Woodrow Wilson's Presidency
Wilson's Reforms
Reforming Banks
Roosevelt versus Wilson
Antitrust Action
- During Wilson's 8 years as president he will reform tariffs, the banking system, trusts, and workers' rights.
- Five weeks after taking office Wilson asked Congress to pass a bill on tariffs.
- In 1913 the Congress passed the Underwood Tariff- This law reduced the average tariff on imported goods to about 30 percent of the value of the goods and provided for levying the first federal graduated income tax- a direct tax on people's earnings.
- The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 created the regional reserve banks, supervised by a Board of Governors appointed by the president.
- This Board could set interest rates the reserve banks charged other banks, thereby indirectly controlling the nation's interest rates and the amount of money in circulation. This act became one of the most significant pieces of legislation in American history.
- Wilson decided against pursuing the monopolies.
- In 1914, at Wilson's request, Congress created the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to monitor American business.
- The FTC had the ability to investigate big business. They could find them guilty of unfair trade-trading practices that derive a gain at the expense of competition. If a business disagreed with FTC they could take them to court.
- Roosevelt claimed New Nationalism: accepted large trusts, set out to create proposals to increase regulation on trusts, laws to protect women and children in the labor force, supported worker's compensation for workers hurt on the job.
- Wilson claimed New Freedom: He criticized Roosevelt for supporting what he called "regulated monopoly", argued that Roosevelt's approach gave federal government too much power in the economy and did nothing to restore competition, Wilson claimed that freedom outweighed efficiency.
- Wilson won the 1912 election because Taft and Roosevelt split the Republican vote. He won on only 42% of the popular vote.
- For the first time since Grover Cleveland (1892) there was a Democratic president.
Regulating Big Business
Antitrust Continued
Wilson's Reforms Continued
- graduated refers to the percentage of a person's income that is taxed. A person with a larger income would pay more income tax than a person with a small income.
- The 16th amendment, also passed in 1913, had given the federal government the power to levy such a tax on income.
- Some progressives in Congress wanted more and responded by passing the Clayton Antitrust Act in 1914- this law outlawed certain practices that restricted competition such as price discrimination, or charging different customers different prices. This correct deficiencies in the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.
- This act also supported the labor unions and said it did not pertain to them. Samuel Gompers stated that this was the "Magna Carta" because it gave unions the right to exist.
- In 1916 Wison signed teh first federal law regulating child labor. The Keating-Owen Child Labor Act prohibited the employment of children under the age of 14 in factories producing goods for interstate commerce.
- Supreme Court ruled that law unconstitutional in 1918.
- He support the Adamson Act-established an eight-hour workday for railroad workers, and the Federal Farm Loan Act, which helped provide low-interest loans to farmers.
Progressivism Legacies and Limits!
- Wilson's era help the American people by allowing the federal government to actively regulate the economy and help solve social problems.
- It did not however help the racial and religious discrimination in our country.
- 1905 W.E.B Du Bois formed the Niagara Falls group, involving 28 other black Americans to fight for voting rights. He said this would end lynching and racial discrimination.
- 1908 race riots in Springfield, Illinois surprised many black American activists. In 1909, led by Ida Wells-Barnett and others they had a conference in Springfield (Lincoln's hometown) to take stock of the progress in emancipation.
- 1913 the ADL was formed to combat stereotypes and discrimination. There was a booklet put together portraying Jews getting sick to avoid WWI. This group complained and Wilson had the booklet revoked.