The Progressive Era

The Progressive Era1890-1920The Progressive EraThe American Progressive Era occurred in the years before and after the turn of the 20th centuryIt lasted approximately 25 years 1890 to 1916Caused by industrialization, urbanization, and immigrationThe time period was typified by many reforms at the city, state, and federal levels3 Progressive PresidentsTheodore Roosevelt 1901-1908 Republican The Square Deal and New NationalismWilliam Howard Taft 1909-1912 RepublicanDollar DiplomacyWoodrow Wilson 1913-1920 DemocratThe New FreedomProgressivism Main IdeasGoal:Improve American life by expanding democracy and achieving social and economic justicePolitical Reforms:Wipe out graft, political machines, business domination of governmentGive people closer control over government: i.e. More DemocracySocial and Economic Reforms: Eliminate business practices harming farmers, workers, tenement dwellers, and consumersExpand government regulation over economy

Sources of Progressive StrengthFarmers: Populist heritagewanted more regulation of RRs, lower tariffs, easier creditUrban Middle ClassProfessionals, shop owners, small businessmenAlarmed at huge trusts and political machinesWanted lower tariffs, more Gov. regulation, more democracySources of Progressive StrengthWorkersWanted laws regulating hours, protecting workers, safer conditionsWriters (Muckrakers)Critically analyzed American society (but more about them later.)Political leadersShort lived Progressive PartyProgressives in both major partiesThe MuckrakersAided the trust-busting campaigns of Roosevelt and Taft and the general reforms of the Progressives by exposing the evils of big business:MuckrakerMajor WorkThemeIda TarbellHistory of the Stanford Oil CompanyRuthless practices of a giant monopolyFrank NorrisThe OctopusStruggle of wheat farmers against the RRsUpton SinclairThe JungleRevolting Practices of the Meat Packing industryJacob RiisHow the Other Half LivesDeplorable conditions in tenementsEffect of the MuckrakersTerm coined by Theodore Roosevelt after a character in Pilgrims Progress who turned down a crown for a muckrake used to shovel poo into a pileMass circulation in newspapers and magazines; the works had a major impact on American societyThe Jungle in particular caused response (because it was really gross)1906 Congress passed two lawsThe Meat Inspection Act: sanitary regulations for meat packers and federal inspection of meat packing plantsThe Pure Food and Drug Act: prohibited sale of impure and poisonous food and drugsSocial Gospel MovementReligious Crusade emphasized social responsibility as a key to salvationBelieved church-based humanitarian work could transform societySalvation Army formed from this movementUrged end of child labor and shorter work weekSettlement House MovementSought to improve the life of urban workers living in slums by helping them to gain education, access to art, better housing and better jobsSettlement HousesLocated in slum neighborhoods run by educated, middle class womenTried to help immigrants adjust to American lifeImparted middle class valuesBecame training ground for women leaders and launched the social work professionJane Addams: Hull HouseMost famous, became politically involved in Chicago in order to clean up: her neighborhoodBecame a model for more than 400 other settlement houses in the USProtecting Children and Improving EducationChild Labor ReformsFlorence KelleyHelped create the U.S. Childrens Bureau to protect health and welfare of childrenChild labor not ended for good until 1938Education ReformMany states began to pass laws requiring children to attend school.John Dewey wanted students to think creatively and to teach new subjects like history and geography

Triangle Shirtwaist FireMarch 1911, a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City shocked Americans and propelled the push for better working conditionsStarted by a dropped match on the 8th floor of a ten story buildingWorkers could not escape because most exits were lockedMany jumped to their deathsKilled 146 people, 123 of them were women, most new immigrants between the ages of 16 and 23Led to laws in New York and several states that shortened working hours and to making workplaces safer

12Reforming GovernmentReform of city governmentCommission form of governmentProgressives reform election rulesdirect primary: citizens vote to select nomineesinitiative: people propose new law directly referendum: citizens approve or reject laws that have been passedrecall: voters remove public servants from office before terms expireProgressive Governors Take ChargeRobert La Follette of Wisconsin railroad reform, improved education, make factories safer, adopted direct primaryHiram Johnson of California ended Southern Pacific Railroads dominance of state government, instituted direct primary, initiative, referendum, and recall, protected natural resources

