1912 President Election cartoon. Theodore Roosevelt charging at incumbent President Taft seated on top of the White House. Uncle Sam appears as a professor of physics. March 27 1912.
During the presidential election of 1912, Roosevelt chose to run again. Many saw him as hungry for power by opposing his chosen progressive incumbent, William Howard Taft. The campaign turned ugly for the two friends when they began to insult each other. Roosevelt spoke of a New Nationalism, or a new social reform plan, as well as a Federal Trade Commission to keep an eye out for unfair business practices.
Neither man won. A new progressive from the Democrat party named Woodrow Wilson won the election of 1912.
Wilson continued to oppose big businesses, and he ended unfair labor practices. He is also remembered for leading the United States into World War I and for his work in establishing the League of Nations (a forerunner to the United Nations).
Portraits of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and William Taft on a map of the United States in 1912; feuding Roosevelt and Taft split the Republican vote, leaving Wilson the winner with 435 of 531 electoral votes.
The split in the Republican Party hurt both Taft and Roosevelt. While Republicans and Progressives battled each other at the polls, Democrat Woodrow Wilson gathered enough support to defeat them in the election. Wilson had acquired a reputation as a progressive reformer while serving as president of Princeton University and governor of New Jersey. Wilson gained only 42 percent of the popular vote, with Roosevelt receiving 27 percent and Taft 23 percent. However, Wilson won the presidency by the largest electoral majority up to that time, sweeping 435 of the 531 electoral votes.
President Woodrow Wilson
During his campaign, Wilson had criticized big government as well as big business. He called his program the “New Freedom.” In 1913, Wilson achieved a long-awaited progressive goal—tariff reform. He persuaded the Democrat-controlled Congress to adopt a lower tariff on imported goods such as sugar, wool, steel, and farm equipment. Wilson believed that the pressure of foreign competition would lead American manufacturers to improve their products and lower their prices. The government income lost by lowering tariffs would be replaced by the new income tax.
That same year, Congress also passed the Federal Reserve Act to regulate banking. By creating 12 regional banks supervised by a central board in Washington, D.C., the act gave the government more control over banking activities. Banks that operated nationally were required to join the Federal Reserve System and abide by its regulations.
Wilson also worked to strengthen government control over business. In 1914, Congress established the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, to investigate corporations for unfair trade practices. Wilson also supported the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, which joined the Sherman Antitrust Act as one of the government’s chief weapons against trusts. The government also tried to regulate child labor. The Keating-Owen Act of 1916 banned goods produced by child labor from being sold in interstate commerce. The act was struck down as unconstitutional just two years later.
By the end of Wilson’s first term, progressives had won many victories. The Progressive movement lost some of its momentum as Americans turned their attention to world affairs, especially the war that had broken out in Europe in 1914.
| Why did the split in the Republican Party hurt both Taft and Roosevelt? | Split the Republican vote and allow Wilson to win. |
| Who won the Election of 1912? By how many electoral votes? | Woodrow Wilson, 360 Electoral Votes. |
| What was the purpose of Wilson’s creation of the Federal Reserve? | To regulate banks and big business. |
| How did the Keating-Owen Act affect children? | Congress restricted child labor through its power to regulate interstate commerce. The act limited children's working hours and prohibited the interstate sale of goods produced by child labor |
