The New Freedom

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. 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 possibly a reflection of Wilson's own ideological convictions, who according to Elizabeth Warren and Herbert Hoover, was an adherent of Jeffersonian Democracy (although Wilson did champion reforms such as agricultural credits during his presidency, and championed the right of Americans to earn a living wage and to live and work "in sanitary surroundings" in his 1919 State of the Union Address). However, despite this characterization, Wilson identified himself with progressive 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. 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.” 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, even playing a part in a decision made by Henry Ford to introduce a $5 daily minimum wage for his female employees. In his 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." Wilson was also a supporter of teacher's pensions 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), 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"). 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." 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, but it wasn't until 1935 when legislation was passed establishing a national system of old age pensions. 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, 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 Amongst the program's many proposals included ending joblessness and an expansion of unemployment benefit coverage. Although the role of government under Wilson did expand in a progressive direction, the New Freedom did not go as far as his rhetoric suggested it would. For instance, while supportive of benefits for workers such as pensions, injury compensation, and profit-sharing plans (noting in his book "The New Freedom" how various companies had introduced such benefits "in good faith" to their employees), Wilson and his administration never pushed legislation through Congress extending these benefits to the entire workforce, while a national health insurance system of the kind advocated by Roosevelt was never established. Despite this, the New Freedom did much to extend the power of the federal government in social and economic affairs, and arguably paved the way for future reform programs such as the New Deal and the Great Society. ==Legislation and programs==

Note: This listing contains reforms drawn up by the Wilson Administration as part of its New Freedom program together with wartime reforms and reforms drawn up by individual Congressmen. The latter two have been included because it is arguable that the progressive nature of these reforms was compatible with the liberalism of the New Freedom. Farmers • According to one journal, when David F. Houston became the head of the Department of Agriculture in 1913 'he expressed the "progressive movement" ferment by systematically broadening the department's policies directing them into the fields of distribution, into the broader economic problems of rural life, into the questions of fair prices to farmers and unfair prices to consumers, into the problems of farm management and home management.' • A provision of the Federal Reserve Act, approved on December the 23rd 1913, authorized national banks to lend money on farm mortgages. • For farmers there was a provision in the Federal Reserve Act in which the Federal Reserve Board "was given power to define the paper which would be eligible for discount, to make agricultural paper eligible, and to give it a maturity of six months as against ninety days for ordinary commercial paper." • The 1914 Smith–Lever Act led to the support of the federal government to support farm cooperatives, bringing about a system of country agents to assist farmers in conducting more efficient and scientific stock-raising and crop-growing. • The Cotton Warehouse Act (1914) authorized the federal government to license warehouses. The intention of this legislation was to ensure that the better handling of crops "would make warehouse receipts more readily acceptable by banks as collateral for loans." • The establishment of the regional banking system and the administration of the Comptroller of the Currency resulted in a general reduction of interest rates by from 1 to 3%. • Money was furnished by the Secretary of the Treasury in abundance at low rates to move crops. • The Agricultural Extension Act (1914) authorized federal grants-in-aid to the state agricultural colleges for the purpose of supporting a program of extension work in farm areas. • Under a special appropriation provided by the Food Production and Control Acts of 1917 seeds were purchased and sold to farmers at cost while fertilizer was also distributed. In addition, the Agriculture Department started inspecting agricultural products at central markets that year, while a program of licensing warehouses, fertilizer producers, farm equipment companies and stockyards was also launched. • From 1918 to 1931 emergency seed loans were provided through the Secretary of Agriculture by Congress. These loans were made "to assist farmers in designated areas that had suffered unusual hardships, such as droughts and floods, and could not obtain credit elsewhere." Labor • A senatorial investigation into industrial dispute in the West Virginia coal fields resulted in gains such as the provision of check weighmen, an 8-hour day, and the right of organization guaranteed. • In 1914, an 8-hour provision was approved "for employees under the Alaskan coal act." • The wages of the metal-trade mechanics employed by the Government were increased. • A reduction in wages and installation and collection of rents for employees on the Panama Canal Zone were prevented. • In regards to unemployment, Wilson raised his administration's record in tackling this problem