The Progressives Chapter 18 & 19
What were long-term effects of the Triangle Shirt Fire?
On March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City burned, killing 145 workers. It is remembered as one of the most infamous incidents in American industrial history, as the deaths were largely preventable-most of the victims died as a result of neglected safety features and locked doors within the factory building. The tragedy brought widespread attention to the dangerous sweatshop conditions of factories and led to the development of a series of laws and regulations that better protected the safety of workers.
What were President Taft's greatest problems as President?
Taft's effort at designing a new look for U.S. foreign policy was generally unsuccessful. United States trade with China actually declined under Taft. Additionally, his program aimed at seeking commercial advantages in Central America aggravated the existing ill will that had been generated by Roosevelt's military interventions in Panama and Santa Domingo. (See Roosevelt's biography, foreign affairs section, for further details.) The bad relations between the United States and other American nations to the south resulted in the convening of a Pan-American Conference. This conference was intent on finding ways to curtail U.S. commercial penetration, influence, and intervention. When Taft ordered two thousand troops to the Mexican border to stand ready to intervene in revolutionary-torn Mexico to protect U.S. investments, Congress offered stiff opposition. Taft then backed off (earning the nickname "Peaceful Bill"), leaving the situation in Mexico for his successor to handle.
Why did Theodore Roosevelt get involved in the Coal Strike of 1920?
The Coal strike of 1902 (also known as the anthracite coal strike) was a strike by the United Mine Workers of America in the anthracite coalfields of eastern Pennsylvania. ... President Theodore Roosevelt became involved and set up a fact-finding commission that suspended the strike.
Why were the Hepburn and Elkins Act passed?
The Elkins Act is a 1903 United States federal law that amended the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887.[1] The Elkins Act authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission to impose heavy fines on railroads that offered rebates, and upon the shippers that accepted these rebates. The railroad companies were not permitted to offer rebates. Railroad corporations, their officers, and employees were all made liable for discriminatory practices. This 1906 law used the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate the maximum charge that railroads to place on shipping goods. Hepburn Act
Why was the Federal Trade Commission established by the Wilson administration?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act. The Federal Trade Commission Act was one of President Woodrow Wilson's major acts against trusts. Created in 1914, the five-member commission replaced Roosevelt's Bureau of Corporations and assumed new powers to define "unfair trade practices" and issue "cease-and-desist" orders when it found evidence of unfair competition.
The Progressive Era began and ended with what two wars?
The foundation of modern America was born during the progressive era (Chambers, 1980). Progressivism refers to the different responses to the economic and social evolutions that occurred as a result of America's rapid urbanization and industrialization at the end of the 19th century. In the late 1800s, millions of Americans migrated west and into urban areas, and hundreds of thousands of African Americans moved to northern cities. Moreover, the United States experienced unprecedented levels of immigration at this time
What are direct primaries?
which is now used in some form in all U.S. states, functions as a preliminary election whereby voters decide their party's candidates. The most important reform that political progressives promoted to democratize government and encourage greater political participation was this system whereby all party members would participate in the election of candidates, rather than the traditional practice in which an inner circle of party activists chose the nominee.
Who were the candidates in the 1912 election?
Candidate Party Electoral Votes Woodrow Wilson Democratic 435 Theodore Roosevelt Progressive 88 William H. Taft (I) Republican 8 Eugene Debs Socialist 0. Presidential campaign involving Taft, T. Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson. Taft and Roosevelt split the Republican vote, enabling Wilson to win
Eugene V. Debs was the candidate of which political party in the early 20th century?
Labor organizer and socialist leader Eugene V. Debs (1855-1926) began his rise to prominence in Indiana's Terre Haute lodge of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen. He entered politics as a Democratic City Clerk in 1879, and in 1885 he was elected to the Indiana State Assembly with broad support from Terre Haute's workers and businessmen. Debs organized the American Railway Union, which waged a strike against the Pullman Company of Chicago in 1894. After embracing socialism, he became the party's standard-bearer in five presidential elections. Late in life, Debs was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his opposition to the United States' involvement in World War I. During the 1880s Debs's ideas began to change. At first a firm proponent of the organization of workers by their separate crafts, he resisted the industrial organization implicit in the efforts of the Knights of Labor and ordered his members to report to work during the Knights' 1885 strike against the southwestern railroads. But his year-long involvement (1888-1889) in the strike against the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad altered these views. He now thought craft organization divisive, a hindrance to working people's efforts to secure fair wages and working conditions. And concentrated corporate power, he argued, had a debilitating effect on the political rights and economic opportunity of the majority of Americans. In 1893 he had resigned his position as secretary of the brotherhood and begun organizing an industrial union of railroad workers, the American Railway Union (Saru). The area's 1894 strike against the Pullman Company of Chicago marked a second turning point in Debs's thinking. The unified power of railroad management working intimately with federal authorities broke the strike. Federal troops occupied Chicago, federal injunctions prevented communication between are locals, and federal judges sentenced Debs and other activists to jail terms. Debs emerged from this experience with two convictions. He questioned the ultimate ability of trade unions to combat successfully capital's economic power and, after the 1896 elections, looked upon socialism as the answer to working people's problems. Between 1900 and 1920 Debs was the Socialist party's standard-bearer in five presidential elections. In 1912, in a four-way race with Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Howard Taft, he received 6 percent of the vote-his highest total ever. Between campaigns, Debs was a tireless speaker and organizer for the party, and he traveled the nation defending workers in their strikes and industrial disputes. Although many workers enthusiastically applauded Debs's vision, relatively few endorsed his political program. He conducted his last campaign for president as prisoner 9653 in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary while serving ten years for his opposition to World War I. He received nearly a million votes. As the American Socialist party fragmented in the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution, Debs remained with the party he had led for so many years. Upon his death, he was buried in Terre Haute, his home throughout his life.
