william howard taft 1908-1912 handpicked successor to teddy roosevelt installed new bathtub to fit...
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William Howard Taft 1908-1912
Handpicked successor to Teddy Roosevelt
Installed new bathtub to fit his girth
Kept the Republican party together
Should be known as Trustbuster, not Teddy
16th Amendment-Makes Income Tax legal
Taft Presidency• Busts 90 Trusts in four years
• Promises to lower tariffs
• Payne Aldrich Tariff Act
• Lowers some tariffs but raises others• Names Richard Ballinger as Secretary of Interior
• Ballinger opens up 1 million acres to timber and mining
• Progressives mad at Taft for these acts
• Taft not seen as Progressive enough• Roosevelt decided to run again but is not chosen by
Republicans
• Roosevelt sets up Bull Moose Party to run against Taft
• Hands the Presidency to Woodrow Wilson as a result
Woodrow Wilson New Freedom
1912-1920
• Reforms the Executive Branch giving it more power to act
• Seen as the first modern President, ruling an executive branch with lots of power
• Reduced corruption in government
• Limited the power of trusts
• Cleans up machine politics
Wilson’s New Freedom
Three goals: Attack Trusts, Reduce Tariffs, Reorganize the Financial System
“Freedom is more than being left alone.”How does this compare to Laissez-faire?
Two Key Antitrust laws
Clayton Antitrust Act Strengthens the
Sherman Act Corporations cannot buy
stocks of other companies to set up monopolies
Holds officers of Corp. liable for its actions.
Unions no longer under the Sherman Act Makes them legal
now.
Federal Trade Act Sets up Federal Trade
Commission 5 member watch dog
group to oversee violations of trade.
Corps. Now have to answer to the gov’t
Commission could order cease and desist to businesses.
Underwood Tariff
Reduced tariffs and increased competition for American business. Big business against it Wilson goes to American people directly through the
press to ask them to write their congressmen to urge passage.
Financial Reforms
16th Amendment Makes income tax legal Income was declared
unconstitutional 3 times before.
Need constitutional amendment to make it legal
Federal Reserve Act
Set up Federal Reserve System 12 districts Issue currency as
needed in each region to regulate the economy
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