the problems of corporate power with court enforcement of the Sherman Act. His task was to figure out how to make that long-established antitrust approach work better. The main thing was to prevent the trust fromunfairly using their power to curb that free competition. In the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, it would only apply to where the effect may be to substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly in any line of commerce. Asfor the trade commission, Wilson initially wanted no more than an advisory and information-gathering agency. However, the Federal Trade Commission (1914) received much broader powers. As for other goals besides economic interests, Wilson succeeded in both social and economic affairs. Although not so familiar with Roosevelt’s social welfare, Wilson still enforced ways to help the general public. The Keating-Owen Act in 1916 protected the children of the work force. The Federal Farm Loan Act, 1916, was a credit reform for agriculture and an independent tariff commission came about later in 1916. By the end of Wilson’s presidency, the New Freedom and the New Nationalism merged into one government philosophy of regulation, order and standardization in the interest of an increasingly divers and pluralistic American nation. Through the many actions and decisions of each Progressive presidents and business leaders, theProgressive Era was mainly that of a conservative effort. Although the actual details and literal events seemed to take a Liberal stance, the overall period was aimed at preserving competition, distribution of wealth, common good,and existing powers. Government regulation not only played a vital role in trust regulation, but also served to regulate competition, money flow, and markets. The Progressive Era brought decentralization and competition to society,which was what politicians, business leaders, and the common people wanted from the beginning. In essence, the Progressive E...
