Chapter 29

Wilsonian Progressivism at Home and Abroad, 19121916 0CHAPTER THEMES

Theme: After winning a three-way election focused on different theories of progressivism, Woodrow Wilson successfully pushed through a sweeping program of domestic economic and social reform in his first term. Theme: Wilsons attempt to promote an idealistic progressive foreign policy failed, as dangerous military involvements threatened in both Latin America and the North Atlantic.

0CHAPTER SUMMARY
Wilson and his New Freedom defeated oosevelt and his New Nationalism in a contest over alternative forms of progressivism. !lo"uent, idealistic former professor Wilson successfully carried out a broad progressive economic reform of the tariff, finances, and the trusts. #e also achieved some social reforms that benefited the wor$ing classes, but not blac$s. Wilsons attempt to implement progressive moral goals in foreign policy was less successful, as he stumbled into military involvements in the %aribbean and revolutionary &e'ico. (he outbrea$ of World War ) in !urope also brought the threat of American involvement, especially from *erman submarine warfare. Wilson temporarily avoided war by e'tracting the precarious Sussex pledge from *ermany. #is antiwar campaign of +,+narrowly won him reelection over the still-"uarreling epublicans. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. New Freedom .rogressive epublican /ull &oose 0emagogue #erbert %roly Woodrow Wilson triple wall of privilege 1nderwood (ariff /ill 2i'teenth Amendment Louis 0. /randeis Federal eserve Act Federal (rade %ommission Act of +,+3 13. %layton Anti-(rust Act of +,+3 14. #olding %ompanies 15. Federal Farm Loan Act of +,+16. La Follettes 2eamens Act of +,+4 17. Wor$ingmens %ompensation Act 18. Adamson Act of +,+19. Louis 0. /randeis 20. 5ones Ac-t in +,+21. %risis with 5apan in +,+6 22. (urmoil in #aiti 23. *eneral 7ictoriano #uerta 24. 7enustiano %arran8a 25. (ampico 26. A/% .owers 27. 9.ancho: 7illa 28. *eneral 5ohn 5. 9/lac$;ac$: .ershing 29. 2ara;evo 30. %entral .owers 31. Allies 32. Neutrality 33. %entral .owers 34. <aiser Wilhelm )) 35. /ritish /loc$ade 36. 1-boats 37. Lusitania 38. Arabic 39. 2usse' 40. %ampaign of +,+41. %harles !vans #ughes

Chapter 29 Study

uide

The "Bull Moose" Campaign of 1912 #ow did oosevelts entry into the campaign with a (hird .arty guarantee Wilsons victory= !'plain the difference between oosevelt>s form of progressivism and Wilson>s. oo!"o# ilson: $ Mino"i%& '"esi!en% ?(he @+,+AB election results are fascinating.? !'plain. ilson: The (!ealis% in 'oli%i)s Analy8e the way in which Wilson>s personality and past affect the way he conducted himself as president. ilson Ta)*les %he Ta"iff What were the three parts of the ?triple wall of privilege=?

#ow did Wilson address the tariff issue= ilson Ba%%les %he Ban*e"s What was the ma;or problem with the ban$ing system= #ow was the Federal eserve 2ystem different than the ban$ing system that e'isted in the 1.2. in +,+6= The '"esi!en% Tames %he T"us%s #ow did Wilson curb the trusts= ilsonian '"og"essi+ism a% ,igh Ti!e 0escribe some of the positive and negative outcomes of Wilsons progressive legislation and actions. -e# .i"e)%ions in /o"eign 'oli)& %ontrast Wilson>s ideas of foreign policy with those of oosevelt and (aft. What were the ma;or foreign policy issues Wilson faced in this period= Mo"alis%i) .iploma)& in Me0i)o Why did &e'ico give such trouble to the Wilson administration= !valuate Wilsons handling of the &e'ican crisis. Thun!e" $)"oss %he 1ea What caused !urope to plunge into WW) in +,+3= $ '"e)a"ious -eu%"ali%& Why did both the Allies and %entral .owers thin$ they could gain American support= What caused an officially neutral America to turn against the %entral .owers= $me"i)a 2a"ns Bloo! Mone& Analy8e American trading patters during the early part of WW). #ow did *ermany>s use of submarines lead to tense relations with the 1.2.= ilson ins 3eele)%ion in 1916 What were the $eys to Wilson>s electoral victory in +,+-= 4a"&ing 4ie#poin%s: ho e"e %he '"og"essi+es5 Which answer to the "uestion above seems correct to you= Why=

