PROGRESSIVISM | UNIT 3
US HISTORY
CLASSROOM DOCUMENTS
Grants Pass High School
SEMESTER 1 | Social Studies Department
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Issues of Progressivism
Definitions
Progressivism (noun)
1. the political orientation of those who favor progress toward better conditions in government and society
Progressive (noun)
1. a person believing in moderate political change and social improvement through political action
Each of the following people or issues is an example of Progressivism. Read each section, identify the issues they
feel are important and list them in the appropriate circle on your notes handout.
1. Jane Addams
Jane Addams was “anxious to improve the lot of the urban poor, and to assist women and children workers. She
started Hull House, one of the first settlement houses in the United States. She appreciate immigrant culture, and
offered Italian and German culture evenings at Hull House to "help the foreign-born conserve and keep whatever of
value their past life contained and to bring them into contact with a better class of Americans." She helped found
the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and was a strong advocate for
women’s suffrage.
2. William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan believed in infallibility of the Bible, and as such defended the state of Tennessee’s law
which banned the teaching of evolution in schools. Another important cause of Bryan’s was prohibition. “In
crusading against alcohol, Bryan and many of his fellow prohibitionists considered themselves as Progressives
engaged in a reform that would eventually engulf the entire world. Bryan thought that prohibition was just a
continuation of the struggle against the selfish interests that put private profit above human welfare and fed upon
the helplessness of the masses.”
3. Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt took the view that the President of the United States, as a "steward of the people", should take
whatever action necessary for the public good unless expressly forbidden by law or the Constitution. One of his
most famous quotes is, “I believe in corporations. They are indispensable instruments of our modern civilization;
but I believe that they should be so supervised and so regulated that they shall act for the interest of the community
as a whole.” Some of Theodore Roosevelt's most effective achievements were in conservation. He added
enormously to the national forests in the West, reserved lands for public use, and fostered great irrigation projects.
4. Ida B. Wells-Barnett
Born a slave, Ida B. Wells-Barnett later became a schoolteacher and after the savage lynching of three of her
friends devoted her life to anti-lynching campaigns. She organized a boycott of the Memphis trolley system and
later championed an exodus out of Memphis which resulted in several thousand African-Americans leaving. She
lectured throughout the North and in Great Britain, and later was one of the founding members of the N.A.A.C.P.
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5. Eugenics
Eugenics was, quite literally, an effort to breed better human beings – by encouraging the reproduction of people
with "good" genes and discouraging those with "bad" genes. Eugenicists effectively lobbied for social legislation to
keep racial and ethnic groups separate, to restrict immigration from southern and eastern Europe, and to sterilize
people considered "genetically unfit."
6. Louis Brandeis
Louis Brandeis showed a strong sympathy for the trade union movement and women's rights. This included him
working without fees to fight for causes he believed in such as the minimum wage and anti-trust legislation. As a
supporter of trade union rights, Brandeis argued that the retailer should make sure that "the goods which he sold
were manufactured under conditions which were fair to the workers - fair as to wages, hours of work, and sanitary
conditions." He went on to claim that if the business community considered moral issues when producing and
selling goods then 'big business' will then mean "business big not in bulk or power but great in service and grand in
manner. Big business will then mean professionalized business, as distinguished from the occupation of petty
trafficking or more moneymaking." Brandeis was also a strong advocate of individual rights and freedom of speech.
7. Robert LaFollette
Robert LaFollette supported a program of tax reform (higher corporate taxes) to help pay off state debts and fund
education, corporation regulation (railroads) and an extension of political democracy (direct primary). As a U.S.
Senator, La Follette argued that his main role was to "protect the people" from the "selfish interests". He claimed
that the nation's economy was dominated by fewer than 100 industrialists. He went on to argue that these men then
used this power to control the political process. La Follette supported the growth of trade unions as he saw them as
a check on the power of large corporations.
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Child Labor
Photo 1
Some boys and girls were so small they had to climb up on the spinning frame to mend broken threads and put back
the empty bobbins. {Bibb Mill No. 1, Macon, Georgia}
Photo 2
The overseer said apologetically, "She just happened in." She was working steadily. The mills seem full of
youngsters who "just happened in" or "are helping sister." {Newberry, South Carolina}
Photo 3
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View of the Ewen Breaker of the Pennsylvania Coal Co. The dust was so dense at times as to obscure the view.
This dust penetrated the utmost recesses of the boys' lungs. A kind of slave-driver sometimes stands over the boys,
prodding or kicking them into obedience. {South Pittston, Pennsylvania.}
Photo 4
Breaker boys. Smallest is Angelo Ross. Pittston, Pennsylvania.
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Photo 5
The Factory: 9 p.m. in an Indiana Glass Works.
Photo 6
Young cigar makers in Engelhardt & Co. Three boys looked under 14. Labor leaders told me in busy times many
small boys and girls were employed. Youngsters all smoke. Tampa, Florida.
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Document 1
Excerpt from John Spargo’s The Bitter Cry of the Children
For early twentieth-century Progressive reformers committed to social justice, widespread child
labor—especially in coal mines, textile mills, and department stores—was particularly
disturbing. And as with other Progressive crusades, the exposé was a favorite tool. Probably the
most influential and certainly the most widely read of the Progressive-era exposés of child labor
was John Spargo’s The Bitter Cry of the Children (1906). Spargo was a British granite cutter
who became a union organizer and socialist and gained his formal education through extension
courses at Oxford and Cambridge. In 1901, he emigrated to the United States where he became
a leader of the conservative wing of the American Socialist Party. In the following excerpt,
Spargo described work at the coal breaker, the area outside the mine where coal was sorted and
graded, mostly by young children.
“No Rest for the Weary: Children in the Coal Mines”
Work in the coal breakers is exceedingly hard and dangerous. Crouched over the chutes, the boys sit hour after
hour, picking out the pieces of slate and other refuse from the coal as it rushes past to the washers. From the
cramped position they have to assume, most of them become more or less deformed and bent-backed like old men.
When a boy has been working for some time and begins to get round-shouldered, his fellows say that “He’s got his
boy to carry round wherever he goes.”
The coal is hard, and accidents to the hands, such as cut, broken, or crushed fingers, are common among the boys.
Sometimes there is a worse accident: a terrified shriek is heard, and a boy is mangled and torn in the machinery, or
disappears in the chute to be picked out later smothered and dead. Clouds of dust fill the breakers and are inhaled
by the boys, laying the foundations for asthma and miners' consumption.
I once stood in a breaker for half an hour and tried to do the work a twelve-year-old boy was doing day after day,
for ten hours at a stretch, for sixty cents a day. The gloom of the breaker appalled me. Outside the sun shone
brightly, the air was pellucid [clear], and the birds sang in chorus with the trees and the rivers. Within the breaker
there was blackness, clouds of deadly dust enfolded everything, the harsh, grinding roar of the machinery and the
ceaseless rushing of coal through the chutes filled the ears. I tried to pick out the pieces of slate from the hurrying
stream of coal, often missing them; my hands were bruised and cut in a few minutes; I was covered from head to
foot with coal dust, and for many hours afterwards I was expectorating some of the small particles of anthracite I
had swallowed.
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Working Conditions
Document 1
Annie Daniel excerpt on work done in tenements from “The Wreck of the Home: How Wearing Apparel is
Fashioned in the Tenements” (1905).
This excerpt is from a speech to the National Consumer’s League, a women’s organization that
became national and pushed for improved working conditions.
“…The new law relating to manufacturing in tenement-houses, provides that thirty-three distinct industries may be
carried on in the living rooms of the workers--manufacturing all of which requires hand work or simple machinery.
Every garment worn by a woman is found being manufactured in tenement rooms. The coarsest home-wrappers to
the daintiest lace gown for a fine evening function are manufactured in these rooms. Corsets and shoes are the most
uncommon. The adornments of woman's dress, the flowers and feathers for her hats, the hats themselves--these I
have seen being made in the presence of small-pox, on the lounge with the patient. In this case the hats belonged to
a Broadway firm. All clothing worn by infants and young children--dainty little dresses--I have seen on the same bed
with children sick of contagious diseases and into these little garments is sewed some of the contagion…”
Document 2
Florence Kelley excerpt on women workers from “Strength in Numbers: Kelley on Women, Labor, and the Power
of the Ballot” (1898).
Florence Kelley, a Chicago-born labor reformer, socialist, and woman suffrage advocate, employed
pragmatic arguments in support of women’s right to vote. In this selection from a speech to the 1898
NAWSA convention, Kelly argued that working women, particularly factory workers, needed the
ballot to protect themselves from exploitation at the hands of their powerful employers. She also
argued that working men needed their feminine counterparts to vote in order to strengthen labor’s
presence at the polls.
