=Taxation and Great Fortunes.=—­As a part of the campaign waged against poverty by reformers there came a demand for heavy taxes upon great fortunes, particularly taxes upon inheritances or estates passing to heirs on the decease of the owners.  Roosevelt was an ardent champion of this type of taxation and dwelt upon it at length in his message to Congress in 1907.  “Such a tax,” he said, “would help to preserve a measurable equality of opportunity for the people of the generations growing to manhood....  Our aim is to recognize what Lincoln pointed out:  the fact that there are some respects in which men are obviously not equal; but also to insist that there should be equality of self-respect and of mutual respect, an equality of rights before the law, and at least an approximate equality in the conditions under which each man obtains the chance to show the stuff that is in him when compared with his fellows.”

The spirit of the new age was, therefore, one of reform, not of revolution.  It called for no evolutionary or utopian experiments, but for the steady and progressive enactment of measures aimed at admitted abuses and designed to accomplish tangible results in the name of public welfare.

=General References=

J. Bryce, The American Commonwealth.

R.C.  Brooks, Corruption in American Life.

E.A.  Ross, Changing America.

P.L.  Haworth, America in Ferment.

E.R.A.  Seligman, The Income Tax.

W.Z.  Ripley, Railroads:  Rates and Regulation.

E.S.  Bradford, Commission Government in American Cities.

H.R.  Seager, A Program of Social Reform.

C. Zueblin, American Municipal Progress.

W.E.  Walling, Progressivism and After.

The American Year Book (an annual publication which contains reviews of reform legislation).

=Research Topics=

="The Muckrakers."=—­Paxson, The New Nation (Riverside Series), pp. 309-323.

=Civil Service Reform.=—­Beard, American Government and Politics (3d ed.), pp. 222-230; Ogg, National Progress (American Nation Series), pp. 135-142.

=Direct Government.=—­Beard, American Government, pp. 461-473; Ogg, pp. 160-166.

=Popular Election of Senators.=—­Beard, American Government, pp. 241-244; Ogg, pp. 149-150.

=Party Methods.=—­Beard, American Government, pp. 656-672.

=Ballot Reform.=—­Beard, American Government, pp. 672-705.

=Social and Economic Legislation.=—­Beard, American Government, pp. 721-752.

=Questions=

1.  Who were some of the critics of abuses in American life?

2.  What particular criticisms were advanced?

3.  How did Elihu Root define “invisible government”?

4.  Discuss the use of criticism as an aid to progress in a democracy.