HST210 – US History 1877 to Present
Lecture #8 – The Progressive Party and WWI
William Howard Taft (GOP)
- Roosevelt's friend
o Roosevelt declares he wouldn't run again so he chose his friend t run
- Continues to bust trusts, including Standard Oil and pursue progressive reforms.
o Supports conservation
- Tried to promote American interests without bombastic rhetoric
- Dollar Diplomacy- advocates substituting bullets and force with business investment to
increase American influence in Latin America and promote economic stability in the
region
Dollar Diplomacy
- By 1913, half of America’s foreign investments were in Latin America (United Fruit
Company).
o UFC owned close to 200,00 acres of land in the Caribbean
o Because they have the money to build infrastructure/railway
- Dollar diplomacy increases US power in Latin America (and on occasion necessitates
military intervention)
Progressive Party
- Taft and Roosevelt have a falling out and TR unsuccessfully challenges Taft for the
Republican nomination in 1912.
o Teddy thinks Taft is being too hard on corporations
- When Roosevelt loses, he bolts the Republican Party and forms an independent party:
the Progressive Party (Bull Moose Party)
Progressive Party and New Nationalism
- Calls for women's suffrage, social welfare legislation, workers' compensation, and a host
of other Progressive goals.
- Roosevelt advocates heavy taxes on personal fortunes and corporations and federal
regulation of the railway and mining industry
The Election of 1912
- Taft (Republican) v. Roosevelt (Progressive Party) v. Woodrow Wilson (Democratic
Party) v. Eugene Debs (Socialist Party).
- Taft and Roosevelt split the Republican Party vote and Wilson (Democrat) wins
President Wilson
- New Freedom- vigorous regulation of big business, protection of workers’ rights and
support of small business. o Politicians now adopting names for their platforms
- Federal Reserve Act (1913) creates the Federal Reserve Board – increases government
control over credit and money supply (interest rates!)
o Central banking system in US
- Supported limit on campaign donations (esp. for corporations)
Wilson in Office
- Federal Trade Commission Act (1914) created the Federal Trade Commission to
investigate and prohibit corrupt, unfair, business practices.
o So wall street doesn't do shady things
- Clayton Antitrust Act (1914) strengthens antitrust legislation
- Wilson wanted to help people who were at the bottom (not rich and not well connected)
Wilson's Impact
- Wilson’s domestic program expanded the scope of the federal government and
continued the process of making the office of the Presidency the center of power in
Washington.
o The government is doing a lot more
- TR and Wilson laid the foundation of the modern activist presidency and helped usher in
the modern activist state
o Through vigorous action, they expand the office of the presidency
o Help shift power away from congress tot he presidency
o Showed what the presidency can accomplish
Conclude Progressivism
- Progressives succeed in getting the state to assume a larger role in regulating the
economy and in solving the nations social problems
- The government gets involved in consumer rights, antitrust legislation, etc.
- Many Americans accept that the government should take action to address
social/economic problems
- Progressivism dies out with WWI
WWI: Europe's Competing Alliances
- Central Powers: expansionist Germany, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman
Empire/Turkey and Bulgaria
- Allies: England, France, Italy, Russia, Romania and Japan (and more later on!)
WWI
- Emperor of Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, Russia supports Serbia, etc.
- Caused by imperial rivalries, greed for territory and national prestige, and the alliance
system.
- Catalyst was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-
Hungarian throne, by a Serbian terrorist on June 28, 1914
- US doesn't want to get involved o Monro
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