“The wages paid any body of working people are determined by many influences, chief among which is the position
of the particular body of workers in question. Thus the printers, by their intelligence, their powerful organization,
their solidarity and united action, keep up their wages in spite of the invasion of their domain by new and improved
machinery. On the other hand, the garment-workers, the sweaters’ victims, poor, unorganized, unintelligent, despised,
remain forever on the verge of pauperism, irrespective of their endless toil. If, now, by some untoward fate the printers
should suddenly find themselves disfranchised, placed in a position in which their members were politically inferior
to the members of other trades, no effort of their own short of complete enfranchisement could restore to them that
prestige, that good standing in the esteem of their fellow-craftsmen and the public at large which they now enjoy, and
which contributes materially in support of their demand for high wages.”
TRIANGLE FACTORY FIRE
The fire at the Triangle Waist Company in New York City, which claimed the lives of 146 young
immigrant workers, is one of the worst disasters since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
This incident has had great significance to this day because it highlights the inhumane working
conditions to which industrial workers can be subjected. To many, its horrors epitomize the extremes
of industrialism. The tragedy still dwells in the collective memory of the nation and of the
international labor movement. The victims of the tragedy are still celebrated as martyrs at the hands
of industrial greed.
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Document 3
141 Men and Girls Die in Waist Factory Fire; Trapped High Up in
Washington Place Building; Street Strewn with Bodies; Piles of Dead
Inside
New York Times, March 26, 1911, p. 1
Three stories of a ten-floor building at the corner of Greene Street and
Washington Place were burned yesterday, and while the fire was going on
141 young men and women at least 125 of them mere girls were burned to
death or killed by jumping to the pavement below.
The building was fireproof. It shows now hardly any signs of the disaster
that overtook it. The walls are as good as ever so are the floors, nothing is
the worse for the fire except the furniture and 141 of the 600 men and girls
that were employed in its upper three stories.
Most of the victims were suffocated or burned to death within the building,
but some who fought their way to the windows and leaped met death as
surely, but perhaps more quickly, on the pavements below.
All Over in Half an Hour
… The fire was practically all over in half an hour. It was confined to three floors the eighth, ninth, and tenth of the
building. But it was the most murderous fire that New York had seen in many years.
The victims who are now lying at the Morgue waiting for someone to identify them by a tooth or the remains of a
burned shoe were mostly girls from 16 to 23 years of age. They were employed at making shirtwaist by the Triangle
Waist Company, the principal owners of which are Isaac Harris and Max Blanck. Most of them could barely speak
English. Many of them came from Brooklyn. Almost all were the main support of their hard-working families.
There is just one fire escape in the building. That one is an interior fire escape. In Greene Street, where the terrified
unfortunates crowded before they began to make their mad leaps to
death, the whole big front of the building is guiltless of one. Nor is there
a fire escape in the back…
A police officer and others with the broken
bodies of Triangle fire victims at their feet,
look up in shock at workers poised to jump
from the upper floors of the burning Asch
Building.
Leaped Out of the Flames
At 4:40 o'clock, nearly five hours after the employes [sic] in the rest of
the building had gone home, the fire broke out. The one little fire escape
in the interior was resorted to by any of the doomed victims. Some of
them escaped by running down the stairs, but in a moment or two this
avenue was cut off by flame. The girls rushed to the windows and looked
down at Greene Street, 100 feet below them. Then one poor, little
creature jumped. There was a plate glass protection over part of the
sidewalk, but she crashed through it, wrecking it and breaking her body
into a thousand pieces.
[continued on following page…]
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Then they all began to drop. The crowd yelled "Don't jump!" but it was jump or be burned the proof of which is found
in the fact that fifty burned bodies were taken from the ninth floor alone. They jumped, the crashed through broken
glass, they crushed themselves to death on the sidewalk…
No Chance to Save Victims
Four alarms were rung in fifteen minutes. The first five girls who jumped did go before the first engine could respond.
That fact may not convey much of a picture to the mind of an unimaginative man, but anybody who has ever seen a
fire can get from it some idea of the terrific rapidity with which the flames spread.
It may convey some idea too, to say that thirty bodies clogged the elevator shaft. These dead were all girls. They had
made their rush their blindly when they discovered that there was no chance to get out by the fire escape. Then they
found that the elevator was as hopeless as anything else, and they fell there in their tracks and died.
The Triangle Waist Company employed about 600 women and less than 100 men. One of the saddest features of the
thing is the fact that they had almost finished for the day. In five minutes more, if the fire had started then, probably
not a life would have been lost.
Last night District Attorney Whitman started an investigation not of this disaster alone but of the whole condition
which makes it possible for a firetrap of such a kind to exist. Mr. Whitman's intention is to find out if the present laws
cover such cases, and if they do not to frame laws that will…
Cartoon 1
“Inspector Of Buildings!
Record fire for New York, 145
lives lost!!!!
Building Fire Proof, Only Fire
Escape Collapses.
O.K. Inspector.”
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Rise of Organized Labor
Document 1
A Knight’s Sacred Oath
The Knights of Labor, a nineteenth-century labor union, employed elaborate rituals and symbols in
their local assembly meetings. The initiation ceremony for new members, for example, relied heavily
on religious imagery and language. It also drew on the rituals of other fraternal organizations like
the Masons and the Odd Fellows, that had many working-class members. The ceremony emphasized
that all that was valuable and worthy in society derived from human labor. New Knights agreed to
commit themselves to improve the conditions of all working people. Hundreds of thousands of
workers in the 1880s were “baptized” in a Knights of Labor initiation ceremony that required the
following promises.
“In the beginning, God ordained that man should labor, not as a curse, but as a blessing; not as a punishment, but as
means of development, physically, mentally, morally, and has set thereunto his seal of approval in the rich increase
and reward. By labor is brought forward the kindly fruits of the earth in rich abundance for our sustenance and
comfort; by labor (not exhaustive) is promoted health of the body and strength of mind, labor garners the priceless
stores of wisdom and knowledge. It is the “Philosopher’s Stone,” everything it touches turns to wealth. “Labor is
noble and holy.” To glorify God in its exercise, to defend it from degradation, to divest it of the evils to body, mind,
and estate, which ignorance and greed have imposed; to rescue the toiler from the grasp of the selfish is a work worthy
of the noblest and best of our race.
You have been selected from among your associates for that exalted purpose. Are you willing to accept the
responsibility, and, trusting in the support of pledged true Knights, labor, with what ability you possess, for the
triumph of these principles among men?”
Source: Illustrated “Adelphon Kruptos”: The Secret Work of the Knights of Labor as quoted in Peter J. Rachleff,
Black Labor in the South: Richmond, Virginia, 1865–1890 (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1984), 135.
Document 2
“A Healthy Public Opinion”
by Terence Powderly (Knights of Labor leader)
The Haymarket Affair, as it is known today, began on May 1, 1886 when a labor protester threw a
bomb at police, killing one officer, and ended with the arrest of eight anarchist leaders, three of
whom were executed and none of whom was ever linked to the bombing. Some labor organizations
saw the executed men as martyrs and tried to rally support but in the end, the hanging of the
Haymarket anarchists not only emboldened capitalists, it undercut labor unity. Knights of Labor
leader Terence V. Powderly was desperate to distance his organization from the accused anarchists
and maintain the order’s respectability. In this excerpt from his 1890 autobiography Powderly
explained his decision three years earlier to keep mainstream labor out of the furor that surrounded
the Haymarket Affair.
“This organization, among other things, is endeavoring to create a healthy public opinion on the subject of labor.
Each member is pledged to do that very thing. How can you go back to your homes and say that you have elevated
the Order in the eyes of the public by catering to an element that defies public opinion and attempts to dragoon us
into doing the same thing? The eyes of the world are turned toward this convention. For evil or good will the vote
you are to cast on this question affect the entire Order, and extreme caution must characterize your action. The
Richmond session passed a vote in favor of clemency, but in such a way that the Order could not be identified with
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the society to which these men belong, and yet thousands have gone from the Order because of it. I tell you the day
has come for us to stamp anarchy out of the Order, root and branch. It has no abiding place among us, and we may
as well face the issue here and now as later on and at another place. Every device known to the devil and his imps
has been resorted to throttle this Order in the hope that on its ruins would rise the strength of anarchy.”
Cartoon 1
The "labor question” was a major concern of Americans in 1912.
Each of the political parties that competed in the election of 1912 developed its own, often very different, position on
the question: how to solve the problems of the worker in an industrial society?
Many Americans in 1912 feared that their society was coming apart in a brutal conflict between "capital" and "labor,"
leaving the "public" out of the picture. A voter who was forty years of age in 1912 had grown up in a nation where
spectacular strikes had disturbed production and often led to violence. This cartoon drawn by Frank Beard in the
1890s captured the widely held perception that while the two sides were fighting on the plank of greed and threatening
financial ruin, other persons were suffering poverty as a result.
