Emily Gong

AP US History
Period 2
November 15, 2007
Chapter 22: The Battle for National Reform
DQ #5: Describe Woodrow Wilson’s “New Freedom”. How did Roosevelt’s “New Nationalism” differ?
I. New Freedom
A. Policy
against “the triple walls of privilege”: tariffs, banking, and trusts
in alliance with what Louis Brandeisi and his supporters: opposed “bad” trusts that created inefficient
businesses & moral corruption and support the establishment of “good” trusts that helped the economy
• restore gov’t to a “more human scale”
• national gov’t work to break up largest combination and enforce a balance between need for
“bigness” and need for competition
Proper response to dangerous monopolies: DESTROY them
limit both big business and big government
B. Enforcement of Policy
 Tariff Reductions
Freedom” Policy • Underwood Tariff (October 3, 1913)substantially lowered tariffs ( in contrast with previous
advocate of “New tariffs, ex. Wilson-Gorman Tariffii, Payne-Aldrich Tariffiii, McKinley Tariffiv)
United States; • Compensation for reduced tariff revenues: graduate income tax rate from 1% to 6 % ( now
President of the constitutional b/c of the 16th Amendmentv)
Woodrow Wilson, 28th • Progressive measure: higher income earners pay more income tax; political triumph for Wilson
 Banking Reforms
• Wilson- believed gold standard to be inflexible; banks- too much influence from stock speculators
from Wall Streetsought as a solution to eradicate possibility of panics
• consensus in community for a banking & currency reform that would provide a ready money
Nationalism” policy assets
announcing his “New • resolved this by instituting the Federal Reserve Act (December 23, 1913) (a national bank
Osawatomie, Kansas,
system w/ 12 distinct banks under supervision of Federal Reserve Board) first fed. banking
Theodore Roosevelt in
system since Second Bank of U.S. (1836)vi [Details: See Chapter 22, DQ #6]
• issued Federal Reserve Notes (dollar bills) under the regulation of a federal committee
 Business Regulations
• Clayton Antitrust Act (October 15, 1914)- strengthened provisions in Sherman Antitrust Act
for dissembling monopolies
IMPORTANT FOR ORGANIZED LABOR: unions EXEMPTED from being prosecuted as trusts
• Federal Trade Commission Act (1914)- formed Federal Trade Commission- agency
established to investigate and attack any unfair trade practices in every industry except industry
and transportationenforced Clayton Act
• Brandeis Appointment: appointed Louis Brandeis as associate Justice of the Supreme Court
• for consumer protection and against anticompetitive business attempts
II. Comparison to Theodore Roosevelt’s “New Nationalism”
Theodore Roosevelt’s New Nationalism Woodrow Wilson’s New Freedom
• more gov’t REGULATION of business & unions, women • Wilson-believed his policy to stand for political and
suffrage, & more social welfare programs economic freedom from trusts
• human welfare vs. property rights • DESTORY the trusts and big business institutions
• wanted executive agencies to regulate business • strongly opposed against banks, tariffs, and trusts
• support for child labor laws & minimum wage laws for • no passing legislation for specific groups ( ex. labor unions)
women
DIFFERENCES: Theodore Roosevelt: regulation of business by gov’t, favoring laws for special interests, such as labor unions
Woodrow Wilson: dismantling trusts and completely eradicating their power in Amer. economy
CONCLUSION: Woodrow Wilson’s “New Freedom” policy was initiated based on Wilson’s own progressive beliefs on where
the problems of the American economy laid, and he believed it to reside in the corruption and inefficiency of banks, federal
tariffs, and business trusts. From the start of his presidency, he instituted agencies and regulations on these three main areas
through numerous laws approved by the legislative branch and enforced by the president himself. Though his policy had some
similar aspects to Roosevelt’s 1912 campaigned policy, “New Nationalism”, the major difference between the two was their
political approach towards trusts. Roosevelt seeked to regulate large corporations; Wilson hoped to abrogate them.
i
lawyer, advocate of the disintegration of trusts (Ch.21)
ii
tariff passed under Grover Cleveland’s first term (Ch.19, DQ#3)
iii
tariff passed under Howard Taft (Ch. 22, DQ #3)
iv
tariff passed under Benjamin Harrison (Ch.19, DQ #5)
v
amendment that allowed the federal government to collect income taxes (passed February 3rd, 1913)
vi
bank chartered in 1816 under Madison administration in desperation for financial support during the War of 1812; expired
in 1836