The New Freedom was Woodrow Wilson's platform in the 1912 presidential election, and also refers to the progressive programs enacted by Wilson during his time as president. First expressed in his campaign speeches and promises, Wilson later wrote a 1913 book of the same name. After the 1918 midterm elections, Republicans took control of Congress and were mostly hostile to the New Freedom. As president, Wilson focused on various types of reform, such as the following:
Tariff reform: This came through the passage of the Underwood Tariff Act of 1913, which lowered tariffs for the first time since 1857 and went against the protectionist lobby. Labor reform: This was achieved through measures such as the Eight Hour Law for Women of the District of Columbia, the Seaman's Act, Workmen's Compensation for Federal employees, the Federal Child Labor Bill, and the Adamson Act. During the 1912 campaign Wilson spoke in support of workers organizing into unions while endorsing "the betterment of men in this occupation and the other, the protection of women, the shielding of children, the bringing about of social justice." Business reform: This was established through the passage of the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914, which established the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and halt unfair and illegal business practices by issuing "cease and desist" orders, and the Clayton Antitrust Act. Agricultural reform: This was achieved through measures such as the Cotton Futures and Smith-Lever Acts of 1914, the Grain Standards and Warehouse Acts of 1916, and the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917. Banking reform: This came in 1913 through the creation of the Federal Reserve System and in 1916 through the passage of the Federal Farm Loan Act, which set up Farm Loan Banks to support farmers.
Campaign slogan in 1912 Wilson's position in 1912 stood in opposition to Progressive party candidate Theodore Roosevelt's ideas of New Nationalism, particularly on the issue of antitrust modification. According to Wilson, "If America is not to have free enterprise, he can have freedom of no sort whatever." Wilson was strongly influenced by his chief economic advisor Louis D. Brandeis, an enemy of big business and monopoly.
Although Wilson and Roosevelt agreed that economic power was being abused by trusts, Wilson and Roosevelt were split on how the government should handle the restraint of private power as in dismantling corporations that had too much economic power in a large society. Wilson wrote extensively on the meaning of "government" shortly after his election.
Wilson in office Once elected, Wilson rolled out a program of social and economic reform. Wilson appointed Brandeis to the US Supreme Court in 1916. He worked with Congress to give federal employees worker's compensation, outlawed child labor with the Keating–Owen Act (the act was ruled unconstitutional in 1918) and passed the Adamson Act, which secured a maximum eight-hour workday for railroad employees. Most important was the Clayton Act of 1914, which largely put the trust issue to rest by spelling out the specific unfair practices that business were not allowed to engage in. The legislative environment was favourable to Wilson, with progressive Democratic majorities in Congress during his first term in office.The Senate, 1789–1989: Addresses on the history of the United States Senate By Robert C. Byrd, Mary Sharon Hall, Wendy Wolff, 1988, p. 408.The Democratic text-book 1916, p. 132.
By the end of the Wilson Administration, a significant amount of progressive legislation had been passed, affecting not only economic and constitutional affairs, but farmers, labor, veterans, the environment, and conservation as well. The reform agenda actually put into legislation by Wilson, however, did not extend as far as what Roosevelt had called for but had never actually passed, such as a standard 40-hour work week, minimum wage laws, and a federal system of social insurance.
This was arguably a reflection of Wilson’s doubts over the extent of the federal government’s constitutional powers. This was demonstrated in 1916 when Wilson was advised by Oklahoma senator Robert Owen to appropriate the social justice plank of Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party. Although Wilson understood the importance of Owen’s suggestion, he believed (as he put it to Owen) that “Many of the Progressive principles set forth in the Progressive platform of 1912” were “merely in thesis, because they affected matters controlled by the states and not by the national government.” Wilson asked Owen to provide him with a memorandum “as to those which you think we can all agree on.”Wilson; campaigns for progressivism and peace, 1916-1917 by Arthur S. Link, Publisher: Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press, 1965, P.39 In response to Wilson’s request, Owen highlighted federal legislation to promote workers' health and safety, prohibit child labour, establish minimum wages and maximum hours,Cooper, John Milton Jr. Woodrow Wilson p 335 and prevent involuntary unemployment.Wilson; campaigns for progressivism and peace, 1916-1917 by Arthur S. Link, Publisher: Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press, 1965, P.40 Wilson, in turn, included in his draft platform a plank that called for (as noted by one historian) “all work done by and for the federal government to provide a minimum wage, an eight-hour day and six-day workweek, and health and safety measures and to prohibit child labour, and - his own additions- protections for female workers and a retirement program.”Cooper, John Milton Jr. Woodrow Wilson p 335 Although these proposed reforms were directed towards federal employees, the Democratic platform for 1916 called for the adoption of similar principles to be “urged and applied” by the legislation of the States.Platforms of the Two Great Political Parties 1856-1916, Inclusive, Publisher: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1916, P.200
