APUSH PAGEANT
WORKSHEET
CHAPTER 29
1. TR and Woodrow Wilson were both Progressives. How did they differ?
While both Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson agreed that the government should play a more active role in reforming economic and social affairs, they disagreed over how progressivism should be conducted. Roosevelt and his platform of New Nationalism favored the consolidation of trusts and labor unions, which were to be controlled by regulation agencies from the government. Also, he wanted woman suffrage and social welfare through minimum wage laws and social insurance. Wilson's New Freedom on the other hand appealed to the political and economical side of progressivism by favoring small businesses, entrepreneurship, and unregulated markets with no monopolies. Plus, Wilson rejected ideas of social welfare and focused on the fragmentation of big industrial trusts through enforcement of antitrust laws.
2. How did the presidential election of 1912 differ from most elections? Your text writes that the results were "fascinating." Explain.
The presidential election of 1912 was unique in that Woodrow Wilson was a minority president because he only won 41% of the popular vote. The divide in the Republican vote with Teddy Roosevelt and William H. Taft also helped further his victory since their combined total popular vote was over 1.25 million votes over Wilson's polling. Even though the Democratic party won the majority in Congress, Wilson had amassed fewer popular votes than William Jennings Bryan in all his defeats in the presidential election. Eugene Dubs of the Socialist party also made a surprising showing by polling 900,000 votes in popular vote, which was a significant amount for a third party.
3. Describe Wilson's personality. How did his past and personality affect the way he acted as president?
As the son of a Presbyterian minister, Wilson was an eloquent speaker that used a persuasive voice combined with sincerity and moral appeal to his audience. He would consequently preach political sermons with piety and zeal. Also, as a student that was educated in law and government, Wilson believed that the president should be a dynamic leader that showed authority. He said that Congress would not be able to function properly if the president were not able to provide leadership over the country. His personality however had serious defects as he lacked the friendly touch with common people and would often look down on the "stupid" senators with arrogance and sternness. Also, his firm belief in moral righteousness had made it so that it was difficult for Wilson to compromise with others.
4. What was the "triple of wall of privilege?" How and why did Wilson hope to destroy it?
The triple wall of privilege was Wilson's program to attack three main issues: the tariff, the banks, and the trusts of the giant corporations. Woodrow Wilson hoped to destroy this wall because of the problems imposed by all these problems. The reducing of tariffs rate would help stimulate the American economy as it would force American manufacturers to start producing better quality goods and encourage competition with international markets. The reform of the banking system was heavily needed as inadequate banking and currency system as the conflict between hard and soft money and lack of banking reserves prevailed at this time. Last, he hoped to destroy the trusts and enforce strict antitrust laws in order to establish fair and free markets for all companies whether they are larger in size or smaller.
5. Wilson ended a presidential custom established by T. Jefferson. What was the custom and why did he change it?
The presidential custom by Thomas Jefferson was the removal of the national bank because he believed they would gain too much power and threaten the property and liberties of American systems. Also, he believed in strict interpretation of the Constitution as there is no mention of the ability to create a national bank in the Constitution. However, Woodrow Wilson would establish a third Bank of the United States due to the poorly managed banking system and currency system in America. As a progressive, Wilson wanted to reform the banking system and have it better fit the American's people needs with the national bank.
