Progressive Presidents

Progressive Presidents Aim: Why were Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft known as progressive presidents? Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt was the vice president in 1900. He became president after President McKinley was killed in 1901. Only 42 years old, Roosevelt was the youngest president in the country’s history. He agreed with progressive ideas. President Roosevelt wanted to regulate trusts. Trusts were groups of businesses that set their own rules about prices and who could sell that product or service. Some trusts were not following the Sherman Antitrust Act. Roosevelt brought legal charges against many trusts. Roosevelt was called a trustbuster. He wanted to break up the trusts he thought were harmful. More than 100,000 coal miners went on strike in 1902. They were members of the United Mine Workers union. The miners wanted more pay. They wanted to work only eight hours a day. The mine owners refused to give the workers what they asked for. The strike lasted for months. Winter was coming. People needed coal to heat their homes. Roosevelt asked the union and the owners to accept arbitration (ahr•buh•TRAY• shun). This meant that a neutral party would make a decision to solve the dispute. Mineworkers won some of what they wanted. Roosevelt handled this problem differently than past presidents. Earlier presidents used soldiers against strikers. Roosevelt had company owners make an agreement with strikers. Roosevelt ran for president in 1904. He promised the people a Square Deal. This meant fair and equal treatment for all. He easily won the election. Roosevelt’s Square Deal called for government regulation of business. This approach differed from that of some earlier presidents. They felt the government should leave businesses alone. Roosevelt supported the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act. The acts gave the government power to visit businesses and inspect, or carefully examine products. Roosevelt has been called the first environmental president. He believed in the need for conservation. This meant that natural resources would be protected and saved. In 1905, Roosevelt suggested making the U.S. Forest Service. He asked Congress to set aside millions of acres of national forests. He also formed the National Conservation Commission. The commission took the first survey of the country’s natural resources. 1. Why was Roosevelt called a trustbuster? 2. What is the definition of arbitration? Highlight the definition in the article and write it below. 3. What was Roosevelt’s approach to labor relations? 4. Highlight the passage on the Square Deal. What did the Square Deal call for? William Howard Taft No U.S. president had ever served more than two terms. Roosevelt decided not to run again in 1908. He chose his friend and fellow Republican William Howard Taft to run for president. Roosevelt thought that Taft would carry on the progressive Republican ideas. Taft easily defeated the Democrat’s candidate, William Jennings Bryan. Taft did carry out many of Roosevelt’s policies. The Taft administration won more antitrust cases than Roosevelt had won. Taft also favored safety standards for both mines and railroads. Taft supported the Sixteenth Amendment. It allowed Congress to tax people’s income. Progressives believed income taxes were fairer than other taxes. They hoped a new tax would allow the government to lower tariffs. This would lead to lower prices. This would help poor people. The Sixteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution in 1913. Congress also passed laws so that people who made more money had to pay more tax. Roosevelt and other progressives were disappointed with Taft. They were unhappy that Taft did not fight for a lower tariff. Taft also changed some conservation policies. By 1912, Roosevelt was unhappy with Taft. Roosevelt decided to run against him for the Republican presidential nomination. Roosevelt won every primary. Primaries are elections that help political parties choose candidates. Taft had the backing of party leaders. Taft also had the support of powerful businesses. Taft won the nomination. Roosevelt and his supporters formed a new political party called the Progressive Party. The Progressives nominated Roosevelt for president. Roosevelt felt ready to fight, so he said, “I feel as fit as a bull moose!” People then called the party the Bull Moose Party. This split in the Republican Party lost votes for both Taft and Roosevelt. It allowed Democrat Woodrow Wilson to win the election. 5. What did the Sixteenth Amendment allow? 6. Why was the tax on individual incomes passed by Congress considered fairer than other kinds of taxes? 7. How did Roosevelt’s run for the presidency affect the election of 1912? Woodrow Wilson President Wilson did not like big government or big business. His program was called the “New Freedom.” He asked Congress to pass a lower tariff. This would help foreign companies compete with American companies. President Wilson believed this would force American companies to make better products and to lower prices. Congress also passed the Federal Reserve Act to regulate banking. The act created 12 regional banks. It was supervised by a central board. Many banks had to join the Federal Reserve System and follow its rules. Wilson wanted the government to have more control over businesses. In 1914, Congress set up the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC’s job was to see that corporations traded fairly. Wilson also supported the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914. The government could use this act to fight against trusts. The government also tried to regulate child labor. Congress passed the Keating-Owen Act of 1916. Goods made by children in one state could not be sold in other states. This law was struck down two years later. The public began to lose interest in progressive ideas. Americans were more concerned with world affairs. By 1914, a war was beginning in Europe. 8. Why did Wilson support lower tariffs? Highlight the answer in the text, then record the answer below. 9. Why do you think there was a shift in interest from progressive reform to world affairs at the end of Wilson’s first term? (Use information from the text and your knowledge of history). Exit Ticket: What actions did these presidents take that made them Progressive? List them in the chart below. Roosevelt Taft Wilson