Objective: To examine the reforms of Woodrow Wilson. USHC 4.6

Woodrow Wilson

Wilson uses tariff, currency and anti-trust laws to prime the pump and get the economy working in a 1913 political cartoon.

Woodrow Wilson Presidential Candidate, Democratic Party

"The Tariff” New York, September, 24, 1912

“We stand in the presence of an awakened nation. Plainly it is a new age. There are two great things to do. One is to set up the

rule of justice and right in such matters as the tariff, the regulation of trust, and the prevention of monopoly. The

business of government is to separate special and particular interests from the general interests of wide community. The

initial task this year is to get our government in such shape that we can use it for our own purpose, not against anybody in

particular, but for everybody in general. We want to establish a real partnership between all the people and the federal

government instead of between special interests and the federal government…

…We must affect a great readjustment and get the forces of the whole people once more into play. The tariff question as dealt with in our time has not been business; it has been politics. The tariff has become a system of favors. Tariff schedules have been determined in committee rooms and in conferences. The tariff becomes a matter of legitimate business only when the understanding it represents is between the leaders of Congress and the whole people of the United States, instead of between the leaders of Congress and small groups of manufacturers demanding special recognition and consideration. That is the heart of the whole affair. It is at bottom a question of good faith and morals. Our conviction as Democrats is that the only legitimate object of tariff duties is to raise revenue for the support of the government.”

President Woodrow Wilson

Policy / Act Purpose

New Freedom Wilson’s idea to break up trusts into smaller companies

Decreased tariffs Increased competition with foreign goods

President Woodrow Wilson

Policy / Act Purpose

Imposed a graduated income tax

Raised money for the government lost by the lower

tariffs

Federal Reserve Act (1913) Regulated banking

In the mid 1930's Acme beer advertised its beer as "Dietetically Non-Fattening”. This caused the Federal Trade Commission, who was devoted to fair practices in advertising, to move against Acme Breweries. The ad was considered a "deceptive nutritional claim" so Acme dropped the advertising campaign.

President Woodrow Wilson

Policy / Act Purpose

Federal Trade Commission (1914)

Stopped businesses from using unfair business

practices

Clayton Antitrust Act (1914) Barred antitrust laws from being used against unions