Unformatted text preview: Progressive reforms
Antitrust regulations and the creation of the
Antitrust
Federal Trade Commission of 1914 limited
corporations ability to merge together
corporations Progressive income tax implemented in
Progressive
1913 – the tax was 1% for income over
$3,000 (the average worker made $580 a
year in 1900)
year Income tax today – individual $0-$8,350 –
10%
$0-$8,350
10%
$8,350-$33,950 -15%
$8,350-$33,950
15%
$33,950-$82,250-25%
$82,250-$171,550-28%
$171,550-$372,950-33%
$372,950+
35%
Median individual income: $30,881
The top 5% (above $145,00) pays 60% of the income
The
taxes in the US
taxes
Bottom 50% (below $30,881) pays about 3% The Republican Influence Following the Democratic presidency of Wilson, The
Following
Republican party shifted towards economic
libertarianism and reversed progressive taxation
began under Wilson
began
Rejecting the social reforms of the Progressive Era,
Rejecting
the first two Republican Presidents of the 1920s–
the
Harding and Coolidge–put their faith in big business
Harding
and less in government, both at home and abroad
and Harding and the Tea Pot Dome
• In 1920 Harding’s promise of a “return to normalcy”
hit a responsive chord among Americans. Many
observers saw his landslide election over Democrat
James A. Cox as a rejection of Wilson’s
internationalism as well as high-minded
Progressive reforms and higher taxes on the
wealthy.
• Harding relied on the advice of a talented group of
officials named to the cabinet and a group of old
friends from Ohio. Some of these friends used their
positions to line their pockets with money. One
advisor ended in jail, two resigned in disgrace, and
two more killed themselves Harding dies, plagued by scandal
Of the many scandalous situations that
occurred during Harding’s administration, the
Teapot Dome became the most famous.
Harding’s Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fell,
leased government oil fields to wealthy
friends in exchange for bribes.
• Investigations into the scandals left Harding
depressed. He fell ill and died, bringing Vice
President Calvin Coolidge to the presidency. Silent Cal
With his upright Yankee background and
unquestioned reputation for honesty,
Coolidge soon erased the damage the
Harding scandals had caused the Republican
administration.
• Coolidge carried out Harding’s pro-business
programs and reversed progressive taxes
brought on by Wilson. The courts Coolidge appointed Supreme Court justices
Coolidge
who strictly interpreted the commerce
clause (which says Congress can regulate
trade “among the several states) to mean
that Congress could not regulate local
economic conditions
economic Regulatory agencies Coolidge appointed pro-business people to
Coolidge
regulatory bodies that overlooked antitrust
regulations
regulations Andrew Mellon, secretary of the treasury under
Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover, almost completely
overturned the progressive tax policies of the Wilson
years. He cut government spending and reduced
taxes on corporations and on people with high
incomes. Herbert Hoover
• Hoover, the secretary of commerce under both
Harding and Coolidge, became famous as director of
the Belgian Relief Committee
• Hoover also supported a number of reforms–eighthour workdays in major industries, improved nutrition
for children, conservation of natural resources, and
control of coastline oil pollution
• Hoover believed above all in volunteer effort and free
enterprise, hoping that business would show a new
spirit of public service. Republican Foreign Policy In the 1920s the government encouraged United
States firms to dramatically expand their international
business, thus extending influence over other
nations.
Charles G. Dawes, a wealthy Chicago banker,
negotiated loans from private American banks so
Germany could pay its reparations. The so-called
Dawes Plan helped to avoid war and allowed the
Allies to use German reparations to repay some of
their debts to the United States How to avoid war
• To stay clear of Europe’s power struggles, the
United States embarked on a twofold policy:
(1) To reduce the weapons of war, the United
States held the Washington Conference–the
first successful disarmament conference in
modern history. (2) To disentangle itself from
future conflicts, the United States joined other
nations in signing the Kellogg-Briand Pact,
which outlawed war. ...
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- Fall '08
- LIVINGSTON
- Federal Trade Commission, Calvin Coolidge, President Calvin Coolidge, • Harding
-
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