Reforms- Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson

Election of 1900 and the Succession of Teddy Roosevelt

McKinley is in office
Roosevelt is a well-known politician in New York
TR becomes Vice President but didnt expect to do anything; he was bored with the job
McKinley is assassinated~ shot at an exposition in Buffalo, NY and dies 8 days later
(Sept. 6, 1901)
Roosevelt becomes the youngest U.S. president at age 42
Reformers
W.E.B. DuBois
black leader from the north in the 1900s who fought for civil rights
founder of the Niagara Movement- demanded for blacks all their human rights at
once
Niagara Movement helped create NAACP in 1909 (National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People)
Booker T. Washington
founder of the Tuskegee Institution
trained thousands of blacks to be better farmers and mechanics~ wanted them to train
quickly for jobs they could do with their hands
Muckrakers
(journalists and novelists who investigated and exposed corruption and other illegal activities)
Upton Sinclair
wrote The Jungle- described the misery of the workers and the meat packing factories
in Chicago
led to Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)
Ida Tarbell
published attacks on the Standard Oil Company
writings appeared in McClures Magazine
Tarbell blamed Rockefeller for her fathers suicide who was in the oil business
Lincoln Steffens
a pioneer investigating reporter
wrote articles on the misgovernment of cities
Political and Social Reform
Amendments
16th Amendment- made the Federal Income Tax legal
17th Amendment- allowed for the direct election of senators by voters; in the past
senators had been elected by state legislatures
Voting Changes

Direct Primary- enabled voters to nominate their partys candidates for the general
election
Initiative- voters can propose a law by petition and have it voted by the people
Referendum- the initiative is put on a ballot for voters to pass or defeat
Recall- by petition, voters can force an official to stand for re-election at any time

Womans Suffrage
Progressives were fighting for womens right to vote (1st state- Wyoming)
Political Reform
Roosevelt favored more reforms; income and inheritance taxes, federal rules for the stock
market, and effective control of business
the trend was for government to become more involved
Municipal Reform
City Manager- a trained manager hired to run the city
was not a politician; could be fired
replaced a mayor; worked well with small cities
State Reform
Robert Battling Bob LaFollette- elected governor of Wisconsin (1900)
-enacted Progressive measures: Direct Primary, Railroad Commission, Civil
Service, restrictions on lobbying; Roosevelt called Wisconsin a laboratory for
democracy
Roosevelts domestic program: Square Deal
-Anthracite Coal Strike, 1902:
workers didnt receive a pay raise in 20 years
Roosevelt brought the striking workers and owners together
Roosevelt showed how the federal government could help
Government action was considered to be fair to laborers and management
coal miners earn a 9 hour work day and a 10% raise
Trust Busting
-Northern Securities Case
a holding company that dominated the railroads of the Northwest
Roosevelt sued the company under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Supreme court ordered the company to dissolve
beginning of the trust busting era
Roosevelts Trust Busting Philosophy
moved against other unpopular trusts: beef, oil, tobacco
he felt that the government should break up large corporations only when they hurt
the public
Conservation
Roosevelt increased national forests by almost 150 million acres
created US Forest Service- headed by Grifford Pinchot
Pinchot planned reforesting- the planting of trees along with the cutting of trees

Taft Administration at Home

Election of 1908:
William Howard Taft, the Secretary of War, was Roosevelts hand-picked successor
Taft easily defeats William J. Bryan
Taft as a progressive:
most thought Taft would follow Roosevelt in fighting for reform
progressives felt he did not fight for the reform and were disapointed
Taft and trust busting
did not make the distinction between good and bad trusts like Roosevelt did
Indict (bring criminal charges against) all trusts; allows court to decide which
trusts were good and bad
Payne-Aldrich Tariff
high tariffs were becoming a problem
consumer prices were rising; Taft promised lower tariffs
the Payne-Aldrich tariff actually raised the tariff on many items which upset the
progressives
Election of 1912
the Republican party was badly split
the issue of conservation of natural resources caused a split between Roosevelt and Taft
Democratic Nominee: Woodrow Wilson (governor of New Jersey)
Republican Nominee: William Howard Taft
progressives republicans were very upset with Taft and persuaded Roosevelt to run on a
third party ticket- Bull Moose party
Results: Wilson won fairly easily because Taft and Roosevelt split the Republican vote
Wilsons Domestic Program: New Frredom
Underwood-Simmons Tariff
reduced taxes about 11% from the Payne-Aldrich Tariff
the public supported the cut in tariffs
Federal Reserve Act
12 districts
created a more flexible currency- Federal Reserve Note
helped prevent a run on the banks
Federal Reserve System
all national banks had to be a member of the system
banks held member banks reserves and lent money to to member banks when
needed
each bank was supervised by a Federal Reserve Board- appointed by the President
divided country into 12 districts, each with a Federal Reserve Bankp
Clayton Anti-Trust Act
gave unions the right to exist

 manufacturers could not charge different customers different prices

Federal Trade Commission
created to monitor business

could issue cease and desist orders against companies engaged in unfair trade
practices