Fourth Party System [1890s–1932] V Flashcards
(37 cards)
Review - Timeline: Age of Empire - American Foreign Policy, 1890-1914
1893: Turner presents ‘Frontier Thesis’. 1898: U.S. fights Spanish-American War; U.S. annexes Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. 1899: Hay drafts ‘Open Door Policy’ regarding trade in China. 1900: Boxer Rebellion erupts in China. 1901: Congress approves ‘Platt Amendment’ regarding Cuba. 1903: U.S. obtains rights to build Panama Canal. 1904: Theodore Roosevelt announces ‘Roosevelt Corollary’.
Review - Timeline: Leading the Way - The Progressive Movement, 1890-1920
1901: President William McKinley assassinated; Theodore Roosevelt assumes presidency. 1906: Meat Inspection Act passes; Pure Food and Drug Act enacted. 1910: Interracial coalition forms NAACP. 1911: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire triggers first factory inspection laws. 1912: Roosevelt founds Progressive Party. 1913: Sixteenth Amendment authorizes federal income tax; Seventeenth Amendment subjects U.S. senators to popular vote. 1920: Eighteenth Amendment prohibits manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages; Nineteenth Amendment guarantees women right to vote.
William Howard Taft (R)
The Republican William Howard Taft worked as a judge in Ohio Superior Court and in the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals before accepting a post as the first civilian governor of the Philippines in 1900. In 1904, Taft took on the role of secretary of war in the administration of Theodore Roosevelt, who threw his support to the Ohioan as his successor in 1908. Generally more conservative than Roosevelt, Taft also lacked his expansive view of presidential power, and was generally a more successful administrator than politician. By 1912, Roosevelt, dissatisfied with Taft’s presidency, had formed his own Progressive Party, splitting Republican voters and handing the White House to the Democrat Woodrow Wilson. Nine years after leaving office, Taft achieved his lifelong goal when President Warren Harding appointed him chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; he held that post until just before his death in 1930.
Woodrow Wilson (D)
Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), the 28th U.S. president, served in office from 1913 to 1921 and led America through World War I (1914-1918). An advocate for democracy and world peace, Wilson is often ranked by historians as one of the nation’s greatest presidents. Wilson was a college professor, university president, and Democratic governor of New Jersey before winning the White House in 1912. Once in office, he pursued an ambitious agenda of progressive reform that included the establishment of the Federal Reserve and Federal Trade Commission. Wilson tried to keep the United States neutral during World War I but ultimately called on Congress to declare war on Germany in 1917. After the war, he helped negotiate a peace treaty that included a plan for the League of Nations. Although the Senate rejected U.S. membership in the League, Wilson received the Nobel Prize for his peacemaking efforts.
Frank Norris’ ‘The Octopus’.
Frank Norris wrote The Octopus in 1901, a novel about the struggle between wheat farmers and the corrupt practices of railroad barons, which included intimidation, bribery, and vote tampering. The octopus became a symbol of the stranglehold monopolies and trusts had on free market competition.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - Antitrust busting legislation.
Antitrust lawsuits were used to break up monopolies and trusts found to be restraining trade and manipulating markets. President Roosevelt filed 44 antitrust lawsuits and President Taft 90. The Supreme Court first decided that manufacturing fell within the commerce clause of the Constitution, then found the Northern Securities Company to be in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) and ordered it dissolved - other industries would follow suit. In 1911, thanks to muckraking by Ida B. Tarbell, the U.S. Supreme Court determined J.D. Rockefeller’s ‘Standard Oil Company’ to be in violation of the law and was slit into 34 separate companies.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - Federal departments and commissions to oversee business and industry.
Federal departments and commissions were created to oversee business and industry. The Department of Commerce and Labor was created to enforce federal regulations, particularly those involving interstate commerce. The Mann-Elkin Act (1910) authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate telegraph and telephone companies. And by 1913, a separate Department of Labor was created to protect the welfare of workers and to improve working conditions.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - Antitrust busting legislation - Clayton Antitrust Act.
The most important antitrust legislation passed during Woodrow Wilson’s administration, which began in 1913, was the Clayton Antitrust Act (1914). It attempted to strengthen the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) by identifying specific illegal practices and business combinations that were against the law if they tended to lessen competition or create a monopoly. The Clayton Antitrust Act also exempted farm cooperatives and legitimate labor union activities, such as picketing, strikes, and boycotts, from antitrust prosecution as a restraint of trade. This supported labor’s right to organize and was widely supported by labor unions, particularly the American Federation of Labor.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - Antitrust busting legislation - Clayton Antitrust Act - The Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission Act (1914) set up the Federal Trade Commission to enforce the Clayton Antitrust Act (1914) and to issue cease and desist orders to stop unfair practices such as misbranding and adulteration of goods, false and misleading advertising, spying and bribery to secure trade secrets, and closely imitating a competitor’s product.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - Regulation of the Railroad Industry
A series of federal laws were enacted by Congress to better regulate the railroad industry. The ‘Elkins Act’ (1903) allowed the previously weak ‘Interstate Commerce Commission’ (ICC) to punish shippers as well as railroads engaged in rebating, which was the discriminatory practice of discounting rates to large companies or favored customers. The ‘Hepburn Act’ (1906) allowed the ICC to set maximum railroad rates and to inspect the financial records of railroad companies. The ‘Adamson Act’ (1916) established an eight-hour day for railroad workers.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - Tariff and banking reforms - The Underwood Tariff.
