Chapter 29

Front 1

New Freedom (1912)

Back 1

Platform of reforms advocated by Woodrow Wilson in his first presidential campaign, including stronger antitrust legislation to protect small business enterprises from monopolies, banking reform, and tariff reductions. Wilson's strategy involved taking action to increase opportunities for capitalist competition rather than increasing government regulation of large trusts.

Front 2

New Nationalism (1912)

Back 2

State-interventionist reform program devised by journalist Herbert Croly and advocated by Theodore Roosevelt during his Bull Moose presidential campaign. Roosevelt did not object to continued consolidation of trusts and labor unions. Rather, he sought to create stronger regulatory agencies to insure that they operated to serve the public interest, not just private gain.

Front 3

Underwood Tariff (1913)

Back 3

This tariff provided for a substantial reduction of rates and enacted an unprecedented, graduated federal income tax. By 1917, revenue from the income tax surpassed receipts from the tariff, a gap that has since been vastly widened.

Front 4

Federal Reserve Act (1913)

Back 4

An act establishing twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks and a Federal Reserve Board, appointed by the president, to regulate banking and create stability on a national scale in the volatile banking sector. The law carried the nation through the financial crises of the First World War of 1914-1918.

Front 5

Federal Trade Commission Act (1914)

Back 5

A banner accomplishment of Woodrow Wilson's administration, this law empowered a standing, presidentially appointed commission to investigate illegal business practices in interstate commerce like unlawful competition, false advertising, and mislabeling of goods.

Front 6

Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914)

Back 6

Law extending the antitrust protections of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and exempting labor unions and agricultural organizations from anti monopoly constraints. The act conferred long overdue benefits on labor.

Front 7

Holding companies

Back 7

A company that owns part or all of the other companies' stock in order to extend monopoly control. Often, a holding company does not produce goods or services of its own but only exists to control other companies. The Clayton Anti-Trust Act of 1914 sought to clamp down on these companies when they obstructed competition.

Front 8

Workingmen's Compensation Act

Back 8

Passed under Woodrow Wilson, this law granted assistance to federal civil-service employees during periods of disability. It was a precursor to labor-friendly legislation passed during the New Deal.

Front 9

Adamson Act (1916)

Back 9

This law established an eight-hour day for all employees on trains involved in interstate commerce, with extra pay for overtime. It was the first federal law regulating the hours of workers in private companies, and was upheld by the Supreme Court in Wilson v. New.

Front 10

Jones Act (1916)

Back 10

Law according territorial status to the Philippines and promising independence as soon as a "stable government" could be established. The United States did not grant the Philippines independence until July 4, 1946.

Front 11

Tampico Incident (1914)

Back 11

An arrest of American sailors by the Mexican government that spurred Woodrow Wilson to dispatch the American navy to seize the port of Veracruz in April 1914. Although the war was avoided, tensions grew between the United States and Mexico.

Front 12

Central Powers

Back 12

Germany and Austria-Hungary, later joined by Turkey and Bulgaria, made up this alliance against the allies in World War I.

Front 13

Allies

Back 13

Great Britain, Russia, and France, later joined by Italy, Japan, and the United States, formed this alliance against the Central Powers in World War I.

Front 14

U-boats

Back 14

German submarines l, named for the German Unterseeboot, or "undersea boat," proved deadly for Allied ships in the war zone. U-boar attacks played an important role in drawing the United States into the First World War.

Front 15

Lusitania

Back 15

British passenger liner torpedoed and sank by Germany on May 7, 1915. It ended the lives of 1,198 people, including 128 Americans, and pushed the United States closer to war.