The New Freedom reflected Wilson's ideological outlook, who identified himself with progressiveThe Folly of Empire What George W. Bush Could Learn from Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson By John B. Judis, 2010, P84 liberal politics throughout much of his life, in addition to his time as president. During his time as governor of New Jersey, a number of reform laws were passed by the New Jersey legislature and signed by Wilson. This included laws providing "for at least one-half hour meal time after six continuous hours of labor" and the appointment of commissioners on old age pensions and old age insurance, together with laws concerning working hours and health and safety.Morning Oregonian., July 20, 1912, Page 8 Wilson also spoke out in support of legislation benefiting labor, stating in one of his annual messages:
Similarly, during a political address in Indianapolis in April 1911, Wilson asserted that “we must see to it that men working in masses, under conditions that are not really conditions of free contract, are safeguarded in their lives and rights by our legislatures.”“A Political Address in Indianapolis” April 13, 1911, printed in “The Papers of Woodrow Wilson” Edited by Arthur S. Link, Volume 22: 1910-1911, Princeton University Press 1976, P.565
In his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination, Wilson argued in favor of labor legislation, stating that
Wilson was also supportive of the principle of minimum wage legislation,Evening True American 13 Mar 1913 even playing a part in a decision made by Henry Ford to introduce a $5 daily minimum wage for his female employees.The Toledo News-Bee 25 Oct 1916
Although Wilson has been identified with conservatism up until 1902,To Run a Constitution The Legitimacy of the Administrative State By John Anthony Rohr, Publisher: University Press of Kansas, 1986, P.69 writings of his from the late Nineteenth Century demonstrate an advocacy on his part of interventionist, socially responsible government. In his 1890 work The State, Wilson had advocated a welfarist role for the state, arguing amongst its functions to be the provision of German-style insurance for workmen and care "for the poor and incapable."Woodrow Wilson (1890): The State: Elements of Historical and Practical Politics. Chapter XV: The Functions of Government, p. 614. Wilson was also a supporter of teacher's pensionsThe Papers Of Woodrow Wilson Volume 17 1908-1908, P.510-511 and mothers' pensions (cash allowances for poor mothers), with he and his daughter inviting Henry Nell ("father of mothers' pensions") to discuss "means for spreading the mothers' pension gospel." Wilson's views on welfare were expressed on another occasion in his Notes for Five Lectures on Municipal Government (given at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences in November and December 1898),The Papers of Woodrow Wilson Volume 11 By Woodrow Wilson, Arthur Stanley Link, 1971, p. 74. in which he described various functions that he said municipal government must undertake, which included welfarist functions like Sanitation ("including parks, housing of poor and labouring classes etc.") and "Guardianship and relief of destitute and helpless classes ruined by the city pressure").The Papers of Woodrow Wilson Volume 11 By Woodrow Wilson, Arthur Stanley Link, 1971, p. 77 In the same notes Wilson argued that "Charities, e.g., should be taken from the sphere of private, voluntary organization and endeavour and made the imperative legal duty of the Whole. Relief of the poor, and a bettering of the conditions in which they live is as much a governmental function as Education (coming under the head, not only of human duty, but also of social sanitation). Private charities need not be prohibited."The Papers of Woodrow Wilson Volume 11 By Woodrow Wilson, Arthur Stanley Link, 1971, p. 84.
At some point during his political career, Wilson commissioned members of the Fraternal Order of Eagles to study old age pension laws overseas to see if such laws could be introduced in the United States. As noted by one state senator in later years, "It was learned in this way that institutional care for the aged was costly." Pensions for federal civil servants were introduced in 1920,The Federal Civil Service System and the Problem of Bureaucracy The Economics and Politics of Institutional Change By Ronald N. Johnson, Gary D. Libecap, 2007, P.91 but it wasn't until 1935 when legislation was passed establishing a national system of old age pensions.Historical Background and Development of Social Security Pre-Social Security Period Traditional Sources of Economic Security
While serving as governor of New Jersey, Wilson's views on welfare were arguably reflected in the platform adopted by the New Jersey Democratic Party in 1912, the authorship of which has been attributed to Wilson,As noted by the editor(s) on p. 305 of The Papers Of Woodrow Wilson, Volume 12, 1912, Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 1978: "While there is no direct evidence about the authorship of this document, internal evidence, vocabulary, phrasing, and style all point to Wilson as the principal author." which included a plank calling for more intervention in the field of health and welfare:
Wilson expressed similar views in 1913, arguing that workers had the right to a living wage and noting:
In various campaign speeches in 1912, Wilson spoke of the need for greater social justice in America. In one speech he argued how
In another speech, Wilson put forward a similar case for greater government intervention in society, arguing that
Wilson also spoke of the need to lift people out of poverty, stating in a speech he made in December 1912