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

Election of 1912

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.

Federal Trade Commission

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

Federal Reserve System

Summarize the three Presidents

Roosevelt

Taft

Wilson