3 - Populism & Progressivism ('90-'12) Flashcards
Populism & Progessivism - Economic Legislation/Events
- Dingley Tariff Act ‘97 - McKinley increased tariffs
- Currency Act 1900 - committed the US to maintaining the gold standard
- Sherman Anti-Trust Act ‘90
- Repeal of the Silver Purchase Act ‘96 - Cleveland’s reaction to the ‘93 depression, began to improve the economy
- Introduced federal income tax & corporation tax ‘09 - later used to fund direct election of senators
- Payne-Aldrich Act ‘09 - Taft failed to lower tariffs
Populism & Progessivism - FP Legislation/Events
- Treaty of Paris ‘98 - end to the S.A.W.
- US introduced Open Door policy ‘99 towards China
- Platt Amendment ‘01, gave US control over Cuban affairs and several naval bases
- Cuban-American Treaty ‘03, imposed new political system on Cuba and made its economy heavily dependent on the US
- Root-Takahira Agreement ‘08, agreed to respect each others interests in China and maintain current situation in the Pacific
Populism & Progessivism - AA Legislation/Events
- Plessy v. Ferguson ‘96
- Cumming v. Board of Education ‘99
- NAACP founded ‘09
Populism & Progessivism - Industrial Legislation/Events
- Department of Labour and Commerce Act ‘03 - Created a new Department of Commerce to identify monopolies and price fixing
- Hepburn Act ‘06 - railroad freight rates could be inspected and lowered
- Pure Food and Drug Act ‘06 - started the end of food adulteration
- The Omnibus Indictment Act, permitted legal banning of strikes
Populism & Progessivism - Presidents
T2(/2) Cleveland (again), ‘93-‘97
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1.5T - McKinley, ‘96-‘01
2T - Teddy Roosevelt, ‘01-‘08
1T - Taft, ‘08-‘12
McKinley strengths & weaknesses
Stengths
* Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush increased the amount of gold in circulation
* Political position strengthened by the Spanish-American War
* Growing economy
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Weaknesses
* Big business friendly policies
* Dingley Tariff Act ‘97 (increased tariffs)
* Currency Act 1900 (committed the US to maintaining the gold standard)
* Strong disagreements with VP TR
* Assassinated Sept ‘01
TR strengths (few sig. weaknesses)
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Anti-trust measures
- Further enforced Sherman Antitrust Act ‘90 - 44 anti-trust prosecutions
- Department of Labour & Commerce Act ‘03 - Created a new Department of Commerce with power to collect data from any business dealing in interstate commerce, identified monopolies & price fixing
- Hepburn Act ‘06 - Established a federal government commission with power to inspect books of railroad companies & lay down max rates they could charge
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Sided with the workers during the Anthracite coal strike ‘02
- Said he would send the army in to work the mines, workers given wage rises & 9hr work limit
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Conservation
- 150M acres of forest placed under Fed. reserve
- Strictly enforced laws on grazing, mining and lumbering
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Consumer protection
- Pure Food and Drug Act ‘06 started the end of food adulteration
- Led to federal meat inspection programme
- Roosevelt brought federal government and presidential office into the domain of economic and social reform
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However,
- Didn’t prevent the progressive-conservative divide in the Republican party
- Split the Rep. vote in ‘12 election due to forming the Bull Moose Party
Taft strengths & weaknesses
Stengths
* Antitrust measures (80 antitrust suits)
* 8hr working day for government employees
* Mine safety legislation
* Interstate Commission to set railroad rates
* ‘09, introduced federal income tax and corporation tax (later used to fund direct election of senators)
Respected rights of congress to oppose his ideas
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Weaknesses
* Lacked TR’s political skill
* Failed to handle Republican Party progressive-conservative divide
* Payne-Aldrich Act ‘09 (failed to lower tariffs)
* Lost the support of TR who considered him too conservative
Populism & its importance
- Agricultural discontent
- Regulation of railways & farm prices
- Improve AA rights
- Graduated income tax
- Direct election of senators
- 8hr working day
- Bimetallism
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Important - Progressives adopted many of the aims of the populist party
- Third party influence of the Populists
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Not important - Collapsed following ‘96 election; short lived
- Had few electoral success (45 member served in Congress 1891-1902)
Causes of Progressivism
- Economic problems
- Depression of ‘93, 12% unemployed in ‘90s, Falling standards of living, Failing small farms vs big agribusiness
- Social problems
- Poor living conditions, 6 day, 72hr working week, No welfare system
- Need for political reform
- Growing dissatisfaction with the 2 main parties, Corruption
- Need to regulate big business
- Monopolies and fixed prices, Increasingly hostile to robber barons
- Media influence
- Increase in magazine and newspaper circulation, spreading views and opinions, ‘12, McClure’s magazine sold 1M copies per edition
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Fear of revolution
- Concern about the growth of socialism and radicalism, Growing trade unions and violent strikes
Progressivism goals
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Political aims
- Female suffrage, More democratic election of public officials (e.g. Direct election of senators), Regulation on big business and intervention on the side of the workers
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- Female suffrage, More democratic election of public officials (e.g. Direct election of senators), Regulation on big business and intervention on the side of the workers
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Economic aims
- Regulation of big business
- Legislation to recognise trade unions, regulate working hours & provide compensation for injury at work
- Insurance schemes for unemployed, elderly and sick
- Legislation for consumer protection
- Bimetallism
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Social aims
- Female suffrage, Welfare state, Prohibition, Improved living standards for AAs
Industrial Growth
- Modern oil production started in ‘01
- ‘13, Oklahoma producing 25% nations oil
- ‘04, largest 4% US companies producing 57% of total industry in the US
- US Steel became the world’s first billion-dollar company
Industrial discontent
- Pittsburg Steelworkers’ strike ‘93 - lasted 5 months but collapsed due to lack of funding & no negotiations accepted
- Pullman strike ‘94 - Pullman company cut wages, but not rent of required employee housing, rioting led troops to kill 4, Gov. proved hostile to strikers & strikes outlawed until ‘30s
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Depression of ‘93
- Reading Railroad declared bankruptcy, started financial panic
- ‘Industrial Black Friday’ - 24 businesses collapsed per day in May
- Sparked a 4 year depression (‘93-‘97)
- 15k companies and 600 banks collapsed
- National unemployment reached 20%
- Cleveland passed the Repeal of the Silver Purchase Act ‘96 which began to improve the economy
- Encouraged the rise of progressivism
Mass Immigration
Great Atlantic Migration - 18M Europeans migrated from ‘90-‘17
* 1900, NYC had more Italians than Naples and twice as many Irish as Dublin
* ‘14, 1.4M of NYC’s 4.7M population were Jewish
* ‘90, 10% San Francisco population was Chinese
Expansionist foreign policy causes
- Accidental empire
- Empire came about unintentionally die to several unrelated political moves
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Progressive imperialism
- Motivated by a desire to improve the lives of non-americans (Cuba, Phillipenes taken from Spanish Empire in S.A.W.)
- Need for markets
- Hawaii was a stopping off point for trade to Asia, Hawaii & Cuba for sugar
- The end of westward expansion
- Westward expansion was a form of imperialism and and after the end of the frontier, it was inevitable that American attention would move abroad
- Turner Thesis
- Preclusive imperialism
- Taking colonies to prevent other countries doing so (Alaska in prevention of Britain, Hawaii in prevention of Japan, Britain, Spain, Germany etc.)
- Monroe Doctrine 1823
- Roosevelt Corollary ‘04
- US intervened in Latin America if there is ‘wrong doing’
