How Did Woodrow Wilson's Economic Growth

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Woodrow Wilson’s Development in American Business Interest Woodrow Wilson described him self as a conservative, yet did not believe that “government must keep its hands off the workings of the economy” instead he felt government should “legislate to protect workers welfare and to regulate corporations”(9). While at Princeton University, Wilson studied history and political science and envisioned detailed solutions to national problems. While president, he now had the power to solve the issues, which he felt needed reform. During this time the United States was changing into an economic super power, monopolies and trusts were controlling the economy and exploiting workers; there was an obvious need for reform. One of Wilson’s first concerns was to reduce tariffs. He believed that tariffs made it possible “too establish monopoly in domestic markets” and by their removal there would be an increase in competition (35). The Underwood bill, which lowered or abolished most tariffs, actually supported big business and made it harder for small manufactures to compete in…show more content…
The objective was to provide the farmers with scientific information that had been researched by the department through the Smith-Lever bill. The government would do this by “subsidiz[ing] demonstration-farming programs, under which farmers would try out techniques proposed by experts” (57). The cultivation industry would be able to increase productivity and could now start to revitalize in the market. In 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed the Smith-Lever bill into law. The act was a success and the yield of “cotton on the million and one-half acres worked by demonstrates more then doubled that of nondemontrators” and “almost a million and one-half corn growers improved their practices” (59). Yet, even with the increase of output small cultivators could not compete with large

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