TH 3 – 1
20th Century U.S. History
PRESIDENT WILLIAM H. TAFT
I TAFT’S STYLE.
Notes
1. Taft was TR’s handpicked successor. Easily beat Bryan and Eugene
Debs in the election of 1908
2. He lacked the fire or guts of TR.
a. Content to keep status quo rather than rocking the boat.
b. Adopted a very passive attitude toward Congress
II FOREIGN POLICY: Dollar Diplomacy (see TH 2-4 Foreign
Policy 1900-1917)
III TRUSTBUSTER.
1. Brought 90 suits against trusts during four years in office; 2X that of
TR
2. 1911, Court ordered dissolution of Standard Oil Company Judged to
be a combination in restraint of trade in violation of the Sherman
Anti-Trust Act of 1890.
IV PROGRESSIVE LEGISLATION.
1. Conservation: Taft's contributions equaled or out-did TR’s.
a. Bureau of Mines established to control mineral resources.
Rescued millions of acres of western coal lands from exploitation
b. Protected water-power sites from private development.
2. Mann-Elkins Act (1910) – Telegraph, telephone, & cable
corporations put under ICC jurisdiction
3. Postal Savings Bank System (1910) – Post Office Department
authorized to receive savings deposits from individuals and pay
interest of 2% per year. This had been a major Populist idea.
V SPLIT IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. (Progressives vs. Old
Guard)
1. Payne-Aldrich Tariff, 1909: most important cause for split of
Republican Party.
a. Reducing the tariff was one of Taft’s campaign promises.
b. Congress only moderately reduced the tariff
c. Taft signed the Payne-Aldrich Tariff thus betraying his
campaign promises and Progressives in the Republican Party.
2. Roosevelt’s “New Nationalism”, 1910
a. Roosevelt had been out of country during 1909 and first half of
1910 but tariff and conservation issues galvanized him to become
more active.
b. Created new doctrine: "New Nationalism"
1
TH 3 – 1
20th Century U.S. History
1) Urged federal govt. to increase its power to remedy economic
& social abuses.
2) Regulation of large corporations, tariff reform, graduated
income & inheritance taxes; currency reform; sale of public
lands only in small parcels to true settlers; labor reforms; strict
accounting of campaign funds; and initiative, referendum &
recall.
3) "The object of government is the welfare of the people.
The material progress and prosperity of a nation are
desirable chiefly so far as they lead to the moral and
material welfare of all good citizens."
c. Marked new era in politics; Old Guard Republican were now on
defensive.
VII ELECTION OF 1912
1. Woodrow Wilson nominated by Democrats
a. Platform: antitrust legislation, monetary changes, and tariff
reductions.
b. Wilson’s "New Freedom": Favored small enterprise,
entrepreneurship, and a return to a free competitive economy
without monopoly; strong states’ rights
1) Favored more active govt. role in economic and social affairs
but differed in strategy.
2) Persuaded by Louis Brandeis to make trustbusting centerpiece
of campaign.
3) Rejected stronger role for govt. in human affairs.
2. Theodore Roosevelt nominated by Progressive-Republican Party
(Bull Moose Party).
a. "New Nationalism" platform sought continued consolidation of
trusts and labor unions, paralleled by growth of powerful
regulatory agencies in Washington; more efficient government
Quintessential Progressive platform; set liberal agenda for the
next 50 years.
b. TR shot in chest in Milwaukee before giving campaign speech.
3. Taft nominated by Republicans
4. Results:
a. Wilson defeated Roosevelt & Taft: 435-88-8.
b. Socialist Party: Eugene V. Debs got nearly 1 million votes (6%)
1) Height of American socialist movement: doubled 1908
votes
2) A growing number of Americans believed Socialists as a last
alternative to the corrupt 2-party system before revolution.
2
Notes