Chapter 17 Section 5 Guided Reading

A) What were the aims of each piece of legislation or constitutional amendment?
1. Federal Trade Act- Set up the Federal Trade Commission, which was given the power to investigate possible violations of regulatory statutes, to require periodic reports from corporations and put an end to unfair business practices.
2. Clayton Antitrust Act- This was passed in order to strengthen the Sherman Antitrust Act. It aimed to prohibit corporations from acquiring the stock of another if doing this would create a monopoly, and if a company violated this law, its officers could be prosecuted. It also specified that unions and farm organizations were not included in the act.
3. Underwood Tariff- Or Underwood Act, which substantially reduced tariff rates for the first time since the Civil War
4. Sixteenth Amendment- Legalized the graduated income tax, in which people with higher incomes were taxed more highly than poorer people.
5. Federal Reserve Act- Basically the government loans money to the banks, who loan it to the people.


6. Which three new developments finally brought the success of the women suffrage movement within reach?
The three new developments that brought the success of suffragists within reach were the increased activism of local groups, the use of bold new strategies for the movement, and the rebirth of national movement under Carrie Chapman Catt. Two Massachusetts suffragist groups were formed by college educated women: the Boston Equal Suffrage Association for Good Government and the College Equal Suffrage League. They used door to door campaigns to reach potential supporters. The Boston group spread the word to poor and working-class women. American women used the approaches of suffragists from Britain in their own campaigns. Carrie Chapman Catt took over the leadership of the NAWSA after Susan B. Anthony, and she concentrated on 5 tactics: 1) tedious organization, 2) close ties between local, state and national workers, 3) establishing a wide base of support, 4) cautious lobbying, and 5), gracious, ladylike behavior. The Congressional Union was a more radical organization and the National Women’s Party followed it, and they pressured the govt. for an amendment to the Constitution. The 19th Amendment was passed in 1919, giving women the right to vote.

7. How did Wilson retreat on civil rights?
During his campaign in 1912, he won the support of the white liberals and black intellectuals of the NAACP by promising to treat blacks equally and address lynching. However, once he was in office, he opposed a federal anti lynching legislation saying that it was up to the states to decide upon the issue. And the Capitol and federal law offices in Washington, D.C., which had been desegregated, went back to being segregated after he was elected. His cabinet members were white Southerners who did nothing to help the cause of Civil Rights, and when one of his cabinet members suggested doing away with common drinking fountains and towels, Wilson agreed, because in his mind that was just.