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Document 3
The American Federation of Labor was a "union of unions." Founded in 1886, the A.F. of L. was the largest labor
organization in the United States in 1912. Its president was Samuel Gompers (a Dutch-Jewish immigrant who was
a cigar maker by trade). Gompers sought to strengthen the union movement more generally by winning "bread and
butter" gains--better hours--especially the 8 hour day and the 48 hour work week--better wages, and better working
conditions.
Diagram Showing Membership A. F. of L. 1881-1911
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Document 4
“Certain Fundamental Truths” by Samuel Gompers (head of the AFL)
The spreading economic depression of 1893 stirred the American Federation of Labor (AFL), which
was sometimes guilty of focusing primarily on the needs of its own members, to call for broad
measures that would benefit all working people. The AFL urged the unemployed to hold mass
demonstrations. The federation also organized “federal labor unions” of the jobless. New York’s
organized labor movement also protested, as seen in this September 1893 appeal signed by local and
national labor leaders, including Samuel Gompers. Although the resolution primarily called on the
city to provide “immediate relief and public employment,” it also suggested that the state and federal
governments should provide for the unemployed. This claim was part of a long-term shift in which
working people and others came to see the needs of the jobless as more than a local obligation (in
the manner of traditional poor relief). Only with the New Deal of the 1930s were such demands
realized.
“A hundred thousand men, women, and children are nearing the verge of starvation in this rich metropolis of these
free United States. Hundreds of thousands of others are within but a short distance from want and its attendant
suffering, misery and crime. From all the manufacturing and commercial centres there comes the anxious demand
for work, soon we fear to be followed by the despairing cry for bread.
The fields of our matchless domain have blossomed with promise of an abundant harvest and beneath our feet is
stored the wealth of ages, of metals and of minerals for the needs of men. The cattle reed upon a thousand hills and
our forests covering empires of states crown the earth with glory. All nature smiles with the abundance of
prosperous peace. The sword of war is sheathed and pestilence has withdrawn its destroying hand. Invention has
quickened production and lessened cost. Electricity and steam have conquered time and space. The North and
South, the East and remotest West are one, a grand indissoluble union of independent states. The hands of labor,
skilled in every craft, answer the will of an intelligent, industrious, peace-loving people. The untaught, foreign
born, oppressed for ages beneath the heel of usurping power, have come to these shores, as our fathers came, to
seek a higher and a happier life. The forces of nature and the right good will of millions of workers on farm and sea,
in mill and mine, and in all the enterprises of this new world of free men, are united to make this country the home
of plenty—the garden and forum of the world.
A few thousand men and women enjoy the opulence of eastern potentates, while abject millions grovel in the dust
begging for work and bread. This is the industrial and social exhibit of our Columbian year.
Against these conditions and their inevitable results and against the underlying causes that make poverty the normal
condition of the wage-laborer, we, the organized workers of the city of New York, voicing as we do believe the
organized labor of the world, enter our serious and determined protest and warning…
We believe that the organization of wage-workers in trade unions is the purest guarantee of a peaceful solution of
the world-wide problem: “How to abolish poverty.”
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Cornelius Vanderbilt
SYNOPSIS
Cornelius Vanderbilt was born on May 27, 1794, in the Port Richmond area of Staten Island, New York.
He began a passenger ferry business in New York harbor with one boat, then started his own steamship
company, eventually controlling Hudson River traffic. He also provided the first rail service between New
York and Chicago. When he died in 1877, Vanderbilt had amassed the largest fortune accumulated in the
U.S. at that time. Vanderbilt is deemed one of America's leading businessmen, and is credited for helping
to shape the present-day United States.
EARLY LIFE
Cornelius Vanderbilt was born on May 27, 1794, in Port Richmond, Staten Island, New York. Although
destined to be one of America’s first tycoons, Vanderbilt grew up poor, watching his illiterate father,
Cornelius Vanderbilt Sr., toil away as a seaman. Following the death of one of his eight siblings, Vanderbilt,
at age 11, dropped out of school to work for his father. His early days in a boat sparked an interest in the
sea, which he pursued by studying all aspects of the shipping business.
When he was 16, Vanderbilt earned $100 landscaping his father’s land and used the money to purchase a
sailboat. He began a passenger ferry business in New York Harbor with one boat, then started his own
company ferrying people and dry goods between Staten Island and Manhattan. Known as a skilled sailor
who would routinely undercut his competition, Vanderbilt’s business grew. During the War of 1812, he
was awarded a military contract to provide supplies to forts along the Hudson River.
SUCCESS AT SEA
The rise of steamboat travel was a threat to Vanderbilt, whose sailboats couldn’t possibly provide the same
level of reliability and cheap fares that customers were now demanding. Not willing to watch his business
decline, he sold his sailing vessels in 1817 and got a job operating a steamboat for Thomas Gibbons, ferrying
passengers from New Jersey to Manhattan. In his mid-30s at this time, Vanderbilt went into the steamboat
business for himself. Once again, customers flocked to his service, with its cutthroat rates and new vessels.
Vanderbilt’s ability to steal away customers was so great that competitors paid him to leave the Hudson
River. In his wake followed a growing reputation as a robber baron.
By the mid 1840s, Vanderbilt was operating a fleet of more than 100 steamboats. He was also worth several
million dollars. He parlayed his success into ventures in Central America and, in 1855, began overseeing a
transatlantic steamship business.
SUCCESS ON THE RAILS
In the 1860s, rail travel began to grow in the United States and, once again, Vanderbilt seized the
opportunity by purchasing railroads in New York. Following the same business model he's used with his
previous ventures, he made his mark by improving service and offering customers low fares. After only
five years in the railroad business, Vanderbilt reportedly made $25 million.
Vanderbilt eventually extended his railroad empire westward, acquiring the Lake Shore and Michigan
Southern Railway; the Michigan Southern Railroad; the Canada Southern Railway; and the Michigan
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Central Railroad. Urged on by his son (and eventual heir to the empire) William Henry Vanderbilt,
Cornelius made his way toward Chicago.
Tragedy struck in 1868, when Vanderbilt's wife, Sophia, died. A year later, Vanderbilt married a distant
cousin, Frances Armstrong Crawford. The marriage wasn’t without controversy: She was 34 years his
junior.
FINAL YEARS AND LEGACY
William Vanderbilt looked over the business during the last years of Cornelius’s life. In 1877, at the age of
83, the tycoon died, leaving the majority of his estate to William, modest sums to each of his other nine
surviving children, and an indelible mark on American industry.
Source: http://www.biography.com/people/cornelius-vanderbilt-9515195
Shipping and railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) was a self-made multi-millionaire who
became one of the wealthiest Americans of the 19th century. As a boy, he worked with his father, who
operated a boat that ferried cargo between Staten Island, New York, where they lived, and Manhattan. After
working as a steamship captain, Vanderbilt went into business for himself in the late 1820s, and eventually
became one of the country’s largest steamship operators. In the process, the Commodore, as he was publicly
nicknamed, gained a reputation for being fiercely competitive and ruthless. In the 1860s, he shifted his
focus to the railroad industry, where he built another empire and helped make railroad transportation more
efficient. When Vanderbilt died, he was worth more than $100 million.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/cornelius-vanderbilt
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John D. Rockefeller
SYNOPSIS
John D. Rockefeller was born July 8, 1839, in Richford, New York. He built his first oil refinery near
Cleveland and in 1870 incorporated the Standard Oil Company. By 1882 he had a near-monopoly of the oil
business in the U.S, but his business practices led to the passing of antimonopoly laws. Late in life
Rockefeller devoted himself to philanthropy. He died in 1937.
EARLY YEARS
Entrepreneur. John D. Rockefeller was an American industrialist who rose from humble beginnings. He
founded the Standard Oil Company, a dominating force in the American economy that propelled its founder
to become the world's richest man.
Born in Richford, New York on July 8, 1839, Rockefeller moved with his family to Cleveland at the age of
16. Unafraid of hard work, he took on a number of small business ventures as a teenager and at age 16, he
landed his first real office job as an assistant bookkeeper with Hewlett & Tuttle, commission merchants and
produce shippers.
By the age of 20, Rockefeller, who'd thrived at his job, ventured out his own with another business partner,
working as commission merchants in hay, meats, grain and other goods. At the close of the company's first
year in business, it had grossed $450,000.
A careful and studious businessman who refrained from taking unnecessary risks, Rockefeller sensed an
opportunity in the oil business by the early 1860s, and in 1863 he opened his first refinery, just outside
Cleveland. Less than a decade later, Rockefeller, founder of the Standard Oil Company, had near-total
control of the region's refineries.
