History and Social Science, Part 23

Question 1: How were trusts affected by Wilson?

Answer 1: When Wilson entered office, he declared that there was no such thing as a good trust. With the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914, a bi-partisan committee of 5 was created to investigate trusts and issue reports to the government and to the public. The creation of the FTC slowed the growth of monopolies. Peeved by the ineffectiveness of the Sherman Anti-trust Act, Wilson supported the passage of the Clayton Anti-trust Act of 1914. This prohibited business from selling at reduced prices to favored customers if this price discrimination helped create a monopoly. It also prevented so-called “tying contracts,” which forbade a purchaser from buying or selling the products of a competitor. The act also outlawed large interlocking directories; formally allowed the existence of labor unions and farm organizations, as well as strikes and boycotts; and declared that no injunctions could be issued unless property was at stake.

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Question 2: Discuss and describe some miscellaneous accomplishments of Wilson’s New Freedom agenda.

Answer 2: The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 brought public education into rural areas. The Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 allocated money for vocational training and home economics courses. The Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916 divided the US into 12 agricultural districts, and established federal farm loan banks with low interest rates. The Adamson Act of 1916 asserted that railway workers should be paid for a 10-hour day, though they should only be required to work 8 hours. During Wilson’s presidency, Lewis Brandeis became the first Jewish member of the Supreme Court. In general, then, Wilson believed in regulating business and improving social welfare. He did not, however, see anything wrong with segregation.

Question 3: Describe Wilson’s Moral Diplomacy.

Answer 3: Along with his Secretary of State William Jennings Bryant, Woodrow Wilson promoted the view that nations should treat one another ethically. For instance, the Panama Canal Tolls Act of 1912 had made it so that the US did not have to pay tolls to use the canal, unlike every other nation; Wilson did away with this measure. Wilson’s actions in the Dominican Republic were more dubious. The Dominican Republic had been in deep debt early in the twentieth century, and the Roosevelt administration had been glad to help in exchange for keeping some troops in the country. When in 1916 the Dominican Republic asked the US to leave, Wilson refused and sent in the Marines. It was only in 1940 that the Dominican Republic was no longer considered a US protectorate. A similar scenario occurred in Haiti: the US offered to help the tiny nation, but was unwilling to leave when asked (mainly because of economic interest).

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