History. President Theodore Roosevelt decided to treat both sides fairly in any dispute

President Theodore Roosevelt decided to treat both sides fairly in any dispute. In the coal miner's strike of 1902 he treated the United Mine Workers representatives and company bosses as equals; this approach continued during his efforts to regulate the railroads and other businesses during his second term.

During the 1904 campaign, Roosevelt remarked that he had worked in the anthracite coal strike to provide everyone with a "square deal." In his second term, he tried to extend his square deal further. One of his first targets was the railroad industry. The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, establishing the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) had been an early effort to regulate the industry; but over the years, the courts had sharply limited its influence.

One of the major elements of Roosevelt's Square Deal was the promotion of anti-trust suits. During his administration, the federal government initiated actions against 44 major corporations. He argued that some "bad" trusts had to be curbed, and "good" ones encouraged and that executive agencies sought out which were "good" and which were "bad." As such, Roosevelt pushed for the courts, which had been guided by a clearly delineated standard up to that point, to yield to the wishes of the executive branch on all subsequent anti-trust suits.

In 1903, with Roosevelt's support, Congress passed the Elkins Act. This stated that railroads were not allowed to give rebates to favored companies any longer. These rebates had treated small Midwestern farmers unfairly by not allowing them equal access to the services of the railroad. The Interstate Commerce Commission controlled the prices that railroads could charge, which had the long-term negative effect of weakening the railroads, as they faced new competition from trucks and buses.

Meat had to be processed safely with proper sanitation, giving the advantage to large packing houses and undercutting small local operations. Foodstuffs and drugs could no longer be mislabeled, nor could consumers be deliberately misled.

The New Freedom comprises the campaign speeches and promises of Woodrow Wilson in the 1912 presidential campaign. They called for less government, but in practice as president he added new controls such as the Federal Reserve System and the Clayton Antitrust Act. More generally the "New Freedom" is associated with Wilson's first term as president (1913-1917). As President, Wilson focused on three types of reform:

1. Tariff Reform: This came through the passage of the Underwood Tariff Act of 1913, which lowered tariffs for the first time since the American Civil War and went against the protectionist lobby.

2. Business Reform: This was established in 1914 through the passage of the Federal Trade Act, which established the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and halt unfair and illegal business practices by issuing "cease and desist" orders, and the Clayton Anti-Trust Act.

3. 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.

18. America in the World War I. The League of Nations.

Иванян с. 342

In August 1914, a war sta rted o n the continent of

Europe. It was th e begi nni ng of a struggle that lasted

for more th an four year s, b rou ght death to millions

ofpeople and changed the hi story of the world. At

the time people called th e conflict the Great War.

Later it was called the First World War.

The main countries fighting the war were. on one

side. France. Great Britain and Russia. They were

kn own as rhc Allies. On the o ther side th e mam

countries we re Germa ny and Austria. who were

called the Centra l Powers.

Most Amer icans wanted to keep out oft he war.

T he)' saw it as J purdy Eu ropean affair that was not

th e-ir concern. When President Wilso n said that th ey

sho uld be "impartial in thought as well as in actio n."

most people were read y to agtl"C wi th him.

Hut Americans found it difficult to stay impartial to r

lon g. In the fi rsr days ofthe war the German

govt:"rnmt"nt sent its armies marching int o neutral

Belg ium. This shocked many Americans. They were

even more shocked wh ennewspapers printed

repon s - ofi:en false or exaggerated - ofGerman

cruelt y towa rds Belgian civ ilians.

From th e very begin ning ofth e war the strong

Brit ish na vy prevented German ships from trading

wi th the Un ited Stat es. But t rade betw een the United

Sta tes and the Allies grew quickly. By 1915

Amer ican facto ries were making vast quantities of

\...·capon s and munit ions and selling th em to Bri tain

and France.

German leaders were dete rmin ed to sto p this flow of

armament s to their enemi es. They annou nced in

Febru ary 1 t.J15, th at they wo uld sink all Allied

mer chant ships in th e seas aro und the British Isles.

O n a hazy afternoon in May, a big Brit ish passenger

ship called th e Lnsitania was nearing th e end ofits

voyage from th e United Stares to Britain. Suddenly.

without any warning. it was hi t by a torpedo from a

German subma rine. Within minutes the Lusitania

was sinking. Mor e than 1.000 passenger s we nt with

it to the bottom o f the ocea n. One hundred and

rw cnr y-ci ght of those passcngers were Americans.

The sinking ofthe LIHital/ia made Americans vcry

angry. Some began to think that Germany would do anything to wi n the war. Bur most still wanted

peace. President Wilson made strong prorcsrs TO th e

German government. For a rime the Germans

stepped the submarine attacks.

In th e autumn of 1916 American voters re-elected

Wilson 3S President. mainly because he had kept

th em our o f rhc wa r. lnjanuarv 1917. Wilson made a

spee ch to Congress. In it he appealed to the warring

narious ofEurope to settle their differences and make

"a peace without victory. '·111is. he said, was the

only kind of peact'" that could las t.

