Emergence on the World Stage (1912 - 1920) Flashcards
What did President Wilson do for banking?
Federal Reserve Act 1913:
- 12 banking districts were created, each under the supervision of a Federal Reserve Board
- All banks that wanted to participate in this system had to invest 6% of their capital and surplus into the reserve bank
- This means money is no longer dependent on the amount of gold
What were the successes of President Wilson’s banking reforms?
- Banks could use rediscount rates to control the amount of money in circulation
- By 1923, 70% of the national banking resources were part of the federal reserve system
What were the limitations of President Wilson’s banking reforms?
- 30% of national banking resources were not part of the federal reserve
- Opposed state rights
What were President Wilson’s economic policies?
- Wilson appointed the first secretary of the Department of Labour who helped resolve disputes between capital and labour
- Reorganised the Department of Agriculture
- Federal Loan Act 1916
- Underwood Tariff Act 1913
- Revenue Act 1916
What were the strengths of President Wilson’s economic policies?
- Government received much more income through income tax than it ever did through tariffs
- Helped fund prohibition
What were the weaknesses of President Wilson’s economic policies?
- Some saw income tax an attack on big business
What were President Wilson’s social policies?
- Federal Child Labour Act of 1916
- Workmen’s Compensation Act 1916
- Adamson Act 1916
- 1913 Coal mine strike in Ludlow, Colorado
What were the strengths of President Wilson’s social policy?
Several bits of reforming legislation
What were the weaknesses of President Wilson’s social policy?
- Federal Child Labour Act was ruled unconstitutional
- Wilson opposed strikers
- Adamson Act only applied to railway workers
What were President Wilson’s policies on African Americans?
- Initially won support of the NAACP in 1912 election by promising equality and to speak out against lynching
Disappointed during his presidency:
- Placed segregationists in charge of federal agencies
- Opposed federal anti-lynching legislation
- Appointed white southerners to his cabinet
- Supported segregated facilities
Describe the Federal Trade Commission
- Formed to investigate corporations and stop unfair practices
- Under Wilson the FTC administered 400 cease-and desist orders to companies engaged in illegal activity
What were the strengths of President Wilson’s amendments to the Constitution?
- Did establish the principle of federal regulation
- Prevented illegal and unfair business acts and gave more power to government
What were the weaknesses of the federal trade commission?
- The value of ‘unfair’ was not defined
- Many felt the federal trade commission was not strong enough
Explain how public opinion motivated US neutrality at the start of WW1
- The prevailing mood in the US was that war in Europe had nothing to do with them. Wars seemed wrong and did not achieve much.
- 29th August 1914, 1,500 women marched down Fifth Avenue in New York in black robes to the beat of drums to protest the war.
- Influential leaders (including William Jennings Bryan - Secretary of State) organised campaigns against it.
Explain how Wilsonianism motivated US neutrality at the start of WW1
- Wilson wanted neutrality
- Declaration of Neutrality 19th August 1914, he claimed he wanted to mediate. He warned citizens against taking sides and wanted the conflict to end.
- He was guided by a sense of Christian morality
- If the US wanted to be a peacemaker it needed to be neutral
Describe how pro-British feeling contributed to American entry into WW1
- Wilson does support neutrality but many of his advisors favoured the Allies (particularly the British)
- Wilson did support the British due to fond memories of cycling round the wet and wonderful Lake District
Describe how anti-German feeling contributed to American entry into WW1
- Wilson believes that Germany is a threat to the US interests
- If they didn’t help the Allies now they could end up fighting Germany alone
- Confrontations with Germany in Samoa in 1889
- Worried about Germany’s growing interests in Latin America, especially Mexico
- In message to Congress in December 1915, Wilson attacked German-Americans for disloyalty to the USA
Describe how trade contributed to American entry into WW1
- The British blockade of Germany was very effective
- Trade with the allies reached $3.2 billion by 1916 (10x that of with central powers)
- By 1916, US trade with Germany was only 1% of what it had been in 1914
- By the time of the peace settlement, Allied war debts to the USA amounted to $10.5 billion