The Progressive Era1901-1918

Accompanying the economic growth of the United States were the old and new concerns

about the lives of many Americans. Progressivism came to define the works of

these reformers.

Origins of Progressivism

• State reforms of the late 1800s (Greenback and Populist Party)

• Industrialization, immigration and urbanization

• Middle class Americans felt a need to adjust to changing times

• Lasts through the administrations of President Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson (1901-1917)

• Ends with U.S. entry into WWI

Attitudes and Motives

• Once a rural population of farmers, now fast becoming industrialized with mixed ethnicities

• Middle class alarmed by power of big businesses and gap between rich and poor

• African-American plight in the South

• Women’s suffrage• Progressives were diverse:

Protestant church leaders, African-Ams., labor leaders, women

• CHANGE is needed!

Who were the Progressives?

• Mostly middle class and urban dwellers

• This social class had steadily grown in the late 19th century

• White collar office holders along with lawyers, ministers and shopkeepers

• Worried about America and what could happen to democracy: unrest among the poor, excesses of rich and corruption in government

• Social Gospel

What was the Progressives’ philosophy?

• Reform impulse was hardly new

• They way people thought and reasoned was challenged

• Charles Darwin• People should take a

pragmatic or practical approach to morals, ideals and knowledge not a fixed/changeless approach

• Experiment with new laws and ideas – More Democracy!

• Govt. as agency of human welfare

The Muckrakers

• Before the public took action, it had to be well informed

• Newspapers and magazines published investigative stories

• T. Roosevelt called these reporters muckrakers

• Photojournalist Jacob Riis published How the Other Half Lives (1890)

The Muckrakers

The Muckrakers

• Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, exposed the conditions of the meatpacking industry

• Lincoln Steffens’ The Shame of The Cities, described in detail the corrupt deals that characterized big city politics

• Muckraking exposed inequities and educated the public

• Sensationalism tended to get out of hand

• Declines after 1910

Voter Participation

• The cornerstone of Progressive ideology was democracy

• Advocated reforms to increase voter participation

• Secret ballot• Direct primaries• Direct election of senators (17th

Amendment – 1913)• Initiative• Referendum• Recall

Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal

• TR believed the president should do more - set legislative agenda for Congress

• Activist, reform minded president

• “Square Deal” for all (labor and business)

• Trust-busting: “bad trusts” and “good trusts”

• Directed his attorney general to take antitrust action against Standard Oil

Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal

• Enforced the Sherman Antitrust Act

• Strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission

• After Upton Sinclair’s book the Jungle, Congress passed two regulatory laws:

• 1.) The Pure Food and Drug Act

• 2.) The Meat inspection Act

Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal

• Conservationist• Perhaps his most lasting and

original domestic policy was his efforts to protect our natural resources

• Set aside 150 million acres of federal land to be protected

• White House Conference, established a National Conservation Commission

• U.S. Forest Service• TR increased power and

prestige of presidency

William Howard Taft

• Roosevelt stepped down and Republican Party nominated Taft

• Taft will continue TR’s Progressive policies – trustbusting and conservation

• 16th Amendment (1913) authorized U.S. government to collect an income tax (Populist platform in 1892)

• Foreign policy – dollar diplomacy

Socialist Party

• Third party developed in first decade of 1900s, dedicated to welfare of working class

• Called for more radical reforms then the Progressives

• Eugene V. Debs, was the party’s candidate in five elections

• Critic of business and champion of labor (Pullman strike)

• Seen by many as too radical• In 1912 Debs received

900,000 votes – 6% of total

Election of 1912

• Taft renominated by Republicans

• Progressive (Bull Moose party) nominated T. Roosevelt

• Democrats nominated Woodrow Wilson

• Came down to Roosevelt vs. Wilson

• Roosevelt called for New Nationalism

• Wilson pledges a New Freedom

Election of 1912

• Republicans voters split their vote (Taft and Roosevelt)

• Wilson wins!• Like Roosevelt he believed a

president should lead Congress and appeal directly to the people for support

• He pledged to bring back fair competition in the economy

• Fought against “the triple wall of privilege” - tariffs, banking and trusts

Woodrow Wilson’sNew Freedom

• Clayton Antitrust Act: strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act

• Federal Trade Commission: investigated “unfair trade practice”

• Federal Farm Loan Act – loans with low interest rates

• Child Labor Act – on interstate commerce products

• Underwood Tariff Bill – reduced tariff rates

African-Americans in the Progressive Era

African-Americans in the Progressive Era

• Largely ignored by Progressive presidents

• Thousands lynched by racist mobs

• Segregation still widespread• At turn of the century, roughly

9 out of 10 blacks lived in the South

• Population begins shifting North

• Jobs in northern cities• During both World Wars the

migration will increase

Women, Suffrage and the Progressive Movement

• Anthony and Stanton passed the torch to next generation

• At first Wilson refused to support a national amendment, until late in his presidency

• NAWSA- Carrie Chapman Catt

• Nineteenth Amendment passed in 1920