Why did both the New Nationalism and the New Freedom stress political power must be restored to the people?
New Freedom Democrat Woodrow Wilson's political slogan in the presidential campaign of 1912; Wilson wanted to improve the banking system, lower tariffs, and, by breaking up monopolies, give small businesses freedom to compete. New Nationalism A platform of the Progressive party and slogan of former President Theodore Roosevelt in the presidential campaign of 1912; stressed government activism, including regulation of trusts, conservation, and recall of state court decisions that had nullified progressive programs.
What was William Howard Taft's greatest success as President?
(1908-1912), was endorsed by Roosevelt because he pledged to carry on progressive program, then he didn't appoint any Progressives to the Cabinet, actively pursued anti-trust lawsuits, appoints Richard Ballinger as Secretary of the Interior, Ballinger opposed conservation and favored business interests, Taft fires Gifford Pinchot (head of U.S. forestry), ran for re-election in 1912 but lost to Wilson. #1 He served as the United States Solicitor General from 1890 to 1892. #2 He served as the United States Secretary of War under Theodore Roosevelt. #3 William Howard Taft successfully monitored U.S. rule in the Philippines. #4 Taft served as the 27th President of the United States from 1909 to 1913. #5 He implemented vigorous anti-trust legislation. #6 Taft administration won several important anti-trust cases. #7 He expanded the jurisdiction of the ICC through the Mann-Elkins Act of 1910. #8 Taft established the United States Postal Savings System. #9 He used Dollar Diplomacy to strengthen American influence overseas. #10 William Howard Taft is the only U.S. President who also served as Chief Justice.
Which amendment did the WCTU and National Consumer's League support?
)This group led the temperance movement 2) and their work led to the passage of the 18th amendment
Why did organized labor unions strongly support the Clayton Antitrust Act?
-made the certain business practice illegal -'tying' agreements forbade retailers from handling the products of competitors -creation of interlocking directors as means to control competing companies -exempted labor unions and curtailed use of injunctions in labor disputes -officers of cooperation could be held responsible for companies individually
How did Progressives attempt to restore local and state government?
1) Government controlled by the people instead of big business and special interests 2) Economic opportunity for all Americans 3) Eliminate social injustices
What four amendments did the Progressives deal with?
16th Amendment 17th Amendment 18th Amendment 19th Amendment Meat Inspection Act Law that authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to order meat inspections and condemn any meat product found unfit for human consumption. Pure Food and Drug Act the act that prohibited the manufacture, sale, or shipment of impure of falsely labeled food and drugs Temperance Movement Reform movement begun in the 1800's that fought to ban alcohol in the U.S. This movement led to the passage of the 18th Amendment in 1920. NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, founded in 1909 to abolish segregation and discrimination, to oppose racism and to gain civil rights for African Americans, got Supreme Court to declare grandfather clause unconstitutional Secret Ballot Anonymous voting method that helps to make elections fair and honest Initiative allowed all citizens to introduce a bill into the legislative and required members to take a vote on it Referendum The name was given to the political process in which the general public votes on an issue of public concern. Direct Primary a primary where voters directly select the candidates who will run for office.
What did Amendments 16,17,18,19
16th Amendment Amendment to the United States Constitution (1913) gave Congress the power to tax income. 17th Amendment Passed in 1913, this amendment to the Constitution calls for the direct election of senators by the voters instead of their election by state legislatures. 18th Amendment The ban on sale, manufacture, and transport of alcoholic beverages. Repealed by 21st amendment 19th Amendment Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1920) extended the right to vote for women in federal or state elections.
Which state was the "workshop of democracy"
?
What two new cabinet-level agencies did Roosevelt create after the Coal Strike?
Bull Moose party a name given to the Progressive Party formed to support Theodore Roosevelt's candidacy for the presidency in 1912. New Nationalism 1912: Theodore Roosevelt's program in his campaign for the presidency, the New Nationalism called for a national approach to the country's affairs and a strong president to deal with them. It also called for efficiency in government and society; it urged protection of children, women, and workers; accepted "good" trusts; and exalted the expert and the executive. Additionally, it encouraged large concentrations of capital and labor.
