitol and sent notes of encouragement or demands for support
WILSON: The New Freedom
Wilson expected responsible party government
Expected individual Democrats to support decisions of party majority
Awarded spoils of office to city bosses and conservative congressmen as long as they supported his program
Objected strenuously to laws granting special favors to farmers and workers
Did not back a bill for low interest loans for farmers
Did not like exempting unions from the antitrust laws
Would not push for law prohibiting child labor
Refused to back amendment for female vote
THE PROGRESSIVES AND MINORITY RIGHTS
Wilson was distinctly reactionary on race relations, like many progressives
1907: Gentlemen’s Agreement had excluded Japanese immigration
Dillingham Commission on immigration issued report in 1909 that led to 1913 bill restricting the number of newcomers to be admitted, especially from eastern and southern Europe (passage prevented by outbreak of WWI in 1914)
American Indians, previously viewed as capable of civilization, were increasingly dismissed as fundamentally inferior people who would always be second class citizens
THE PROGRESSIVES AND MINORITY RIGHTS
1902: Dead Indian Land Act made it easier for Indians to sell allotments that they had inherited
1906: another law further relaxed prohibitions on sales
Efforts to improve education of Indian children continued, though most progressives assumed only vocational training would help them
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection
THE PROGRESSIVES AND MINORITY RIGHTS
Populist efforts to unite white and black farmers in southern states led to imposition of further repressive measures
Segregation became more rigid
White opposition to black voting became more monolithic
Many progressive women appealed to southerners to support woman suffrage by using racist arguments
There was little support for southern black education
1910: only 8,000 black children were attending high schools
Between 1900 and 1914 more than 1,100 blacks were lynched
BLACK MILITANCY
William E. B. Du Bois, the first American black to earn a PhD in history from Harvard (1895), became the most prominent of those who rejected Booker T. Washington’s position
Du Bois wanted blacks to establish their own businesses, run their own newspapers and colleges, write their own literature BUT they must preserve their own identity rather than seek to amalgamate to white society
1903: Du Bois wrote an essay criticizing the accommodationist attitude of Booker T. Washington
BLACK MILITANCY
Du Bois believed that immorality, crime and laziness were common among blacks
While much of this resulted from their treatment by whites, Du Bois believed that the race would be saved by its exceptional men
July 1905: Du Bois and other blacks met at Niagara Falls and issued a list of demands: unrestricted right to vote, an end to every kind of segregation, equality of economic opportunity, higher education for the talented, equal justice in the courts, and an end to trade-union discrimination
BLACK MILITANCY
1909: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded
Dedicated to the eradication of racial discrimination
Initially, leadership was predominantly white
After 1909 white and black leaders rejected the Washington approach
Blacks began to study their past in an effort to stimulate pride in their heritage
BLACK MILITANCY
Militancy produced few results
Roosevelt courted blacks when it suited him politically and ignored then when it didn’t
Wilson was actively antipathetic to blacks
Refused to appoint even privately funded commission to look at race issues
Administration dominated by southerners
Believed segregation was in the best interest of both races