STANDARD OIL
When the oil business moved east to Pennsylvania, Rockefeller followed it. By the early 1880s, he
dominated the oil business throughout the country and his company had a net worth of $55 million.
Standard's dominance stemmed from its near control (and ownership) of almost every aspect the business.
Under Rockefeller's leadership, the company established a system of pipelines to transport its product. It
owned train cars, and scooped up thousands of acres of forest for fuel.
In 1882, Rockefeller organized the Standard Oil Trust, a business trust that would serve as a model for the
creation of other kinds of monopolies. Rockefeller, of course, was appointed head of the organization.
But as Rockefeller's power and wealth increased, his standing with the public nose-dived. By the early
1800s states began to enact antimonopoly legislation, paving the way for the 1890 passage of the Sherman
Antitrust Act.
In 1895 the 56-year-old Rockefeller retired from his day-to-day involvement of Standard Oil and turned his
focus toward philanthropic endeavors. His new direction did little to quell the attacks on Rockefeller and
his business.
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In 1904 Ida M. Tarbell wrote The History of Standard Oil, a damning book that told the tale of Standard
Oil's ruthless business practices. In 1911, the corporation was found to be in violation of the Sherman Act
and ordered to dissolve.
LATER YEARS
John D. Rockefeller's charity proved considerable.
In total he gave away more than $530 million to various causes. His money helped pay for the creation of
the University of Chicago as well as the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (later named Rockefeller
University) in New York, as well as the Rockefeller Foundation.
With his wife Laura, Rockefeller had five children, including a daughter, Alice, who died in infancy.
Rockefeller passed away on May 23, 1937 in Ormond Beach, Florida. His legacy, however, lives on:
Rockefeller is considered one of America's leading businessmen, and is credited for helping to shape the
nation into what it is today.
Source: http://www.biography.com/print/profile/john-d-rockefeller-20710159
John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937), founder of the Standard Oil Company, became one of the world’s
wealthiest men and a major philanthropist. Born into modest circumstances in upstate New York, he entered
the then-fledgling oil business in 1863 by investing in a Cleveland, Ohio, refinery. In 1870, he established
Standard Oil, which by the early 1880s controlled some 90 percent of U.S. refineries and pipelines. Critics
accused Rockefeller of engaging in unethical practices, such as predatory pricing and scheming with
railroads to eliminate his competitors, in order to gain a monopoly in the industry. In 1911, the U.S. Supreme
Court found Standard Oil in violation of anti-trust laws and ordered it to dissolve. During his life Rockefeller
donated more than $500 million to various philanthropic causes.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/john-d-rockefeller
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J.P. Morgan
SYNOPSIS
Born on April 17, 1837, in Hartford, Connecticut, J.P. Morgan would later become one of the most famous
financiers in business history. In 1871, Morgan began his own private banking company, which later
became known as J.P. Morgan & Co., one of the leading financial firms in the country. Morgan died on
March 31, 1913, in Rome, Italy. He was hailed as a master of finance at the time of his death, and continues
to be considered one of the country's leading businessmen.
FAMOUS FINANCIER
Financier, art collector and philanthropist John Pierpont Morgan, best known as J.P. Morgan, was born on
April 17, 1837, in Hartford, Connecticut. The son of a banker, Morgan went into the family business and
became one of the most famous financiers in history. After working for his father, he started his own private
banking company in 1871, which later became known as J.P. Morgan & Co.
His company became one of the leading financial firms in the country. It was so powerful that even the U.S.
government looked to the firm for help with the depression of 1895. The company also assisted in thwarting
the 1907 financial crisis.
During his career, his wealth, power, and influence attracted a lot of media and government scrutiny. During
the late 1800s and even after the turn of the century, much of the country's industries were in the hands of
a few powerful business leaders, especially Morgan. He was criticized for creating monopolies by making
it difficult for any business to compete against his. Morgan dominated two industries in particular -- he
helped consolidate railroad industry in the East and formed the United States Steel Corporation in 1901.
A crucial material in the extensive growth of the nation, U.S. Steel became the world's largest steel
manufacturer. The government, concerned that Morgan had created a monopoly in the steel industry, filed
suit against the company in 1911. The following year, Morgan and his partners became the subject of a
congressional investigation by the Pujo Committee in 1912.
PERSONAL LIFE
Morgan had many interests beyond the world of banking. He enjoyed sailing and participated in a number
of America's Cup yacht races. He was an ardent art collector, creating one of the most significant collections
of his time. He later donated his art collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and his collection of
written works to the Morgan Library—both in New York City.
Morgan's first marriage to Amelia Sturges was brief. She died a few months after their 1860 wedding. Five
years later, Morgan married Frances Tracy. The couple had four children: John Pierpont Jr., Louisa, Juliet
and Anne.
Morgan died on March 31, 1913, in Rome, Italy. At the time of his death, he was hailed as a master of
finance. Today, Morgan is considered one of America's leading businessmen, and is credited for helping to
shape the nation into what it is today.
Source: http://www.biography.com/people/jp-morgan-9414735
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One of the most powerful bankers of his era, J.P. (John Pierpont) Morgan (1837-1913) financed railroads
and helped organize U.S. Steel, General Electric and other major corporations. The Connecticut native
followed his wealthy father into the banking business in the late 1850s, and in 1871 formed a partnership
with Philadelphia banker Anthony Drexel. In 1895, their firm was reorganized as J.P. Morgan & Company,
a predecessor of the modern-day financial giant JPMorgan Chase. Morgan used his influence to help
stabilize American financial markets during several economic crises, including the panic of 1907. However,
he faced criticism that he had too much power and was accused of manipulating the nation’s financial
system for his own gain. The Gilded Age titan spent a significant portion of his wealth amassing a vast art
collection.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/john-pierpont-morgan
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Andrew Carnegie
SYNOPSIS
Andrew Carnegie was born on November 25, 1835, in Dunfermline, Scotland. After moving to the United
States, he worked a series of railroad jobs. By 1889 he owned Carnegie Steel Corporation, the largest of its
kind in the world. In 1901 he sold his business and dedicated his time to expanding his philanthropic work,
including the establishment of Carnegie-Mellon University in 1904.
EARLY LIFE
Industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie was born on November 25, 1835, in Dunfermline, Fife,
Scotland. Although he had little formal education, Carnegie grew up in a family that believed in the
importance of books and learning. The son of a handloom weaver, Carnegie grew up to become one of the
wealthiest businessmen in America.
At the age of 13, in 1848, Carnegie came to the United States with his family. They settled in Allegheny,
Pennsylvania, and Carnegie went to work in a factory, earning $1.20 a week. The next year he found a job
as a telegraph messenger. Hoping to advance his career, he moved up to a telegraph operator position in
1851. He then took a job at the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1853. He worked as the assistant and telegrapher
to Thomas Scott, one of the railroad's top officials. Through this experience, he learned about the railroad
industry and about business in general. Three years later, Carnegie was promoted to superintendent.
STEEL TYCOON
While working for the railroad, Carnegie began making investments. He made many wise choices and found
that his investments, especially those in oil, brought in substantial returns. He left the railroad in 1865 to
focus on his other business interests, including the Keystone Bridge Company.
By the next decade, most of Carnegie's time was dedicated to the steel industry. His business, which became
known as the Carnegie Steel Company, revolutionized steel production in the United States. Carnegie built
plants around the country, using technology and methods that made manufacturing steel easier, faster and
more productive. For every step of the process, he owned exactly what he needed: the raw materials, ships
and railroads for transporting the goods, and even coal fields to fuel the steel furnaces.
This start-to-finish strategy helped Carnegie become the dominant force in the industry and an exceedingly
wealthy man. It also made him known as one of America's "builders,” as his business helped to fuel the
economy and shape the nation into what it is today. By 1889, Carnegie Steel Corporation was the largest of
its kind in the world.
Some felt that the company's success came at the expense of its workers. The most notable case of this came
in 1892. When the company tried to lower wages at a Carnegie Steel plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania, the
employees objected. They refused to work, starting what has been called the Homestead Strike of 1892.
The conflict between the workers and local managers turned violent after the managers called in guards to
break up the union. While Carnegie was away at the time of strike, many still held him accountable for his
managers' actions.
PHILANTHROPY
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In 1901, Carnegie made a dramatic change in his life. He sold his business to the United States Steel
Corporation, started by legendary financier J.P. Morgan. The sale earned him more than $200 million. At
the age of 65, Carnegie decided to spend the rest of his days helping others. While he had begun his
philanthropic work years earlier by building libraries and making donations, Carnegie expanded his efforts
in the early 20th century.