The Underwood Tariff (1913) lowered the tax on imported goods from 40% to 25%. The goal was to target industries dominated by the large trusts by promoting competition and opening American markets for foreign goods. Congress also passed the first federal income tax levied on corporations and individuals earning more than $4,000 per year.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - Tariff and banking reforms - Federal Reserve.
After the financial panic of 1907, the ‘Federal Reserve Act’ (1913) created a publicly-controlled banking system resistant to financial panic. A central reserve bank was set up to basically back up private banks. You can think of it as a banker’s bank. Twelve regional district reserve banks were created. Each bank was independent, but they were regulated by the Federal Reserve Board, who oversaw national fiscal policy. The Federal Reserve issues paper money and controls the amount of money in circulation through money reserves and interest rates. The new Federal Reserve System provided a reliable, flexible currency system with a decentralized money supply.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - Agricultural Reform
In an effort to provide support to the agricultural industry, the ‘Farm Loan Act’ (1916) created a ‘Federal Farm Loan Board’ and twelve regional farm loan banks, modeled after the Federal Reserve System. National Farm Loan Associations worked with the banks to offer low-interest loans to farmers.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - Describe the Progressives and the changes they sought and made in municipal governments.
In an effort to end abuses of power in politics and government, several key political reforms were created during the Progressive Era, from around 1900-1917, led by labor unions and trade associations against political machines. Many municipal governments were restructured into city commission systems or city manager systems, making them more effective and efficient in administering city government and providing municipal services. Some of the urban reforms were, in fact, less democratic. They were, however, less corrupt.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - Describe the Progressives and the changes they sought and made in municipal governments - Municipal Governments.
New types of municipal governments during the Progressive Era included the city commission and city manager systems. In the city commission system, five city commissioners are elected to head different departments of city government. The commissioners come together to enact legislation. One of the drawbacks of the city commission system is that it gave considerable power to individual commissioners.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - Describe the Progressives and the changes they sought and made in municipal governments - City Manager System.
In the city manager system, a council or commission is elected to make policies that are then carried out by a city manager, including the hiring and supervision of city departments and employees. Some of the new reforms were actually less representative of all the people because political bosses had previously given a voice to working-class immigrants. Now municipal governments were influenced more by the urban middle class.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - Describe the Progressives and the changes they sought and made in municipal governments - Public Utilities.
Monopolies of public utilities, such as water, gas, electric, and transit systems, also came under fire by political reformers. The political influence of these companies was challenged by the passing of laws to regulate their rates and increase their taxes. Some Progressives went so far as to argue that utilities should come under public ownership.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - Lincoln Steffens
Calls for reform originated with muckrakers like Lincoln Steffens, who revealed the widespread corruption of city politicians and urban political machines. Steffens launched attacks against corrupt government connections with big businesses in ‘The Shame of the Cities’, published in 1904. Steffens urged the American people to save their cities from corrupt politicians and for the people to take back government for themselves.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - David Graham Phillip
Big business also held a large amount of influence over state and national legislatures through the bribing of politicians and buying of votes. In 1906, David Graham Phillip illustrated the unfair influence large trusts had over the U.S. Senate. In ‘The Treason of the Senate’, he claimed that the majority of senators were catering to the wishes of the railroads and large trusts, not the American people. Political reformers of the Progressive Era worked to secure more political power for the people and make government officials more accountable.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - Robert La Follette
One of the most well-known Progressive politicians was Robert La Follette, also known as ‘Battling Bob’ La Follette. He served as a congressmen, senator, and governor of Wisconsin. He was a key player in mobilizing Progressive reforms at the state level. Under La Follette’s leadership, Wisconsin became known as a ‘laboratory for democracy.’ He worked to curb the influence and power large trusts had over the government. He quickly gained national attention and became a leader of the National Progressive Republican League, whose goal was to open up the Republican Party to Progressive reforms.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - State Political Reforms - Initiative.
Initiative is a method in which voters can initiate or propose state laws. If enough people sign a petition, the proposed laws can be voted on by state legislatures or directly by the people through a popular vote.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - State Political Reforms - Referendum.
Referendum is the process in which a legislative body can submit a proposed local or state law to be voted on directly by the people. If a person believes an existing law to be bad, they may use the referendum process by circulating a petition asking that the law be submitted for popular vote.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - State Political Reforms - Recall.
Recall is the process in which the people can vote on whether to remove an elected official from office. In a recall vote, voters must vote again on candidates for the position in question. If the incumbent (official currently in office) wins, he or she stays in office. If he or she loses, they are recalled, or removed from office. A notable recall election that gained national attention occurred in California in 2003. Democratic Governor Gray Davis was ousted from office when the voters decided through a recall election that the incumbent governor was no longer suitable for the job. The voters replaced him with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, who then became the governor of California.
Progressive Era (1900-1917) - State Political Reforms - Secret ballot.
Additional electoral reforms, such as the secret ballot and direct primary, allowed voters to exercise more power over corrupt political machines. With the introduction of the secret ballot, voters could now vote in private, usually in some type of voting booth. Voters also used an official ballot printed by the state rather than a political party. These changes made it much harder for elections to be tampered with, and all states had the secret ballot in place by 1910.