Womens MovementsWorking ConditionsMuller v. Oregon (1903 ) limited working hours for women to 10 per dayFlorence Kelley formed the National Consumers League (NCL) and Womens Trade Union League (WTUL) to improve the lives of women as buyers of goods and workersTemperanceLed by the Womens Christian Temperance LeaguePromoted never drinking alcoholFelt alcohol led men to waste their earnings, neglect their families, and abuse their wivesLed to the passage of the 18th AmendmentWomens MovementsBirth ControlLed by Margaret SangerBelieved womens health would improve if they had fewer children1916 opened first birth control clinic in USIda B. WellsAfrican American woman who helped form the National Association of Colored WomenSet up daycare centers to protect and educate black children while their parents workedWrote about horrors of lynching

Womens SuffrageGoal of MovementTo get Congress to pass a Constitutional Amendment and get of the states to ratify itTo get individual states to permit women to voteWestern states had given women the right to vote before the amendment was passedWomen attended the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 and for the first time formally demanded the right to voteSusan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton worked for womens political issuesNational American Woman Suffrage (NAWSA) formed in 1890 with Anthony as presidentNineteenth Amendment - right to vote shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex; August, 1920

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony

Fighting Racial DiscriminationRights of African Americans limited because many Progressives held prejudices1896 Supreme Court issues Plessy v. Ferguson verdictSC upheld a Louisiana law separating blacks and whites in RR carsSouth pressed on with its Jim Crow laws and its program of segregationFacilities for blacks were almost always inferior to those of whitesEducation: black schools poorly constructed and funded and black teachers poorly paidBy 1910, segregation was the norm in the nationAfrican American ReformersBooker T. WashingtonW. E. B. DuBoisBlacks should move slowly toward racial progressWork hard and wait patientlyGradually win whites respectShould teach blacks trade skillsEducated at HarvardBelieved that blacks should not have to wait, should demand equality Called together the Niagara MovementTalented blacks should be taught history, philosophy, literature so they learn to thinkWould not compromise on rights

NAACP1908 a riot broke out in Springfield when whites wanted to lynch to black prisonersSome white reformers realized they needed to help blacksJoined with leaders of the Niagara Movement and formed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeopleFocused on battle for equal access to housing and professional careersAccomplishments of ProgressivesPolitical ReformsCity and State ActionDirect Primaries: allowed voters rather than party bosses to nominate candidatesCorrupt Practices Laws regulated contributions and campaign spendingAustralian ballot: secret ballotInitiative and referendum gave voters a greater voice in making lawsRecall: enabled voters to oust unsatisfactory public officialsMunicipal and state civil service exams reduced positions able to be dominated by political machinesWomens suffrage in some states extended democracyFederal ActionDirect Election of Senators: 17th AmendmentNational Womens Suffrage: 19th Amendment

More Accomplishments of ProgressivesSocial and Economic ReformCity and StateState Regulation of intrastate RRs and public utilities improved service and reduced ratesConsumer protection laws assured honest weights and unadulterated foodsFair Tax Laws reduced burden on property owners by taxing incomeChild Labor Laws set a minimum age for employment and prohibited children from dangerous occupationsWomen Labor Laws set minimum wage and maximum hoursWelfare Benefits enacted for dependent children, widows, and elderlyFactory inspection laws improved sanitation, lighting, and safetyWorkmens Compensation protected workers and the families in case of on-the-job injuryEven More Accomplishments of ProgressivesSocial and Economic ReformFederal ActionExpanded federal regulation of RRs, industries, and banksConservation measures for USs natural resourcesConsumer Protection Laws for pure food and drugsIncome Tax: 16th amendmentLegitimate Union Activities exempted from antitrust prosecutionFederal funds used for long-term, low-interest loans to farmersWeaknesses of the Progressive MovementUneven Pattern of ReformSome states very little accomplishedSome states very progressive: NY, NJ, CA, OR, MI, OH, WICourt RoadblocksClaimed that some progressive legislation illegal or unconstitutionalSurvival of Political MachinesFailed to end power of Political Machines; bosses learned to evade reform lawsResultsDisappearance of Progressive MovementEarly 1920sMany reforms passed and enthusiasm died outAttention shifted from domestic to foreign affairs with WWIHeritage of Progressive MovementPromoted belief that governments job is to care for welfare of the peopleTransition from Laissez-faire to government regulation of economy