during his first term, stating during a Jackson Day speech at Indianapolis in January 1915 "that he regarded the efforts of the department of Labor to deal with the problem as one of the greatest accomplishments of his administration." • In 1915, the first federal government monthly unemployment figures were issued "from payroll data collected from a few industries." • The growth and increase in activities of the Public Health Service emphasized the need for a corresponding increase in the number of trained officers for Federal public health work, which Congress recognized "by increased appropriations for the pay of additional commissioned officers for the fiscal year 1915, although only to the extent of one-half the estimate submitted by the department." • Post Office employees were brought into the reach of the Compensation for Injuries Act (1914). • The Seamen's Act of 1915 aimed to protect merchant seamen. It outlawed their exploitation by officers and ship owners by practices such as indefinite hours, inadequate food, poor wages, and abandonment in overseas ports with back pay owing. • The Women's Bureau Act of 1920 established a Women's Bureau to "formulate standards and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women, improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency, and advance their opportunities for profitable employment." • In 1918, the first use "of federal government contracts to restrict the use of child labor took place." • The Workingmen's Compensation Act (Kern–McGillicuddy Act). • According to one senator, much had been done for the benefit of labor during Wilson's first term, arguing that "It is now freely admitted by independent thinkers that more constructive legislation of real benefit to the people at large has been enacted during the three and a half years of President Wilson's administration than during the forty years that have gone before." The same senator has argued that one of "the many significant acts of President Wilson which will bring large relief to the united workers is the result of the hearings of the United States Commission on Industrial Relations whose members lie appointed, with Frank P. Walsh of Kansas City as its chairman. This commission went extensively into the underlying conditions which affect vitally the wage earners of the nation and has published reports and the evidence which will be of incalculable benefit." In addition, "The Federal Government in the administration of the laws, are engaged more assiduously than ever in assisting the States and employers by studying carefully the problems of mines and the protection of workingmen in mines. The general system of protection in factories is also a matter of concern to the officers in the Federal Government and it stands ready to assist any community or employer to put into operation the most approved methods of protection." • The Keating–Owen Act • The Kern Resolution of 1913. • The Saboth Act of 1913. • The Newlands Labor Act of 1913. • The Federal Boiler Inspection Act of 1915. • The Occupancy Permits Act of 1915. • The Fraudulent Advertising Act of 1916. • The Merchant Marine Act of 1920. • The Esch–Cummins Act of 1920. Health and welfare • According to one study, Wilson's administration 'had laid the foundation for a "welfare state" by providing for the matching of federal funds with those of the states to equalize certain facilities through the nation; new taxes had been levied to make this possible.' • A Democratic campaign text-book from 1916 emphasized various initiatives in public health under Wilson. During its first term the Wilson administration's "took up the question of sanitary conditions in rural communities for the protection of the health of farmers." According to one estimate typhoid fever was reduced by 80%, while in some localities the Public Health Service made investigations. It was also estimated that other studies had reduced the prevalence of malaria as much as 50 per cent." During Wilson's first term extensive investigations were inaugurated by the Public Health Service of the occupational hazards of industry. An industrial laboratory, for instance, "has been equipped in the Pittsburgh district for the study and prevention of occupational and industrial diseases and thorough investigations have been made elsewhere of the occupational risks of various industries." The hazards of miners were also investigated and the methods to be adopted for the improvement of hygienic conditions and the better sanitation of mines were outlined and followed, "such, for instance, as the prevention of tuberculosis among the zinc miners of Missouri. In many other instances it has been possible to recommend and adopt measures which have led to a reduction in illness and the saving of many lives." • The Cutter Service Act of 1914 • The Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 • The Rural Post Roads Act of 1916 • The Sundry Civil Appropriations Act authorized $200,000 for the newly formed Division of Scientific Research for the United States Public Health Service. • An Act of June 24, 1914 provided for the furnishing of medical aid to fishing crews. • An Act was passed (1916) authorizing hospital and medical services to government employees injured at work. • An anti-narcotics law was passed (1914). • A federal bill setting minimum housing standards in the District of Columbia was passed (1914), the result of efforts by President Wilson's first wife Ellen Wilson. • An Act of October 22, 1914, provided that "where the wife of a homestead settler or entryman, while residing upon the homestead claim and prior to the submission of final proof, has been abandoned and deserted by her husband for more than 1 year, she may submit proof (by way of commutation or otherwise), on the entry and secure patent in her own name, being allowed credit for all residence