Bur by now American ban kers had kill a lor of

mOlley to the All ies. And American militar y supplies

were still po ur ing across th e Arlamic. Germany's war

leaders feared that, unless th e flow o f supplies was

stopped, thei r co unt ry would be defeated. Only nine

days after Wilso n's speech they again orde red the ir

submarines to begi n sinking ships sailing towar ds

Allied ports. T his rime th e order included neutral

vessels. In the next few weeks German su bma rines sank five

Ame rican ships. With German tor ped oes sending

American sailor s to their deat hs in the grey waters of

th e Aelamic. Wilsoll felt tha t he had no choice. On

Ap ril 2, 1917, he asked Congr ess to decl are war on Germany. Wilson's dim WdS not simply to defeat

Germany. He SdW the wa r as a grcd[ crusade to

ensure the future pedce ofthe world. For him the war

would become a war " to make the world safe fo r

democracy, the wa r to end all wars."

When the United States decla red war on Germ any

the American army was a sm all fo rce ofonly 200,000

soldiers. Milli ons more men had to be recruited,

trained, equipped and shipped across the Atlantic to

Euro pe. All thi s took time. A full year passed befo re

man y Amer ican soldiers were available to help the

European Allies.

In the spring of 1918 the German armies began a last

desper ate o ffensive aga rnsr the French and th e

British. Thcir aim \v·JSto win the wa r befo re the new

American army WdS ready to figh t. By July they

were with in a few miles ofParis.

The Allies were in great danger. T hey placed all their

armies unde r one commander, the French general

Foch. Luckily for Foch. American sold iers bega n to

arr ive at the battlefront to stre ngthen his fo rces. Soon

ove r a million ofthem had joined in the battles

agai nst the Germans.

In August)<J18, the Allied armies coumer-anac ked.

The German armies we re driven back towards their

own fronti ers. In Octo ber th e German go \'e rnment

asked fo r peace. On November I t. 1918. German

and Allied leaders signed an armistice, an ag reement

to stop fighting. The bloodiest and mos t destructive

war the world had ever kno wn 'WdS over.

ll yJanuary 1919, President Wilson was in Europe.

He was there ro help to work out a lX'ace treaty. He

was greeted by cheering crowds in the Allied capitals

and spoken ofas " Wilson th eJu st."

Bur when Wilson met other Allied leader s to work.

ou t the det ails of the tr eaty, the welcome became less

friendly. The French leader, Georges Ck-mcnccau,

thought that Wilson lacked expe rience III

international affairs. Worse still, the Americ an

President did not seem to realize this. " How can I

talk to a fellow who thinks himself the firs t man in

two thousand yedrs to know any thing about pt·ace on

earth?" asked C lcmcnccau.

Both Wilso n and Clcmcnccau wanted to make sure

that a war like the First World War never happen ed

agat u. Wilson wanted to do this by writing a treaty

th at did not leave the Germ ans with lots of

grievances. He believed that if the Germans thought

the y had not been treated fairly. they might one day

sta rt a wa r ofrevenge. C lemenceac thought

diffe ren tly. He believed there WdS only one way to

make a peace rhar would last. The Germans had to be

made so weak that they would never have th e

str ength to fight again.

After mu ch arg uing, and without consu lting the

Germ ans. the Allied leaders agreed 0 11 a peace treaty.

They called it the Versailles T reaty, after the palace

near Paris where it was signed in May 1919.

The Versailles T reaty was harder in its treatment of

the Germans rhan Wilson had wanted. Among other

things it made them take all the blame for the war. It

also made them agree to PdYfo r all the damage that

the wa r had caused. These "reparation " payments

were fixed at many millions ofdollars.

Wilson was disappointed with much ofthe Versailles

Treaty. But he returned to the United Sta res with

high hopes for part ofit. This was a scheme that he

bel ieved could still make his dream ofa world

wit hout war come true. It WdS a plan to set up a

League o f Nations. The League of Nanons was to be an o rganization

where representatives o f the world's nations would

meet and settle their diffe rences by discussion instead

of war. It had taken Wilson months ofha rd

bargaining to persuade the other Allied leaders ro

accept this plan. Now he faced a battle to persuade

Co ng ress and the American peopl e to accep t it, too.

Wilson knew th at this would not be easy. Many

Americans were against their coun try becoming

perm anentl y involved in the prob lems ofEurope.

And they were sus picious ofthe League of Nations.

Wouldn't j oining such an organ ization mean th at the

United States might be dragged into quarrels,

perhaps even wars, that were none ofits business?

Wilson tried to remove such fears. But as the months

passed it began to seem that he was failing to do so.

After another trip to Europe he returned to America.

tired and ill. But he boarded a special train and set off

011 a speaking tour ofthe western United States to

plead for the League.

The to ur was never completed. 011 September 25.

1\)19, the exhausted Wilson suffered a severe st roke. lie was taken back to Washington, his health broken

fo r ever. In March 1920. the Senate voted against the

United States joining the League ofNarions. and the

idea was dropped.

From his invalid's armchair in the White House a sick

and disapp ointed Wilson spoke the last words 011 the

subject. " We had a chance to gain the leadership of

the world. We have los t it and soon we shall be

witnessing the tragedy ofir all."

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