Why was the Interstate Commerce Commission established by President Cleaveland and then strengthened by Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson?
Discuss Theodore Roosevelt's view of the presidency and his appointments as president. he was open, aggressive, and high spirited. At his desk by 8:30 every morning, he worked through the day, usually with visitors for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Politicians, labor leaders, industrialists, poets, artists, and writers paraded through the White House.Like most people, however, the president wavered on the trusts. Large-scale production and industrial growth, he believed, were natural and beneficial; they needed only to be controlled. Still, he distrusted the trusts' impact on local enterprise and individual opportunity. Distinguishing between "good" and "bad" trusts, he pledged to protect the former while controlling the latter. Wilson abandoned portions of the New Freedom and accepted much of the New Nationalism, including greater federal power and com- missions governing trade and tariffs. In mixing the two programs, he blended some of the competing doctrines of the Progressive Era, established the primacy of the federal government, and foreshad- owed the pragmatic outlook of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal of the 1930s.
What did Woodrow Wilson do before he became Governor of New Jersey and President in 1913?
During his time as university president, some of Wilson's views on ac came to light. He had unfavorably written about eastern and southern Europeans as "men of the lowest class." As he expanded. Political ambitions and university politics had transformed Wilson into a Social Democrat, and he was tapped for the governorship of New Jersey in 1910. A determined reformer, his successes made him the darling of Progressives, and he was nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate on the New Freedom platform in 1912.
What was unique about Roosevelt's involvement?
He made the President, rather than the political parties or Congress, the center of American politics. Roosevelt did this through the force of his personality and through aggressive executive action. He thought that the President had the right to use any and all powers unless they were specifically denied to him. He believed that as President, he had a unique relationship with and responsibility to the people, and therefore wanted to challenge prevailing notions of limited government and individualism; government, he maintained, should serve as an agent of reform for the people. His presidency endowed the progressive movement with credibility, lending the prestige of the White House to welfare legislation, government regulation, and the conservation movement.
How does the Federal Reserve System work as a "bankers" bank"? How were many federal Reserve banks created?
The primary motivation for creating the Federal Reserve System was to address banking panics. ... Before the founding of the Federal Reserve System, the United States underwent several financial crises. A particularly severe crisis in 1907 led Congress to enact the Federal Reserve Act in 1913. the central bank of the U.S. -all national banks (chartered by the federal gov't) were required to join the system -state banks (chartered by state gov'ts) were given the option to join economic power within the Federal Reserve The system is divided into 3 ways: 1. among bankers and business interests 2. among states and regions 3. between gov't and private sector -this was done because Congress believed that a unified central bank based in DC would concentrate too much power in the hands of the officials running the bank 4 groups within the system were empowered to perform separate duties: 1. the Federal Reserve Banks 2. Private commercial member banks 3. The Board of Governors 4. the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)
How did Wilson force Congress to pass the legislation that he wanted to be done?
Though Wilson and Congress regarded the Sedition Act as crucial in order to stifle the spread of dissent within the country in that time of war, modern legal scholars consider the act as contrary to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution, namely to the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. One of the most famous prosecutions under the Sedition Act during World War I was that of Eugene V. Debs, a pacifist labor organizer and founder of the International Workers of the World (IWW) who had run for president in 1900 as a Social Democrat and in 1904, 1908 and 1912 on the Socialist Party of America ticket. After delivering an anti-war speech in June 1918 in Canton, Ohio, Debs was arrested, tried and sentenced to 10 years in prison under the Sedition Act. Debs appealed the decision, and the case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court, where the court ruled Debs had acted with the intention of obstructing the war effort and upheld his conviction. In the decision, Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes referred to the earlier landmark case of Schenck v. United States (1919), when Charles Schenck, also a Socialist, had been found guilty under the Espionage Act after distributing a flyer urging recently drafted men to oppose the U.S. conscription policy. In this decision, Holmes maintained that freedom of speech and press could be constrained in certain instances, and that The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent.
Why was Woodrow Wilson considered a "minority" President when won 435 electoral votes?
Wilson won the election, gaining a large majority in the Electoral College and winning 42% of the popular vote, while Roosevelt won 27%, Taft 23% and Debs 6%. Wilson became the only elected president from the Democratic Party between 1896 and 1932, and the second of only two Democrats to be elected president between 1860 and 1932. This was the last election in which a candidate who was not a Republican or Democrat came second in either the popular vote or the Electoral College, and the first election in which all current 48 states of the contiguous United States participated. This was also the last election in which a former, or incumbent, President (Roosevelt) ran for the office without being nominated as either a Democrat or Republican; and the last election in which an incumbent president running for re-election (Taft) failed to finish either first or second in the popular vote count.