PROGRESSIVISM AND THE REPUBLICAN ROOSEVELT Chapter 28American Pageant, 13th ed.

PROGRESSIVE ROOTS By 1900 America was faced with social

problems that had been mounting for 30 years but had not been affectively addressed.

The nation was gripped by a reform movement called Progressivism. Biggest period of reform since the 1840s.Waged war on many social evils including:

monopolies, corruption in government, inefficiency, social injustice and irresponsible corporations

PROGRESSIVISM The heart of progressive movement:

Belief that government should be strengthened so that it could act aggressively to tackle social ills

Government could be an instrument of positive good Basic prescription: use government as an agency

of human welfare A rejection of laissez-faire

ROOTS OF PROGRESSIVISM Pressure came from a number of different

groups:Socialists from Europe—start to gain strength in

USChristians preaching Social Gospel—focused on

the needs of the poor and the workers at the mercy of corporations

Feminists—suffrage movement included social justice in their call for reform because women were often those who suffered the most

Urban pioneers exposing corruption of cities and working conditions of children and women

MUCKRAKERS Magazines and Newspapers

began to compete with each other to expose evil and corruption

TR coins term muckrakers Lincoln Steffens—Shame in

the Cities (big business & municipal government)

Ida Tarbell—expose of Standard Oil

David Phillips—The Treason of the Senate (Senators represent railroads & trusts)

GOALS OF MUCKRAKERS Was out-pouring of

national criticism and exposure of ways in which the system was broken

Articles had a profound impact on the nation

Like progressives in general, these articles were long on complaint but short on solutions

MUCKRAKING TARGETS Malpractice of life

insurance company tariff lobbies beef trust money trust railroad barons White slave traffic in

women Slums High rate of industrial

accidents Child labor Plight of blacks in the

South

GOALS OF PROGRESSIVES Regain the power that had slipped from the hands

of the people into the hands of the special interest. Thus, pushed for: Primary elections Initiatives – voter proposed legislation Referendum – laws on ballot for final approval Recalls - allowing voters to remove candidates who

were screwing up Another objective was rooting out corruption

corrupt practices acts – limited campaign finances secret ballot direct election of US senators

17th Amendment Woman’s suffrage

PROGRESSIVISM IN THE CITIES AND STATES

Progressives scored their biggest victories at the state and city levels

City commission form of government -Galveston Texas

Wisconsin a test lab for progressive proposals Gov. Robert La

Follette Oregon, California &

New York followed suit

PROGRESSIVE WOMEN Settlement House

movement Social Clubs “Women’s issues” Sweat shops Muller v. Oregon – laws

protect women workers too

Lochner v. New York – 10 hour workday for all

Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire

TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT Woman’s Christian

Temperance Union Frances Willard led 1 million

members Some states and counties

passed laws controlling, restricting or banning liquor

The big cities generally stay wet

TR’S SQUARE DEAL FOR LABOR Roosevelt is a progressive Demanded a “Square Deal” for capital, labor

and the public Believed the government should uphold the public

interests He pushed control of three Cs:

corporations consumer protection conservation of natural resources

Intervened in the coal strike of 1902: showed government can help the people

Department of Commerce and Labor 1903 Bureau of Corporations

TR CORRALS THE CORPORATIONS

RR monster still largely untouched

Interstate Commerce Commission was largely ineffective

TR & Congress took on railroads & trusts together

Gave Interstate Commerce Commission teeth to impose restrictions

TR TRUST BUSTING Northern Securities

Company Railroad holding

company held by J.P. Morgan – had monopoly in Northwest

TR with help of Supreme Court dissolved NSC and others

Proved that government had power over business

CARING FOR THE CONSUMER TR backed

legislation protecting against adulterated and mislabeled food

1906 Upton Sinclair The Jungle

Meat Inspection Act of 1906

Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906

ROOSEVELT AND CONSERVATION

EARTH CONTROL

Americans using up natural resources Corporations hungry to exploit resources Conservation and naturalist movement

started before TR president, but TR gave the movement a huge kick in the pantsSet aside vast tracts of forests to prevent

logging on itBanned Christmas trees from the White HouseProtected coal mines

ROOSEVELT EMBOLDENS ENEMIES

Roosevelt is easily elected in his own right in 1904

TR’s big mistake: announces that he will not

run for a “third” term. makes him a lame duck

ROOSEVELT PANIC OF 1907 Sharp but short-lived panic on Wall Street in 1907

Speculation ends in run on banks Currency in short supply

Conservatives blame TR – too much government intervention

Aldrich-Vreeland Act National banks can issue emergency currency if

needed; sets the stage for Federal Reserve Act of 1913

THE ROUGH RIDER THUNDERS OUT TR used his political clout to

engineer nomination of William H. Taft in 1908

Taft platform were TR’s policies

Dems nominate William Jennings Bryan

Taft wins easily Socialists manage nearly a

half-million votes

CONTRIBUTIONS OF TR Enlarged the power and

prestige of the presidency Began the process of taming

capitalism ensuring that it would survive rather than being replaced

Developed technique of using publicity as a political weapon

Helped shape the progressive movement and to lay the ground-work for later liberal reforms

Opened Americans, eyes to world affairs and America’s role and potential influence on world events

TAFT: A ROUND PEG IN A SQUARE HOLE

Taft was initially very popular

Taft was passive with no jovial personality like TR

Poor judge of public opinion

Foot-in-mouth disease (a little too honest)

DOLLAR DIPLOMACY Extra dollars can go to foreign investments

where the US has a stake in country’s success

Success for them=success for US Leads to investment in Caribbean Causes US entanglement in these

countries US Marines land in Cuba, Nicaragua,

Honduras and the Dominican Republic to restore order and to protect US investmentsContinues the distrust of Caribbean and Central

American countries toward US

TAFT THE TRUSTBUSTER Taft brought antitrust suits at nearly four times the

rate of TR; 90 in his 4-year term Supreme Court decision in Standard Oil case

Dissolution of company Said company restricted trade & violated Sherman

anti-trust act Taft also went after US Steel

Angered TR because he liked US Steel

TR BUSTS TAFT TR increasingly annoyed

with Taft TR expected and

wanted Taft to be progressive in his mold

TR was not ready to leave the stage

TR moving from Taft’s mentor to his antagonist

The progressive wing longed for the return of TR

TAFT SPLITS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY Lower tariff one of the primary progressive aims;

protective tariff viewed as the mother of all Trusts Payne-Aldrich Bill passed

Taft: the “best bill ever passed by the party” Increased tariffs on many items

Taft relieves Gifford Pinchot of duties as chief of Agriculture because he spoke up about opening lands in West to corporate development

REPUBLICAN SPLIT By 1910 the progressive wing

of Republican party moved into open revolt

Taft being pushed into the camp of the conservatives

Osawatomie, Kansas, speech Doctrine of “New Nationalism” or

increased government power Mid-term elections showed

Democratic gain

THE TAFT-ROOSEVELT RUPTURE National Progressive

Republican League; LaFollette at the head

TR lets it be known that he will accept a third term if nominated by Republicans

He seizes the progressive banner

Wins a number of the new primaries

TR is more popular with voters, but doesn’t win the nomination because Taft was more conservative

Roosevelt is outraged & forms the Bull Moose Party

CITATION Progressivism and the Republican Roosevelt. (2001).

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