Federal Trade Act of 1914

The FTC or Federal Trade Commission of 1914 was passed by Woodrow Wilson as a babysitter to the nation’s businesses to make sure laws aren’t broken within their practices, with special attention on the rulings of the Anti-trust laws, creating a path of precedence on which to convict other businesses for their questionable practices. Some practices that are considered illegal by the FTC are price fixing (obligating resellers to sell at a specificed price), unfair competition (large business use size to eliminate certain costs to run others out of business), merger prohibition (combining two companies—this is just challenged by the FTC, but it must do something “undue and unreasonable” to be considered illegal), and finally, deceptive practices (false advertising—leaving out valuable information about the product). With these laws, the business world becomes more competitive and consumers are able to pick and choose what’s best for them, without having such a problem with a monopolized system for their goods.

Woodrow Wilson’s First Inaugural Address

Woodrow Wilson’s First Inaugural Address

Woodrow Wilson basically states in his address that the government has been (was) turned over to help an elite few, and those had power to mold the law to their wants and desires. He proposes that we turn this power back over to the people, because they are the initial reason for the government. He wants to improve on the sanitation system, along with regulations on food processing and handling, and newer standards on the factory worker’s environmental conditions in the workplace. He realizes these mistakes of the government and its lack of control. He makes the point of gaining back trust instead of just wiping it clean and starting over by stating, “We shall restore, not destroy. We shall deal with our economic system as it is and as it may be modified, not as it might be if we had a clean sheet of paper to write upon; and step by step we shall make it what it should be…”