and cultivation had and improvements made, either by herself or by her husband." • Health benefits and disability insurance were introduced for lighthouse keepers (1916). • A cooperative Federal-State program of cash grants for public health services was established (1917). • According to a 1914 report, "Owing to additional authority and larger appropriations granted, the year just ended marks the beginning of a new epoch in the development of investigations of public health matters. These investigations, either newly begun or enlarged, have related to diseases of man, rural sanitation, school hygiene, industrial hygiene, sanitary organization and administration, pollution of navigable waters, and disposal of sewage and wastes." • An Act of June 23, 1913, authorized the use of the "epidemic fund" for trachoma prevention. • A system of life insurance and medical care for federal employees was initiated. • The Harrison Narcotic Act (1914) required prescriptions for products exceeding the allowable limit of narcotics and mandated "increased record-keeping for physicians and pharmacists who dispense narcotics." • In 1916 funds were appropriated by Congress for studies in rural sanitation "formally establishing cooperation between the States and Public Health Service." • The Children's Bureau was appointed by President Wilson, the efforts of which were directed toward ascertaining the relations between poverty, disease and mortality. • A retirement plan for lightkeepers was introduced (1918). • In 1918, the first federal loans were offered to shipbuilding companies to house their workers. • A federal leprosy hospital was authorized (1917). • Legislation provided six months' gratuity to dependents of deceased sailors in the navy. • The Death on the High Seas Act (1920) aimed at compensating the wives of sailors who had died at sea. The legislation enabled survivors "to recover pecuniary damages, or the lost wages of their relatives on whom they depended upon financially." • Corporate welfare work was encouraged by the Wilson Administration. Wartime measures • A National War Labor Board was established, which improved working conditions in factories by insisting on an eight-hour workday, no child labor, and better safety conditions. • In 1918, the Working Conditions Services was established, which sought to "improve working conditions for defense workers during the war." This was the first federal agency to promote occupational safety. • The Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1918 • The Cantonment Adjustment Commission established boards to handle labor relations problems during the war, which led to widespread use of the prevailing wage by the federal government. According to one study, "This also marked the first time that the federal government used contracts to institute social change." which also came about, according to one study, "largely as a result of the stimulus provided by the second White House Conference on Child Welfare, called by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919." Veterans • The War Risk Insurance Act of 1914. • The War Risk Insurance Act of 1917. • The Rehabilitation Law of 1919 provided disabled veterans with tuition, books, and a monthly subsistence allowance of between $90 and $145. • In 1917 and 1918 legislation was passed by Congress to provide funding for farm colonies for disabled soldiers, and colonies were established by the Veteran's Bureau in Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota. According to one study however, "like so many other domestic colonial schemes they did not succeed for long." • The Public Health Service was made directly responsible for the hospitalization of veterans under the War Risk Insurance Act (1919). • During Wilson's first term pension amendments were signed into law "that provided more liberal provisions to war widows, especially those who had married after 1890 and whose husbands had not died from causes originating from military service." • The Smith-Sears Vocational Rehabilitation Act (1918) supported programs to help veterans with disabilities return to civilian employment following the end of the First World War. • The Bureau of War Risk Insurance was set up to provide direct assistance to the families of soldiers. By the end of the First World War, the bureau was sending regular checks to 2.1 million families. • Under the Industry Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1920 (Smith-Bankhead Act), Congress began providing federal funds for cooperation with the states in the vocational rehabilitation of persons disabled in industry. Constitutional • The Jones Act (Philippines) of 1916 • The Jones-Shafroth Act 1917 bestowed US citizenship upon the people of Puerto Rico. • The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution provided for the direct election of senators, who had previously been chosen by their state legislatures. • Mother's Day was made an official national holiday (1914). Environment and public works • The River and Harbors Act of 1914 • The River and Harbors Act of 1915 • The River and Harbors Act of 1916 • The Irrigation District Act of 1916 (Smith Act) • The Flood Control Act of 1917 (Ransdell-Humphreys Act) • The Federal Water Power Act of 1920 (Esch Act) Conservation • A federal act established the National Park Service, bringing together the many historical sites, monuments, and national parks into one agency. • The Glacier National Park Act of 1914. • The Wildlife Game Refuges Act of 1916. • The Acadia National Park Act of 1919. • The Grand Canyon Park Act of 1919. ==Books==

In 1913 Woodrow Wilson's book The New Freedom was published, detailing his thoughts about the concepts and program. He had previously written two other books, Congressional Government published in 1900, followed in 1901 by When a Man Comes to Himself. ==See also==