0EXPANDING THE VARYING VIEWPOINTS

ichard #ofstadter, The Age of Reform C+,44D. A view of progressives as bac$ward-loo$ing individualistsE 9.rogressivism, at its heart, was an effort to reali8e familiar and traditional ideals under novel circumstances.FAt the core of their conception of politics was a figure "uite as old-fashioned as the figure of the little competitive entrepreneur who represented the most commonly accepted economic ideal. (his old-fashioned character was the &an of *ood Will, the same innocent, bewildered, bespectacled, and mustached figure we see in the cartoons today labeled 5ohn G. .ublicHa white collar or small business voter-ta'payer with perhaps a modest home in the suburbs.: *abriel <ol$o, The Triumph of Conservatism C+,-6D. A view of progressivism as a victory for business conservatismE 9(he New Freedom, in its concrete legislative aspects, was little more than the ma;or demands of politically oriented big businessmen. (hey had defined the issues, and it was they who managed to provide the direction for change.F)n its larger outlines it was they who gave progressivism its essential character. /y the end of +,+3 they had triumphed, and to the e'tent that the new laws were vague and sub;ect to administrative definitions by boards and commissions, they were to totally dominate the e'tensive reign of political capitalism that had been created in the 1nited 2tates by +,+4.: obert Wiebe, The Search for Order, 187719 ! C+,-ID. A view of progressives as forward-loo$ing bureaucratsE 9!'perts in administration supported by a variety of professionals sought solutions to the citys problems through proper procedures and continuous enforcement.FA blend of many ideas, the new political theory borrowed its most revolutionary "ualities from bureaucratic thought.F (rained, professional servants would staff a government broadly and continuously involved in societys operations.F(his revolutionary approach to government, incomplete as it was, eventually dominated the politics of the early twentieth century.:

0QUESTIONS ABOUT THE VARYING VIEWPOINTS

17J. According to each of these historians, who were the progressives, and what were their central values= 18J. #ow would each of these historians relate the progressive constituency to the basic progressive approach to government= 19J. #ow would each interpret the progressive attac$ on political bosses and the establishment of independent regulatory commissions to monitor businesses li$e the railroads, meat pac$ing, and ban$ing=

Analysis 0Q !s"i#ns
9 efuse to accept as inevitable any evil in business Ce.g., irregularity of employmentD. efuse to tolerate any immoral practice Ce.g., espionageDF.@0emocracyB demands continuous sacrifice by the individual and more e'igent obedience to the moral law than any other form of government.: 06ouis B"an!eis 71856819419 71922D "Those senators do not understand #hat the peop$e are thin%ing& The' are far from the peop$e, the great mass of the peop$e&( 0 oo!"o# ilson 71856819249 719199 ")t is unfair for some to have a $ot #hen others have nothing& The poor #ho #or% *ut earn too $itt$e have a c$aim on the #ea$th of the rich&( 0/"an)is)o 7:'an)ho;9 4illa C+KIKL+,A6D C+,+4D +J. Were Wilsons progressive legislative achievements in his first term consistent with his New Freedom campaign= Why or why not= AJ. #ow was Wilsons progressive presidency similar to (heodore oosevelts, and how was it different= Were the differences ones of personality or policy= 6J. Why did Wilson fail in his attempt to develop a more 9moral,: less imperialistic policy in Latin America= Were his involvements really an attempt to create a new mutual relationship between the 1nited 2tates and the neighboring republics, or was it ;ust an alternative form of American domination= 3J. Was the 1nited 2tates genuinely neutral during the first years of World War ), or was it biased in favor of the Allies and against *ermany= Was it possible for the 1.2. to remain neutral= Why or why not= 4. (he 1.2. in the period +K,K-+,+, failed to recogni8e that it had vital interests at sta$e in !urope, where it tried to stay aloof. At the same time, it had fewer or no such interests in Asia, where it eagerly became involved. Assess the validity of this generali8ation. CIID

-.

Assess the relative influence of (# !! of the following in the American decision to declare war on *ermany in +,+I. *erman naval policy Allied propaganda American economic interests Americas claim to world power Woodrow Wilsons idealism C,4D

HISTORIC NOTES
A split in the epublican .arty between supporters of (heodore oosevelt and of .resident William #oward (aft gives the 0emocrats Woodrow Wilson victory in the +,+A election. An idealist by nature and e'perience, .resident Wilson soon addresses some of the burning concerns of his timeE the high protective tariff, the power of the trusts, and ban$ing monopolies. #e also uses his rhetorical s$ills and academic e'perience to convince the public and %ongress that the plight of impoverished and e'ploited farmers and wage laborers must be addressed. Wilson alters foreign policy in Latin America. oosevelt waved the /ig 2tic$E (aft advocated what became $nown as dollar diplomacy to protect and attract 12 investments. Wilson, on the other hand, recoils from imperial pretensions. /ut events in #aiti, the 0ominican epublic, and &e'ico convince him to modify his ob;ections to imperialism and use of the 12 military.

As militarism, nationalism, and imperialism strain relations among !uropean countries, Wilson maintains a precarious policy of neutrality. *ermanys use of 1-boats to starve /ritain into submission leads to what the 12 considers serious violations of its shipping and maritime rights. 0espite his reputation as a progressive and advocate for the downtrodden and often forgotten wor$er and farmer, Wilson was at best indifferent, often opposed, to blac$ rights. Wilson instituted segregation in the federal government. A product of the %ivil War and econstruction 2outh, he held attitudes on blac$ rights in star$ contrast to his 8eal for reform in other areas. (he sin$ing of the passenger liner Lusitanian, which resulted in the loss of nearly +,AJJ lives including +AK 12 citi8ens, outraged Americans. #owever, today many historians are convinced the ship was carrying war materials to /ritain, a violation of the 12s own neutral stance.

Advanced Placement United States History Topic Outline

18. The 2me"gen)e of $me"i)a as a o"l! 'o#e" A. American imperialismE political and economic e'pansion /. War in !urope and American neutrality %. (he First World War at home and abroad 0. (reaty of 7ersailles !. 2ociety and economy in the postwar years