1900-1930

The Progressive Era

Busting Trusts Protecting

Consumers, Workers and Environment

National Government

Origins of the Progressive movement

Challenge to Social Darwinism

Fight for Social Reforms

Fighting for Children Political ReformSocial Inequality Confronting Racism TR, Taft, Wilson

Overview

Populism and Progressivism

Improve conditions for farmers and industrial workers

Curb the power of big business

Expand economic opportunities

Inspired by two reform movements of the late 1800s

Populism Social Gospel

Origins of the Movement

Social Gospel Movement

Based on the idea that social reform and Christianity went hand in hand

Applied Christian teachings to social and economic reform

Take responsibility for those who were less fortunate

More inspiration

Believed that Government should play an active role in defending the rights of average citizens against the power of big business

Progressivism strongly opposed Social Darwinism

Natural Selection Argued that

wealth and big business hurt Americans and Democracy

Challenge to Social Darwinism

Went after moderate political goals

No not really Believed in private

enterprise Balance the

interests of workers and owners

Promote order and efficiency

Help the needed but don’t cripple them

Too Radical ?

Garbage should be a government responsibility

White Wings= cleaners of the city

Living Conditions are awful

Progressives want to clean up the cities

Cleaner and more livable

New York passes the Tenement House Act in 1901

Courtyard and bathroom in

each apt.

Living Conditions

Fighting for Social Reforms

1916 2/3 of the states had worker's comp and paid workers even when they were hurt

Some successTried to limit the

hours Efforts to protect

women fared better Supreme court rules

that women have a set number of hours a week

Reformers pushed for worker’s compensation

Working conditions

Fighting for Social Reforms

Decline in labor = Increase in education!

1870= 500 HS1910= 10,000 HSAmericanization

of Students

Pushed for laws to restrict or ban child labor

Florence Kelly National Child Labor

CommitteeNLCC= 191239

States with child labor laws

No Child under 14 can work

Some even the lowered the # of hours a child could work

Fighting for the Children

Tried to identify and address the causes of juvenile delinquency

Judge Ben Lindsey

Protested the treatment of children by the criminal justice system.

Juvenile offenders to be sentenced to reform school or rehabilitation centers

Didn’t get a trial always

Juveniles

State Government Secret Ballot Direct Primary Recall Direct Initiative Referendum

Local GovernmentNew progressive

mayors Changed the

police departments

Set regulations Officials hired

based on skills

Political Reform

1900 4/5 of AA lived in the south as farmers

Strict segregation Booker T.

Washington Tuskegee Institute Vocational School

1909 NAACP W.E.B Du Bois

The Crisis Protested Lynching

African Americans Seneca FallsNational American

Woman Suffrage Association

State Level 18981919 Women get the

vote 19th Amendment

Women

Social Inequality

Pushed hard for civil rights through political action

Protest Fight for equality

W.E.B De Bois Work hard and

improve their economic condition

Be patient Take advantage of

current opportunities Accommodation

Booker T. Washington

Confronting Racism

Theodore RooseveltAge 42 Teddy or TRSquare Deal

Regulating big business Protecting Workers Protecting Consumers

Strong president Benefit all Americans

Progressive Presidents

William TaftMember of TR cabinetFormer Judge 1908Quiet and ReservedReluctant, lackluster and cautiousContinued reforms

Limited big business Added land to the conservations

Payne-Aldrich Bill

Progressive President

Governor of NJNew Freedom

Eliminate all trusts Give voice to the average citizenRestrict corporate influenceReduce corruption in Government Laws on banking and tariffs

Backs reforms and helps creates change.

Woodrow Wilson

Centered around Progressive reform TR comes back into the running with the

Bull Moose partyWilson and Taft

Wilson= Democrat Taft= Republican

The spilt between Taft and TR made it easier for Wilson to win the election

Election of 1912

TR started itSherman Anti-trust actRegulate Monopolies J.P. Morgan's Northern Securities CompanySet standards for RR companies Hepburn Act – Shipping rates

Busting Trusts

Under Taft the Justice system brought 90 lawsuits against trusts

Strict interpretation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act

Taft and Trusts

Clayton Antitrust act Stricter than ShermanCan’t lower prices in

one market and not the other

Protected labor Unions Exempt from antitrust laws

Federal Trade Commission of 1914

Wilson and Trusts

TR Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and

Drug Act Pure Food

FDA test and approve drugs before they are on the market

Protecting Consumers

TRArbitration- outside advice during strikes

Taft and Wilson Taft= Department of Labor

Children's Bureau Wilson= Keating- Owned Child Labor Act

Together= Supported an 8 hour workday

Protecting Workers

Preservation- Protection of the wilderness

Conservation- Limited use of resources TR- Favored conservatism=

NATIONAL PARKS!!!U.S. Forest Service

Taft- Added 2.7 Million acres to Nation Wildlife Refuge System

Wilson – National Park Services

Protecting the Environment

Financial Reforms Stabilize the Banks Taft= urged congress to reform banksWilson= Federal Reserve Act 1913

Federal Reserve Act Divided the country into 12 regions each with a

federal reserve bank Central bank of America Private banks are still private but all obey the same

laws safety net Lend money Sets monetary policy Set interest rates regulate how much a bank can

lend

Reforming National Gov.

16th Amendment(1913)Federal Income tax

Fund government programs Graduated Tax

17th Amendment (1913)Established direct election of U.S. Senators

Replaced election of senators by state legislatures

18th Amendment(1919)Established prohibition = no Alcohol

19th Amendment (1920)Guaranteed women the right to vote

Amendments of the Era