Carnegie, an avid reader for much of his life, donated approximately $5 million to the New York Public
Library so that the library could open several branches in 1901. Devoted to learning, he established the
Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, which is now known as Carnegie-Mellon University in
1904. The next year, he created the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 1905. With
his strong interest to peace, he formed the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 1910. He made
numerous other donations, and it is said that more than 2,800 libraries were opened with his support.
Besides his business and charitable interests, Carnegie enjoyed traveling and meeting and entertaining
leading figures in many fields. He was friends with Matthew Arnold, Mark Twain, William Gladstone, and
Theodore Roosevelt. Carnegie also wrote several books and numerous articles. His 1889 article "Wealth"
outlined his view that those with great wealth must be socially responsible and use their assets to help
others. This was later published as the 1900 book The Gospel of Wealth.
Source: http://www.biography.com/print/profile/andrew-carnegie-9238756
Scottish-born Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was an American industrialist who amassed a fortune in the
steel industry then became a major philanthropist. Carnegie worked in a Pittsburgh cotton factory as a boy
before rising to the position of division superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1859. While working
for the railroad, he invested in various ventures, including iron and oil companies, and made his first fortune
by the time he was in his early 30s. In the early 1870s, he entered the steel business, and over the next two
decades became a dominant force in the industry. In 1901, he sold the Carnegie Steel Company to banker
John Pierpont Morgan for $480 million. Carnegie then devoted himself to philanthropy, eventually giving
away more than $350 million.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/andrew-carnegie
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Theodore Roosevelt
With the assassination of President William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, not
quite 43, became the 26th and youngest President in the Nation's history (19011909). He brought new excitement and power to the office, vigorously leading
Congress and the American public toward progressive reforms and a strong foreign
policy.
With the assassination of President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, not quite 43, became the youngest President in
the Nation's history. He brought new excitement and power to the Presidency, as he vigorously led Congress and
the American public toward progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy.
He took the view that the President as a "steward of the people" should take whatever action necessary for the
public good unless expressly forbidden by law or the Constitution." I did not usurp power," he wrote, "but I did
greatly broaden the use of executive power."
Roosevelt's youth differed sharply from that of the log cabin Presidents. He was born in New York City in 1858
into a wealthy family, but he too struggled--against ill health--and in his triumph became an advocate of the
strenuous life.
In 1884 his first wife, Alice Lee Roosevelt, and his mother died on the same day. Roosevelt spent much of the next
two years on his ranch in the Badlands of Dakota Territory. There he mastered his sorrow as he lived in the saddle,
driving cattle, hunting big game--he even captured an outlaw. On a visit to London, he married Edith Carow in
December 1886.
During the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt was lieutenant colonel of the Rough Rider Regiment, which he led
on a charge at the battle of San Juan. He was one of the most conspicuous heroes of the war.
Boss Tom Platt, needing a hero to draw attention away from scandals in New York State, accepted Roosevelt as the
Republican candidate for Governor in 1898. Roosevelt won and served with distinction.
As President, Roosevelt held the ideal that the Government should be the great arbiter of the conflicting economic
forces in the Nation, especially between capital and labor, guaranteeing justice to each and dispensing favors to
none.
Roosevelt emerged spectacularly as a "trust buster" by forcing the disbanding of a great railroad combination in the
Northwest. Other antitrust suits under the Sherman Act followed.
Roosevelt steered the United States more actively into world politics. He liked to quote a favorite proverb, "Speak
softly and carry a big stick. . .”
Aware of the strategic need for a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific, Roosevelt ensured the construction of
the Panama Canal. His corollary to the Monroe Doctrine prevented the establishment of foreign bases in the
Caribbean and arrogated the sole right of intervention in Latin America to the United States.
He won the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the Russo-Japanese War, reached a Gentleman's Agreement on
immigration with Japan, and sent the Great White Fleet on a goodwill tour of the world.
Some of Theodore Roosevelt's most effective achievements were in conservation. He added enormously to the
national forests in the West, reserved lands for public use, and fostered great irrigation projects.
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He crusaded endlessly on matters big and small, exciting audiences with his high-pitched voice, jutting jaw, and
pounding fist. "The life of strenuous endeavor" was a must for those around him, as he romped with his five
younger children and led ambassadors on hikes through Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C.
Leaving the Presidency in 1909, Roosevelt went on an African safari, and then jumped back into politics. In 1912
he ran for President on a Progressive ticket. To reporters he once remarked that he felt as fit as a bull moose, the
name of his new party.
While campaigning in Milwaukee, he was shot in the chest by a fanatic. Roosevelt soon recovered, but his words at
that time would have been applicable at the time of his death in 1919: "No man has had a happier life than I have
led; a happier life in every way."
The Presidential biographies on WhiteHouse.gov are from “The Presidents of the United States of America,” by
Frank Freidel and Hugh Sidey. Copyright 2006 by the White House Historical Association.
When Theodore Roosevelt became president of the U.S. in 1901 America’s society and economy were changing
rapidly, and with his energy and visionary leadership he set the maturing nation on the path to prosperous growth
and diplomatic influence that would last throughout the 20th Century. By the time he left office in March 1909,
Roosevelt also had changed forever the influence and scope of the presidency.
Though he remains the youngest person ever to hold America’s highest office, Roosevelt was one of the best
prepared to be president, entering the White House with a broad understanding of governmental and legislative
processes and with executive leadership experience. He led the U.S. onto the world stage by becoming actively
involved in foreign affairs. On the home front, Roosevelt believed the federal government had a role, even an
obligation, to ensure a level of equality in Americans’ daily lives and used government regulations and policies to
bring about social and economic justice.
In contrast to those who served before him, Roosevelt believed the president had the power to act except in areas
specifically prohibited by law or granted in the Constitution to Congress or the Courts. He put this approach to
good use in 1902 when he negotiated a settlement to the anthracite coal strike, the first time the federal government
intervened in a labor dispute and recognized the rights of organized labor.
Roosevelt also negotiated with Congress to see the Pure Food and Drug Act passed in 1906, putting in place many
safeguards Americans take for granted today involving food safety, quality controls in manufacturing, and drug
labeling. In addition, he fought against unfair trade practices, establishing precedents for the president’s
intervention in business, trade and consumer affairs.
In international affairs, Roosevelt also acted boldly and decisively. He negotiated an end to the Russo-Japanese
War of 1904-1905 and became the first American honored with the Nobel Peace Prize. Realizing that the Navy
needed to be able to move ships quickly between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, he acted to recognize the
fledgling country of Panama, negotiate control of the Canal Zone and push to see the Panama Canal built, one of
the grandest engineering projects of the 20th Century. Considered the father of the modern American Navy,
Roosevelt persuaded Congress to provide funding for modern steel-hulled battleships and sent the Great White
Fleet—16 ships from the Atlantic fleet—in an around-the-world cruise, which raised America’s visibility and
respect among world powers.
Roosevelt left his greatest mark on conserving America’s natural resources. He realized the country’s abundant
resources were being used faster than they could be replaced or replenished, and that great natural wonders like the
Grand Canyon were in danger of commercial development. This led him as president to use executive power, like
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none of his predecessors had, to protect nearly 230 million acres of land, including 150 national forests, the first 55
federal wildlife refuges, 5 national parks, and the first 18 national monument sites.
Source: http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/site/pp.aspx?c=elKSIdOWIiJ8H&b=8344377#sthash.luh72PJ7.dpuf
Accessed: 15 October 2015
Why was the Federal Meat Inspection Act passed?
THE JUNGLE
The Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906 came about largely due to the conditions in the meat packing industry that
were detailed in great depth in Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel, "The Jungle." The novel was intended, by the author,
to be a detailed account of the harsh working conditions surrounding manufacturing in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. The meat packing industry had become a sprawling economic business with the sharp increase in
population in the United States. As such, the need for food; especially meat, became increasingly important.
Sinclair was paid a $500 advance to enter into the work force of a Chicago meat packing plant to uncover the plight
of the American worker. In doing so he also uncovered the details of meat manufacturing in the United
States. Excerpts of his novel include, in horrifying detail, the complete lack of any sanitary conditions. Sinclair's
details of the conditions in the meat packing industry contained the common the overwhelming presence of rats in
the production lines. Rancid meat would be shipped in from Europe to be included in the meat products produced
by the plants. Meat was allowed to remain in piles in dark rooms where water would like onto the meat
and "thousands of rats would race about on it. It was too dark in these storage places to see well, but a man could
run his hand over these piles of meat and sweep off handfuls of the dried dung of rats." Rats and any other
contaminants found in the processing plants were included in the meat and there were allegations in the book that
workers would fall into the giant vats and be ground up with the meat and sold to the public.
