Progressive Presidents
Superhero or Villain?
Captain Conservative - Power to the People
Shermanator - "Dirt" is my Forte
The Bull Moose - The Enemy
1. Split Republican Party in 1912 by running against Taft on Progressive Party ticket because Taft didn’t continue the Progressive reforms he began
2. “Big Stick” Diplomacy to control weaker nations (corruption found at all levels of government)
3. Didn’t want to completely abandon control of government, so he handpicked Taft to be president, certain he would continue the Progressive reforms he began (Politician took bribes and gave them/elections were rigged)
4. “Stewardship theory”- can do anything the Constitution did not forbid
5. Trust busting- believed he had the right as president (or in Taft’s case, controlling the president) to bring large corporations to court and break them up because they were harming the people and he believed in strong presidential power
Super Tools - Defeating the Enemy
1. Publicity Act: required political parties to account for the money spent on federal campaigns
2. Dollar Diplomacy: encouraged U.S. banks and businesses to make investments abroad
3. Payne-Aldrich Tariff: raised tariffs on almost all products, however, he wasn’t in support of many progressive reforms Roosevelt wanted passed
4. Mann-Elkins Act of 1910: gave power to the Interstate Commerce Commission to suspend railroad hikes and set rates
5. Division of the Department of Commerce and Labor
6. Sixteenth Amendment: income tax
7. Seventeenth Amendment: direct election of senators
8. Pinchot-Ballinger: final split between Roosevelt and Taft
Bibliography
"American President: William Howard Taft." Miller Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013. <http://millercenter.org/president/taft>.
"Find the Data." US Presidents. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013. <us-presidents.findthedata.org/compare/16-18/Theodore-Roosevelt-vs-William-Howard-Taft>.
"The American Presidency: Roosevelt vs. Taft." The American Presidency. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013. <http://michelleamericanpresidency.blogspot.com/2011/02/roosevelt-vs-taft.html>.
"The First Avenger: Captain America - Movie Chronicles." Movie Chronicles . N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013. <http://www.moviechronicles.com/captain-america/page/2/>.
"U.S. History II: Progressivism: Roosevelt and Taft ." Get Homework Help with CliffsNotes Study Guides . N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013. <http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Progressivism-Roosevelt-and-Taft.topicArticleId-25238,articleId-25193.html>.
"William H. Taft — William Howard Taft — History.com Photo Galleries." History.com — History Made Every Day — American & World History. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013. <http://www.history.com/photos/william-h-taft/photo2>.