The

Progressive Era

Unit 3Ch. 13 & 15

#11

The Progressive Era

• Period in the early 20th Century that saw much Social & Political Reform in America

Reform – making changes for the better

The Progressives were Reformers• Reform is ongoing & still needed in our society

2 Examples of Recent Political Reform

Recent Political Reform in AmericaExamine how these are examples of Progressive

Reform in America Today

Lilly Ledbetter / Fair Pay Restoration Act – 2009

Jackson Coffman / The Affordable Care Act – 2010

Watch for this in the short videos

1. What is the issue at play in each story?

2. What happened which caused the need for reform?

3. Who are the reformers?

4. What is the reform(law passed)?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMxsYqaFwA0

Is more reform still needed in our Society?

Ferguson, Missouri – August 9, 2014 Unarmed, (18)Michael Brown – shot & killed by Police

Why did this happen & can reform occur here?

Potential Reform/Controversial?

Go online & investigate recent & potential reforms

Find / Explain Reason for Law / Controversy?

1. At least One - Recent Reform Law

2. At least One - Potential Reform Law

• Write in your notes, then compare with your desk partner(pick 1 of each to discuss)

• When done – you and desk partner Report findings back to the whole class

Reform in American – Early 20th Century -

• Many individuals tried to deal with the problems of our growing cities:

Industrialization & Urbanization

Population In U.S. 1870-1920

Population / RuralUrban

1870 33 million 25m 8m

1920 105 million 51m 54m

We will examine the new problems/challenges found in American cities because of an increase in urban populations

Growth of Cities • Immigrants – 1st from Western Europe • African Americans:

- move north looking for better jobs• Rural Workers:

2/3 of Homesteaders left & returned to the East

Pictures by Jacob Riis

America – Metropolis – 10min

• Jacob Riis / flash photography - 1890• Colonel George Wearing• Thomas Edison / light bulb – 1879 (1,093 Patents)

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

Assignment:

The Progressive Era – City Populations (13.2)

The Breakdown of Class Structure in America – Early 20th Century

• The Wealthy (Rich)

- control life in U.S.• The Middle Class

- increasing power• The Poor (Working Class)

- living hard lives

The Wealthy (Rich) 12% of pop. Control 86% of the wealth

“Robber Barons”(Today – Wealthiest 400 families control 50%)

Several Examples:1) Andrew Carnegie2) John Rockefeller3) J.P. Morgan4) James J. Hill

The Middle Class• Growing # of people gaining wealth from

the Industrial Movement

- Managers

- Doctors

- Professors

- Clerks

- Lawyers

- Small Business Owners

** Progressive Movement Begins Here **

Early X-Ray Machine

The Poor - (Working Class)• Many were Immigrants

Between 1880-1920 : 25 million Arrived - Worked Long Hours, Low Wages,

Dangerous conditions & Poor Housing - Farmers - Factory Workers - Miners - Many Children - Women(1910 -56% still made less than $8 per

week)

By 1917 –Working Class Families still only spent 2.4% of their budget on leisure activities

Textile MillChildren were hurt 3x as often

Foreman -“We don’t have many accidents, once in a while a finger is mashed or a foot, it doesn’t amount to much”

1900 - 20% of kids worked

Bringing Cotton in from the Fieldkids as young as 6-7 had to work to help make $

Child Minerskids were better: they could fit into smaller places

Average Lifespan in 1900 – 48 yrs old

Jacob Riis 1849-1914photojournalist “muckraker” NYC

Forced to work @ Home

Factory Life

Triangle Shirtwaist Co. fire146 female workers died

March 25, 1911 in NYC textbook p.526

Owners – Blank & Harris

“The Tragedy that Changed America”

Is it possible that the passage of any laws could have prevented this tragedy? List in your Notes

Workplace Safety

Passage of Laws Averts Disaster?Here’s a list of 7(Can you name any?)

• Scraps of cloth need to be disposed properly• Inspections – Make sure water hose worked

- Make sure Fire Escape is Safe• Doors can’t be locked from the inside• Exits must be safe / no single turnstile• Ladders on fire trucks must go higher than six

stories• Work Place Maximum Capacity• No Smoking in Textile Factory

Could laws make this workplace safer?

Can Politics Fix Social Problems?

Industrialization changed Am. Society Progressives campaigned for both

Political & Social Reforms

In Unit 3 we will investigate:

1. The Social/Economic/Political Problems

2. The Progressive Reformers

3. The Reforms(Changes)

4. The Lasting Effects of those Reforms

Discuss – City Populations 13.2 George Washington Plunkitt/Tammany Hall

Good Guy or Bad Guy?

Cause & Effect

“I Seen My Opportunities and I Took ’Em.”

CANVAS 1) Sweatshops in Modern Times

Read one of the following articles:Sweatshops/ China Challenged to Improve Safety / Product Recalls from China

(I will pick your article to read) -- In America (Consumer Safety)

2) Pres. Obama’s 1st LawMany workplace issues were addressed during the progressive era & some issues are still debated today

Answer on the same sheet of paper & turn in (handwritten)

Unit 3 Quiz 1(Notes & Questions) - Tomorrow