Response to "The Jungle"
The public response to "The Jungle" was swift and harsh. Due to the public outcry President Theodore Roosevelt
authorized the Labor Commissioner and a social worker to Chicago to make surprise visits to the meat packing
facilities
NEILL-REYNOLDS REPORT
President Roosevelt read "The Jungle" himself and was disturbed by what he read. Unlike the historical
significance attributed to the novel, the book was largely a discussion of social and economic disparity in the
United States and Sinclair's main objective was a call to the public for a transfer to communist ideals. As such, the
President was impressed by Sinclair's allegations and sought to seek the facts of the meat packing industry through
his own resources.
Roosevelt sent the Labor Commissioner, Charles Neill, and James Reynolds, a social worker to inspect the meat
packing plants. Their report largely confirmed all of the allegations insinuated by Sinclair's novel. Roosevelt
initially intended to take the report to Congress but after contemplation he realized that the publication of the report
would result in a devastating blow to the domestic economy.
THE BEVERIDGE AMENDMENT
Instead, Roosevelt decided to coerce the meat packing industry to reform by using the threat of dissemination of the
report. He forced the meat packing industry's supporters in Congress to pass, what was known as, the Beveridge
Amendment. This act would effectively require the meat packing industry to submit to constant inspections and
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investigations by the Agricultural Department which would be paid for by the meat packing industry. In addition
the act would require stamps on meat products that were sent to market for public consumption. The Act passed the
Senate but was received with strong opposition from members of the House of Representatives who had strong ties
to the meat packing industry. In response Roosevelt decided to publicize the Neil-Reynolds report to the press.
PUBLICATION OF THE NEIL-REYNOLDS REPORT
As was expected by the publication of the Neil-Reynolds report, the effects were disastrous for the meat packing
industry. Upon the reports publication, foreign nations refused to allow the importation of American beef. In
response, the meat packing industry went to great lengths in order to create a more sanitary working
environment. Roosevelt found that the evidence was enough to call for immediate and radical enlargement of the
powers of the government in inspection all meats which enter into interstate and foreign commerce. By June of
1906 both public and political support for legislation controlling the production and distribution of meat products
resulted in the passage of the Food and Drug Act as well as the Meat Inspection Act.
Amendments to the Meat Inspection Act of 1906
Since the creation of the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 and the creation of the Food and Drug administration there
have been many amendments made to correspond with improvements in the meat industry and the changing
appetites of the American people.
As originally written, the Meat Inspection Act did not apply to poultry. In 1906, when the Act was passed there
was not a heavy demand for poultry products in the United States. Those who did eat poultry got their produce
from local farms. As such, the Meat Inspection Act, as initially enacted applied only to cattle, sheep, goats,
equines, and swine.
It was not until the 1920s when an outbreak of avian flu occurred in New York City that the federal government
took a valid interest in the inspection of poultry in the United States. The influenza outbreak resulted in local
inspection ordinances and when the United States entered World War II the military required that all poultry
products used for military personnel conform to the military's sanitation standards. As a result the poultry industry
altered its methods and in 1957 the Poultry Products Inspection Act was enacted to require any poultry products
that moved in interstate commerce to be continuously inspected both prior to slaughter, after slaughter, before
processing and at the point of entry into the United States; if it was imported.
Since the inception of the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 the law has been expanded to include other kinds of meat
products. In 1967 Congress passed the Wholesome Meat Act and the Wholesome Poultry Act which set a
minimums sanitation standard for State inspections of meat packing and poultry plants.
Source: http://federal.laws.com/meat-inspection-act
Accessed: 15 October 2015
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William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was elected the 27th President of the United States (1909-1913)
and later became the tenth Chief Justice of the United States (1921-1930), the only
person to have served in both of these offices.
Distinguished jurist, effective administrator, but poor politician, William Howard Taft spent four uncomfortable
years in the White House. Large, jovial, conscientious, he was caught in the intense battles between Progressives
and conservatives, and got scant credit for the achievements of his administration.
Born in 1857, the son of a distinguished judge, he graduated from Yale, and returned to Cincinnati to study and
practice law. He rose in politics through Republican judiciary appointments, through his own competence and
availability, and because, as he once wrote facetiously, he always had his "plate the right side up when offices were
falling."
But Taft much preferred law to politics. He was appointed a Federal circuit judge at 34. He aspired to be a member
of the Supreme Court, but his wife, Helen Herron Taft, held other ambitions for him. His route to the White House
was via administrative posts. President McKinley sent him to the Philippines in 1900 as chief civil administrator.
Sympathetic toward the Filipinos, he improved the economy, built roads and schools, and gave the people at least
some participation in government.
President Roosevelt made him Secretary of War, and by 1907 had decided that Taft should be his successor. The
Republican Convention nominated him the next year.
Taft disliked the campaign--"one of the most uncomfortable four months of my life." But he pledged his loyalty to
the Roosevelt program, popular in the West, while his brother Charles reassured eastern Republicans. William
Jennings Bryan, running on the Democratic ticket for a third time, complained that he was having to oppose two
candidates, a western progressive Taft and an eastern conservative Taft.
Progressives were pleased with Taft's election. "Roosevelt has cut enough hay," they said; "Taft is the man to put it
into the barn." Conservatives were delighted to be rid of Roosevelt--the "mad messiah." Taft recognized that his
techniques would differ from those of his predecessor. Unlike Roosevelt, Taft did not believe in the stretching of
Presidential powers. He once commented that Roosevelt "ought more often to have admitted the legal way of
reaching the same ends."
Taft alienated many liberal Republicans who later formed the Progressive Party, by defending the Payne-Aldrich
Act which unexpectedly continued high tariff rates. A trade agreement with Canada, which Taft pushed through
Congress, would have pleased eastern advocates of a low tariff, but the Canadians rejected it. He further
antagonized Progressives by upholding his Secretary of the Interior, accused of failing to carry out Roosevelt's
conservation policies.
In the angry Progressive onslaught against him, little attention was paid to the fact that his administration initiated
80 antitrust suits and that Congress submitted to the states amendments for a Federal income tax and the direct
election of Senators. A postal savings system was established, and the Interstate Commerce Commission was
directed to set railroad rates.
In 1912, when the Republicans renominated Taft, Roosevelt bolted the party to lead the Progressives, thus
guaranteeing the election of Woodrow Wilson.
The Presidential biographies on WhiteHouse.gov are from “The Presidents of the United States of America,” by Frank Freidel and Hugh
Sidey. Copyright 2006 by the White House Historical Association.
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Historical Text Archive
William Howard Taft was elected in 1908 for the 1909-1913 term. He was Theodore Roosevelt's hand-picked
successor, for TR believed that Taft would follow the policies TR had established. He had been an able and
obedient aide during the Roosevelt presidency. Taft had lots of political experience, becoming a judge at age 34 and
then serving as civil administrator of the Philippines in 1900 and then as Secretary of War but not in electoral
politics. He was a lawyer and wanted to be Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, but TR and Taft's
wife, Helen Herron Taft, had pushed him into running for president.
This great man (he weighed over 300 pounds) was conservative by nature and did not believe in a dynamic
presidency. He approached problems from a legalistic standpoint. If it was against the law, he wanted it punished.
In fact, because of these beliefs, he was much more the "trust buster" than Teddy Roosevelt.
For the most part, he was committed to preserving the status quo but willing to support moderate reform when he
thought it necessary. The Dingley Tariff was sky high and the "reform" bill to lower it was changed in the Senate
into the Payne-Aldrich Tariff, which was a high tariff. Taft, like most Republicans, believed that it was imperative
to prevent foreign competition in manufactured goods and protect US industry, so he had no qualms signing the
bill. He was also willingly to use the power of the United States government to serve private business interests in
Latin America. Bankers and other financiers began playing a key role in the conduct of US policy in the Caribbean
region. Part of this "Dollar Diplomacy" was simply a matter of following through on the McKinley-Roosevelt
decision to turn the Caribbean into an American lake.
During Taft's presidency, Congress passed the 16th Amendment, creating an income tax, and the 17th amendment,
providing for the people of a state electing US Senators instead of the state legislature. the Mann-Elkins Act
strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission. Postal Savings and Parcel Post accounts were created to aid
small business and to provide a mechanism by which the average person could bank money. The federal Bureau of
Mines was created to give strong guidance to this very dangerous occupation. A Children’s Bureau was created,
reflecting the concern of Progressives that children needed special protection because too many mothers were
working outside the home. Although Taft was pro-business and pro-industry, the Department of Labor was created.
Much of what Roosevelt had wanted in terms of reforming US society did not interest Taft, so the two men parted
ways. Roosevelt tried to get the Republican presidential nomination for 1912 but Taft, as president controlled the
Republican Party machinery and got the nod. Roosevelt then broke with the party and ran on the Progressive or
"Bull Moose" ticket, thus splitting the Republican vote.
by Donald J. Mabry, source: http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?action=read&artid=599
Accessed: 15 October 2015
The Mann Elkins Act of 1910 was signed into law in June of 1910 by President William Howard Taft. The law,
along with the Hepburn act of 1906, greatly strengthened the responsibilities, and authority, of the Interstate
Commerce Commission to include the regulation of telephone, telegraph, and cable companies as well as railroad
companies. The Mann Elkins Act, along with the Hepburn Act, gave the Interstate Commerce commission the
authority to control interstate rail rates and practices.
