progressivism Flashcards
populists
- made up from farmers
- wanted bimetilism
-mainly the south and the west - emerged due to the problems of the lasses faire government
progressives
- wanted to further social and political reform and to curb and limit political influence of large corporations
Bryan
Was a successful politician by the age of 30 as being in the house of repetitiveness, graduating federal income tax and extending the federal money supply. he was a democrat but the populist joined due to the similar interests of bimetallism. and had a good campaign but his cross of gold speech in 1896 let him down as his pace flattened and his strategy for dual party support had failed. Gold democrats bolted from the party and the progressives deserted the democrats
McKinley
was a politician for the republican party, his commitment to protectionism as a solution to unemployment and his popularity in the Republican party resulted in support from big business man Mark Hannah who was a rich, political strategist. He campaigned from his home giving 350 carefully crafted speeches. they raised $4 million for the campaign by big businesses (protectionist manufacturers) who were in support of high tariffs. the money went towards 200 million pamphlets distributed to homes.
1893 panic
1890 Sherman act allowed the government to buy 4.5 million ounces of silver every month at market prices and the treasury was required to value gold at 16x sliver. new mines opened up to maintain the 16-1 ratio but as supply increased gold began to flow out of the treasury in worrying amounts and the open market prices started declining, this resulted in mines shutting and thousands becoming unemployed. the bankruptcy was the last straw as it lead to american stocks declining.
1893 panic effects
4 year depression which led to rising unemployment, increasing number of bank loans yet many banks had to close as could not meet the demand . the crisis hit the stock market and sent share prices off the board.
Theodore Roosevelt 1901
radical and young, he had a reputation for fighting corruption when he was a police commissioner which made him the enemy of big business. he did many antitrust measures (44) against railroads and businessmen including Rockefeller but he was not as anti-business as he seemed as he was a socialist and believed big businesses were essential for national prosperity so he wanted to regulate the, and cut down unfair practises but not to get rid. He pushed many measures in conservation to curb the corruption in the exploitation of timber and minerals on the public lands. he ordered 150 million acres of forest to be placed on the federal reserves and in 1908 he organised national conservation conferences which led to many states creating commissions to look after the environment. he increased 20 million acres in 1898 to 193 million in 1909. he also extended the role of the food consumption act in 1906 which led to the food and drug act. along with the 1902 square deal from the coal strike where employers were locking out miners who went on strike for 8 hour working days so he brought broth together for an agreement.
Taft
- fought and won against Bryan, he continued the antitrust measures and doubled Roosevelt, he introduced the 8 hour working day and safety legislation for workers. he gave power to interstate commissions to set railroad rates which tackled the freight rates, he introduced income tax and respects congress and their decisions.
however, he was more right wing which led him to pass the Payne-Aldrich act that did little to lower tariffs, over time he gets more and more right wing.
Wilsons limitations
economic = many disliked the Underwood tariff and regarded it as an attack on big business along with the income tax.
social = first federal child labour act, it had good intentions yet was ruled unconstitutional by the supreme court and Wilson seemed unsympathetic to make it stronger.
African Americans = He places segregationists in charge of federal agencies so many African Americans were unrepresented in the government, he also opposed the anti-lynching legislation so the NAACP felt betrayed.
Wilson’s achievements
banking = federal reform act 1913 meant that money was no longer dependant on gold so banks could control money supply, all banks had to put 6% of their capital in a reserve bank incase of another panic
economic = improved farmers conditions from the federal farm loan act in 1916 so farmers could get low loans because of fluctuating prices. income tax was to replace government tax which resulted in the governments main source of income.
African Americans = won support from the NAACP
mass immigration
between 1890 and WW1 there were 18.4 million immigrants who travelled because of poverty, war and new jobs to support their family at home. the mass immigration was turning the towns into cities and the cities into mega cities as towns usually had the population of 500 but now it was 30,000.
economic developments
urbanisation was changing, buildings were being built higher and the spread of adverts created higher demand for entertainment.