Interstate Commerce Act
The history of the Mann Elkins Act begins with the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The Act also created a 5
member body called the Interstate Commerce Commission that had complete oversight of the railroad industry to
investigate allegations of corruption, fraud and discrimination.
The Interstate Commerce Act was a direct result of the unscrupulous policies of the railroad industry. After the
Civil War railroad industries were primarily unregulated and each company held a natural monopoly. They were
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regarded with distrust by much of the public, who felt that the railroad industry was forming a monopoly and
accused them with corruption, stock manipulation and rate discrimination.
The railroad industry was controlled by only a small number of individuals like J. P. Morgan. These individuals
took advantage of the natural monopolies given them and individual passengers for branch service rides while, at
the same time, giving rebates and beneficial rates to large industry.
The states could do nothing about the actions of the railroad companies because, as the Supreme Court stated in a
railroad case, the railroads constituted interstate commerce and could only be delegated Interstate Commerce
Commission.
Hepburn Act of 1906
Despite the creation of the Interstate Commerce Commission the federal government still had little enforcement
over the railroad industry. In 1906 the Hepburn Act was enacted by Congress and signed into law by President
Theodore Roosevelt. It gave the Interstate Commerce Commission the power to set maximum railroad rates,
institute "just and reasonable" maximum rates and abolished rebates and free rides to "loyal shippers." The Hepburn
Act also authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission to view the financial records of the railroad industry and
covered bridges, terminals, ferries, sleeping cars, and oil pipelines.
The Mann Elkins Act of 1910
Section 7 of the Mann Elkins Act specifies that "the provisions of this Act shall apply to any corporation engaged in
the transportation of oil or other commodity, except water and natural or artificial gas, by means of pipelines….and
to telegraph, telephone and cable companies engaged in sending messages from one State, Territory, or District of
the United States, to any other State, Territory, or District of the United States or to any foreign country."
By this provision of the Mann Elkins Act the federal government, through the Interstate Commerce Commission
authorized the complete federal regulation of transport and communication between states, territories and the
District of Columbia.
The Mann Elkins Act created a court to adjudicate matters involving disputes over interstate commercial
activity. The court was designated to be the equivalent of a federal circuit court with disputes to be immediately
appealable to the United States Supreme Court.
Other regulations in the Mann Elkins Act include that the rates shall be "just & reasonable" based on the
determinations made from time to time by the Interstate Commerce Commission including different rate structures
for different classes of communication and transport as well as requiring receipts describing the rates and tariffs
charged. It outlawed free passes to all of those who are not "employees of the company or family members."
Current Form
In 1934 President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Communications Act which essentially incorporated the Acts
involving telephone service, the Mann-Elkins Act, with those of radio to create one Act that would encompass all
forms of mass communication. The goal of the Communications Act was to have broadcasting and
telecommunication governed by one regulatory agency. This Act officially created the Federal Communication
Commission to regulate and police communication within the United States. The act did not allow for price
regulation through the FCC.
With regard to the regulation of the railroad industry, that power was eventually swallowed up by the creation of
the Department of Transportation in 1966.
Source: http://commercial.laws.com/commerce/mann-elkins-act
Accessed: 15 October 2015
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Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson, a leader of the Progressive Movement, was the 28th
President of the United States (1913-1921). After a policy of neutrality
at the outbreak of World War I, Wilson led America into war in order to
"make the world safe for democracy."
Like Roosevelt before him, Woodrow Wilson regarded himself as the
personal representative of the people. "No one but the President," he said, "seems to be expected ... to look out for
the general interests of the country." He developed a program of progressive reform and asserted international
leadership in building a new world order. In 1917 he proclaimed American entrance into World War I a crusade to
make the world "safe for democracy."
Wilson had seen the frightfulness of war. He was born in Virginia in 1856, the son of a Presbyterian minister who
during the Civil War was a pastor in Augusta, Georgia, and during Reconstruction a professor in the charred city of
Columbia, South Carolina.
After graduation from Princeton (then the College of New Jersey) and the University of Virginia Law School,
Wilson earned his doctorate at Johns Hopkins University and entered upon an academic career. In 1885 he married
Ellen Louise Axson.
Wilson advanced rapidly as a conservative young professor of political science and became president of Princeton
in 1902.
His growing national reputation led some conservative Democrats to consider him Presidential timber. First they
persuaded him to run for Governor of New Jersey in 1910. In the campaign he asserted his independence of the
conservatives and of the machine that had nominated him, endorsing a progressive platform, which he pursued as
governor.
He was nominated for President at the 1912 Democratic Convention and campaigned on a program called the New
Freedom, which stressed individualism and states' rights. In the three-way election he received only 42 percent of
the popular vote but an overwhelming electoral vote.
Wilson maneuvered through Congress three major pieces of legislation. The first was a lower tariff, the Underwood
Act; attached to the measure was a graduated Federal income tax. The passage of the Federal Reserve Act provided
the Nation with the more elastic money supply it badly needed. In 1914 antitrust legislation established a Federal
Trade Commission to prohibit unfair business practices.
Another burst of legislation followed in 1916. One new law prohibited child labor; another limited railroad workers
to an eight-hour day. By virtue of this legislation and the slogan "he kept us out of war," Wilson narrowly won reelection.
But after the election Wilson concluded that America could not remain neutral in the World War. On April 2,1917,
he asked Congress for a declaration of war on Germany.
Massive American effort slowly tipped the balance in favor of the Allies. Wilson went before Congress in January
1918, to enunciate American war aims--the Fourteen Points, the last of which would establish "A general
association of nations...affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and
small states alike."
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After the Germans signed the Armistice in November 1918, Wilson went to Paris to try to build an enduring peace.
He later presented to the Senate the Versailles Treaty, containing the Covenant of the League of Nations, and asked,
"Dare we reject it and break the heart of the world?"
But the election of 1918 had shifted the balance in Congress to the Republicans. By seven votes the Versailles
Treaty failed in the Senate.
The President, against the warnings of his doctors, had made a national tour to mobilize public sentiment for the
treaty. Exhausted, he suffered a stroke and nearly died. Tenderly nursed by his second wife, Edith Bolling Galt, he
lived until 1924.
The Presidential biographies on WhiteHouse.gov are from “The Presidents of the United States of America,” by
Frank Freidel and Hugh Sidey. Copyright 2006 by the White House Historical Association.
Clayton Antitrust Act, law enacted in 1914 by the United States Congress to clarify and strengthen the Sherman
Antitrust Act (1890). The vague language of the latter had provided large corporations with numerous loopholes,
enabling them to engage in certain restrictive business arrangements that, though not illegal per se, resulted in
concentrations that had an adverse effect on competition. Thus, despite the trust-busting activities of the
administrations of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft under the Sherman Act, it appeared to
a congressional committee in 1913 that big business had continued to grow bigger and that the control of money
and credit in the country was such that a few men had the power to plunge the nation into a financial panic. When
President Woodrow Wilson asked for a drastic revision of existing antitrust legislation, Congress responded by
passing the Clayton measure.
Whereas the Sherman Act only declared monopoly illegal, the Clayton Act defined as illegal certain business
practices that are conducive to the formation of monopolies or that result from them. For example, specific forms of
holding companies and interlocking directorates were forbidden, as were discriminatory freight (shipping)
agreements and the distribution of sales territories among so-called natural competitors. Two sections of the
Clayton Act were later amended by the Robinson-Patman Act (1936) and the Celler-Kefauver Act (1950) to fortify
its provisions. The Robinson-Patman amendment made more enforceable Section 2, which relates to price and other
forms of discrimination among customers. The Celler-Kefauver Act strengthened Section 7, prohibiting one firm
from securing either the stocks or the physical assets (i.e., plant and equipment) of another firm when the
acquisition would reduce competition; it also extended the coverage of antitrust laws to all forms of mergers
whenever the effect would substantially lessen competition and tend to create a monopoly. Earlier legislative
measures had simply restricted horizontal mergers—those involving firms that produce the same type of goods. In
contrast, the Celler-Kefauver Act went farther by restricting even mergers of companies in different industries (i.e.,
conglomerate mergers). The Clayton Act and other antitrust and consumer protection regulations are enforced by
the Federal Trade Commission.
Source: http://www.britannica.com/event/Clayton-Antitrust-Act
Accessed: 15 October 2015
History of the Federal Reserve
1775-1791: U.S. Currency
To finance the American Revolution, the Continental Congress printed the new nation's first paper money. Known
as "continentals," the fiat money notes were issued in such quantity they led to inflation, which, though mild at first,
rapidly accelerated as the war progressed. Eventually, people lost faith in the notes, and the phrase "Not worth a
continental" came to mean "utterly worthless."
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1791-1811: First Attempt at Central Banking
At the urging of then Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, Congress established the First Bank of the United
States, headquartered in Philadelphia, in 1791. It was the largest corporation in the country and was dominated by
big banking and money interests. Many agrarian minded Americans uncomfortable with the idea of a large and
powerful bank opposed it. When the bank’s 20-year charter expired in 1811 Congress refused to renew it by one
vote.
1816-1836: A Second Try Fails
By 1816, the political climate was once again inclined toward the idea of a central bank; by a narrow margin,
Congress agreed to charter the Second Bank of the United States. But when Andrew Jackson, a central bank foe,
was elected president in 1828, he vowed to kill it. His attack on its banker-controlled power touched a popular
nerve with Americans, and when the Second Bank’s charter expired in 1836, it was not renewed.
1836-1865: The Free Banking Era
State-chartered banks and unchartered “free banks” took hold during this period, issuing their own notes,
redeemable in gold or specie. Banks also began offering demand deposits to enhance commerce. In response to a
rising volume of check transactions, the New York Clearinghouse Association was established in 1853 to provide a
way for the city’s banks to exchange checks and settle accounts.
1863: National Banking Act
During the Civil War, the National Banking Act of 1863 was passed, providing for nationally chartered banks,
whose circulating notes had to be backed by U.S. government securities. An amendment to the act required taxation
on state bank notes but not national bank notes, effectively creating a uniform currency for the nation. Despite
taxation on their notes, state banks continued to flourish due to the growing popularity of demand deposits, which
had taken hold during the Free Banking Era.
1873-1907: Financial Panics Prevail
Although the National Banking Act of 1863 established some measure of currency stability for the
growing nation, bank runs and financial panics continued to plague the economy. In 1893, a banking
panic triggered the worst depression the United States had ever seen, and the economy stabilized only
after the intervention of financial mogul J.P. Morgan. It was clear that the nation’s banking and
financial system needed serious attention.
1907: A Very Bad Year
In 1907, a bout of speculation on Wall Street ended in failure, triggering a particularly severe banking panic. J.P.
Morgan was again called upon to avert disaster. By this time, most Americans were calling for reform of the
banking system, but the structure of that reform was cause for deep division among the country’s citizens.
Conservatives and powerful “money trusts” in the big eastern cities were vehemently opposed by “progressives.”
But there was a growing consensus among all Americans that a central banking authority was needed to ensure a
healthy banking system and provide for an elastic currency.
1908-1912: The Stage is Set for Decentralized Central Bank
The Aldrich-Vreeland Act of 1908, passed as an immediate response to the panic of 1907, provided
for emergency currency issue during crises. It also established the national Monetary Commission
to search for a long-term solution to the nation’s banking and financial problems. Under the
leadership of Senator Nelson Aldrich, the commission developed a banker-controlled plan. William
Jennings Bryan and other progressives fiercely attacked the plan; they wanted a central bank under
public, not banker, control. The 1912 election of Democrat Woodrow Wilson killed the Republican
Aldrich plan, but the stage was set for the emergence of a decentralized central bank.
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1912: Woodrow Wilson as Financial Reformer
Though not personally knowledgeable about banking and financial issues, Woodrow Wilson solicited expert advice
from Virginia Representative Carter Glass, soon to become the chairman of the House Committee on Banking and
Finance, and from the Committee’s expert advisor, H. Parker Willis, formerly a professor of economics at
Washington and Lee University. Throughout most of 1912, Glass and Willis labored over a central bank proposal,
and by December 1912, they presented Wilson with what would become, with some modifications, the Federal
Reserve Act.
1913: The Federal Reserve System is Born
From December 1912 to December 1913, the Glass-Willis proposal was hotly debated,
molded and reshaped. By December 23, 1913, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the
Federal Reserve Act into law, it stood as a classic example of compromise—a decentralized
central bank that balanced the competing interests of private banks and populist sentiment.
1914: Open for Business
Before the new central bank could begin operations, the Reserve Bank Operating Committee, comprised of
Treasury Secretary William McAdoo, Secretary of Agriculture David Houston, and Comptroller of the Currency
John Skelton Williams, had the arduous task of building a working institution around the bare bones of the new
law. But, by November 16, 1914, the 12 cities chosen as sites for regional Reserve Banks were open for business,
just as hostilities in Europe erupted into World War I.
1914-1919: Fed Policy During the War
When World War I broke out in mid-1914, U.S. banks continued to operate normally,
thanks to the emergency currency issued under the Aldrich-Vreeland Act of 1908. But the
greater impact in the United States came from the Reserve Banks’ ability to discount
bankers acceptances. Through this mechanism, the United States aided the flow of trade
goods to Europe, indirectly helping to finance the war until 1917, when the United States
officially declared war on Germany and financing our own war effort became paramount.
Source: https://www.federalreserveeducation.org/about-the-fed/history/
Accessed: 15 October 2015
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Document A: Molly Elliot Seawell (ORIGINAL)
It has often been pointed out that women could not, with justice, ask to legislate upon matters of war and
peace, as no woman can do military duty; but this point may be extended much further. No woman can
have any practical knowledge of shipping and navigation, of the work of trainmen on railways, of mining,
or of many other subjects of the highest importance. Their legislation, therefore, would not probably be
intelligent, and the laws they devised for the betterment of sailors, trainmen, miners, etc., might be highly
objectionable to the very persons they sought to benefit. If obedience should be refused to these laws, who
is to enforce them? The men? Is it likely they will? And if the effort should be made, what stupendous
disorders would occur! The entire execution of the law would be in the hands of men, backed up by an
irresponsible electorate which could not lift a finger to apprehend or punish a criminal. And if all the dangers
and difficulties of executing the law lay upon men, what right have women to make the law? (pp. 31-32)
But that woman suffrage tends to divorce, is plain to all who know anything of men and women. Political
differences in families, between brothers, for example, who vote on differing sides, do not promote
harmony. How much more inharmonious must be political differences between a husband and wife, each
of whom has a vote which may be used as a weapon against the other? What is likely to be the state of that
family, when the husband votes one ticket, and the wife votes another? (p. 113)
Source: Excerpt from Molly Elliot Seawell, an anti-suffragist from Virginia who published the anti-suffrage
book, The Ladies’ Battle, in 1911.
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Document B: Anti-Suffrage Newspaper in New York (ORIGINAL)
It is the Suffragists whose ideal is the kitchenless house fed from a mechanical institutional centre. The
main proportion of Suffragist writing and speaking is on this pots and pans pattern, simply a denunciation
of housekeeping as degrading. It is the Suffragist theory that the woman's sphere in life should be the same
as the man's that has condemned her to share with him what is so hideous a misfit in the miscalled education
of our industrial classes, whose girls are all taught as if destined for literary rather than manual occupations,
as if the National funds were collected to compel the training of a surplus of cheap short-hand typists for
the office, and to compel a lack of expert housewives in the home. It is the Suffragists who are destroying
the wholesome personal element in female life, by their doctrine of degradation in the washing of pots and
pans for husband, father and son, while they demand the vote, and opportunity to serve the State, the
husbands, fathers, and sons of other people, with what? What service? An abstract service of legislation and
administration, they reply: in fact all that barren "social service" which can be performed without the
sweating of the brow, the soiling of a finger! Is it not clear how this hideous feminism is sapping our vitality
as a nation? Is it too much to say that it is at the root of half the unhealth and disease of which today's unrest
is symptomatic?
There are many wealthy women who have espoused Suffragisim, and who, to promote it, do daily a very
dangerous thing in preaching to working women that housework is degrading. And dangerous as is that
direct denunciation of housework universal among Suffragists, of which the Woman's Labor League
president's pots and pans speech is typical, there is another way inculcating contempt for it, which is even
more dangerous because more insidious and less direct. An example of the insidious way in which the
mischief is spread is shown in a letter to the Times of December 21 last, advocating the suffrage for women.
It was written by a lady from the standpoint of the leisured and cultured classes, as she expressly said. "We
more fortunate women," she wrote, plead for the franchise, not for our own sake, but for the sake of the
working women (whose "round of toil" she stigmatized as "drudgery"), because "it shall bring them at once
something at least of the respect and consideration which form the basis upon which we more fortunate
women build our lives."
Source: Article from an anti-suffrage newspaper, The Woman’s Protest Against Woman’s Suffrage,
published in New York by the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage, in October 1912.
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