THE AGE OF REFORM-THE AGE OF REFORM-Progressivism (1890s-1920)Progressivism (1890s-1920)Roots of Progressivism

◦progressives were never a single unified group seeking a single objective

◦they sought civil service reform, political reform, government regulation of big business, improvement of conditions in the workplace, and the enactment of antitrust legislation

◦in response to an increasingly complex society, progressivism represented a “search for order”

Muckrackers

Goo

Goos

Temperance

Suffragettes

Populists

Midclass

Women

Labor

Unions

Civil

Rights

The The MuckrakersMuckrakers◦the popular press published

articles on social, economic, and political issues of the day

◦McClure’s published Ida Tarbell’s critical series on Standard Oil and Lincoln Steffens’s expose on city machines

◦soon, other editors rushed to adopt McClure’s formula

◦a veritable army of journalists published stories exposing labor gangsterism, the adulteration of foods and drugs, corruption in college athletics, and prostitution

Muckrakers

◦the degree of sensationalism used by

some authors prompted Theodore

Roosevelt to label them

“muckrakers”

The Progressive MindThe Progressive Mind◦despite its democratic rhetoric,

progressivism was paternalistic, moderate, and often soft-headed

◦reformers oversimplified issues and regarded their personal values as absolute standards

◦progressives came from all walks of life and included great tycoons, small operators, advocates of social justice, prohibitionists, and others

Carry Nation with her hatchet

◦progressivism never truly challenged

the fundamental principles of

capitalism; nor did it seek to

reorganize the basic structures of

society

◦many progressives held anti-

immigrant views, and few

progressives concerned

themselves with the plight of

blacks

““Radical” Progressives: The Radical” Progressives: The Wave of the FutureWave of the Future

◦influenced by European revolutionary theories, some segments of American society sought radical relief for the ills of industrialism

◦some labor leaders rejected craft unionism and advocated socialism

◦in 1905, a coalition of mining and other unions, socialists, and other radicals formed a new union, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

International Workers of the World (“Wobblies”)

International Workers of the World (“Wobblies”)

Mother Jones: “The Miner’s Angel”

Mother Jones: “The Miner’s Angel”

Mary Harris.Mary Harris.

Organizer for theOrganizer for theUnited MineUnited MineWorkers.Workers.

Founded the Founded the SocialSocialDemocratic Party Democratic Party in 1898.in 1898.

One of the One of the founding founding members of the I. members of the I. W. W. in 1905.W. W. in 1905.

◦the openly anticapitalist IWW never attracted the support of mainstream labor

◦other nonpolitical European ideas influenced progressive intellectuals

◦few understood, and even fewer read, Freud, but his theories became a popular topic of conversation

◦some used Freud to argue against conventional standards of sexual morality

Political Reform: Cities FirstPolitical Reform: Cities First

◦corrupt political machines ruled many cities

◦city bosses and machine politics became the primary targets of progressivism

◦reformers could not defeat the machines without changing urban political structures

◦new forms included “home rule,” nonpartisan bureaus, city commissioners, and city managers

◦beyond reforming the political process, progressives hoped to use it to improve society

◦some experiments at the municipal

level included urban renewal,

municipalizing public utilities and

public transportation systems, and

reform of penal institutions

State Social LegislationState Social Legislation

◦by the 1890s, many states passed laws regulating conditions in the workplace

◦these laws restricted child labor, set maximum hours for women and children, and regulated conditions in sweatshops

◦conservative judges, unwilling to accept an expansion of the states’ coercive power, often struck down such laws on the ground that they violated the “due process” clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

Child LaborChild Labor

Here, Marie Michaels poses in an apron advertising the cause for 8-hour workday for women in Oregon.

Women Working

◦progressives also achieved state

legislation regulating the

transportation, utilities, banking, and

insurance industries

◦however, piecemeal regulation by the

states failed to solve the problems of

an increasingly complex society

Political Reform: The Political Reform: The Women’s Suffrage Women’s Suffrage MovementMovement

◦the Progressive Era saw the culmination of the struggle for women’s suffrage

◦the women’s movement was handicapped by rivalry between the NWSA and the AWSA, by Victorian attitudes about the role of women, and by applications of Darwinian theory

◦feminists attempted to turn ideas of women’s moral superiority to their advantage in the struggle for voting rights

◦in doing so, however, they surrendered the principle of equality

Women Win SuffrageWomen Win Suffrage

◦in 1890, the two major women’s groups combined to form the National American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA)

◦the growth of progressivism contributed to the cause of suffrage

◦after winning the right to vote in several states, NAWSA focused its attention on the national level

◦the Nineteenth Amendment (1920) granted women the right to vote

It took 41 years from the beginning of the women’s suffrage movement for women to finally get voting rights!

Political Reform: Income Political Reform: Income Taxes and Popular Election Taxes and Popular Election of Senatorsof Senators

◦progressivism also found expression in the Sixteenth Amendment, which authorized a federal income tax, and the Seventeenth Amendment (1913), which provided for direct election of senators

◦a group of progressive members of Congress also managed to reform the House of Representatives by limiting the power of the Speaker

Theodore Roosevelt: Cowboy Theodore Roosevelt: Cowboy in the White Housein the White House

◦Roosevelt assumed the presidency following McKinley’s assassination

◦he brought to the presidency solid political qualifications, a distinguished war record, and credentials as a historian

◦although the prospect of Roosevelt in the White House alarmed conservatives, he moved slowly and with restraint

◦his domestic program included some measure of control of large corporations, more power for the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the conservation of natural resources

President Teddy Roosevelt took a leading role in the Progressive Era. Among other reforms that he championed, Roosevelt fought against corporate monopolies and for consumer and environmental protections.

Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal

Roosevelt and Big BusinessRoosevelt and Big Business

◦although Roosevelt won a reputation as a “trustbuster,” he did not believe in breaking up big corporations indiscriminately; he preferred to regulate them

◦Roosevelt was not an enemy to all large-scale enterprises, merely those that flagrantly seemed to restrain trade

◦facing a Congress that would not pass strong regulatory laws, Roosevelt resorted to use of the Sherman Act

◦although his Justice Department brought suit against the Northern Securities Company, the President preferred to reach “gentlemanly agreements” with large trusts

◦this approach proved successful with U.S. Steel and International Harvester

◦when Standard Oil reneged on an agreement, however, the Justice Department brought suit

Roosevelt and the Coal Roosevelt and the Coal StrikeStrike

◦Roosevelt effectively used the powers and prestige of his office to intervene in the anthracite coal strike of 1902

◦he attempted to arbitrate between management and the United Mine Workers, but management proved intransigent

◦the president’s threat to seize and operate the mines convinced the owners of the wisdom of accepting arbitration

◦neither side was entirely pleased, but,

to the American public, the incident

seemed to illustrate the progressive

spirit and Roosevelt’s “square deal”

◦Roosevelt’s use of executive power in

this case dramatically extended

presidential authority and hence that

of the federal government

TR’s TriumphsTR’s Triumphs◦Roosevelt easily defeated the

Democratic candidate, Alton B. Parker, in 1904

◦encouraged by his victory and aware of the growing militancy of progressives, the president pressed Congress for passage of the Hepburn Act (1906), which allowed the ICC to inspect the books of railroad companies and to fix maximum rates

◦it also gave the ICC authority over other interstate carriers and prohibited railroads from issuing passes freely

TR’s Triumphs: TR’s Triumphs: Upton Sinclair’s The Upton Sinclair’s The JungleJungle

◦in response to Upton

Sinclair’s novel, The

Jungle, which

described the filthy

conditions in the meat-

packing industry,

Roosevelt pressed

Congress to pass the

Pure Food and Drug

Act (1907)

The Jungle

Meatpacking Industry

Upton Sinclairs book The Jungle exposed the unsanitary practices of the nation's meatpackers and launched a full-scale government investigation. Here President Roosevelt takes hold of the investigation and muckrakers in the packinghouse scandal.

What unsanitary practices did Sinclair publicize in his book?

Was the primary purpose of The Jungle to expose the meat industry?

What kinds of regulation ultimately emerged from this investigation?

Roosevelt Tilts LeftRoosevelt Tilts Left

◦as the progressive impulse advanced, Roosevelt advanced with it

◦Roosevelt’s approach became increasingly liberal

◦he placed more than 150 million acres of public lands in federal reserves, strictly enforced usage laws on federal lands, and encouraged state governments actively to regulate their public lands

◦as Roosevelt moved toward the left, many Old Guard Republicans turned against the president

◦the Panic of 1907 exacerbated the split

◦when conservatives blamed him for the panic, Roosevelt responded by moving further toward progressive liberalism; he advocated federal income and inheritance taxes, stricter regulation of interstate corporations, and reforms designed to help industrial workers

◦when Roosevelt began to criticize the courts, he lost all chance of obtaining further reform legislation

William Howard Taft: The William Howard Taft: The Listless Progressive, or More Listless Progressive, or More is Lessis Less

◦Roosevelt’s hand-picked successor, William Howard Taft, garnered the support of Old Guard Republicans as well as progressives and easily defeated William Jennings Bryan

◦although he enforced the Sherman Act vigorously and signed the Mann-Elkins Act, which expanded the power of the ICC, Taft made a less aggressive president than T.R. had been

Progressive President Taft

◦Taft was not comfortable with Roosevelt’s sweeping use of executive power

◦his political ineptness contributed to Taft’s problems

◦he alienated progressives when he failed to lend full support to a Congressional movement to reform the tariff system

◦Taft ran afoul of the growing conservation movement in 1910 when he fired the chief forester of the United States, Gifford Pinchot

Breakup of the Republican Breakup of the Republican PartyParty

◦the Ballinger-Pinchot affair signaled the beginning of a split between Roosevelt and Taft

◦perhaps inevitably, the Republican party split into factions

◦Roosevelt sided with the progressives, and Taft threw in his lot with the Old Guard

◦Taft’s management of antitrust action brought against U.S. Steel in 1911 finalized the split

◦a portion of the suit was directed against the merger of the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company with U.S. Steel in 1907

◦Roosevelt had personally approved of merger and viewed Taft’s action as a personal attack

◦Roosevelt decided to challenge Taft for the nomination in 1912

◦while Roosevelt carried the bulk of the primaries, Taft controlled the party apparatus and secured the nomination

◦Roosevelt formed the breakaway Progressive party, also known as the “Bull Moose” party, and ran in the general election

The Election of 1912The Election of 1912

◦the Democrats ran Woodrow Wilson, the reform governor of New Jersey

◦Wilson’s “New Freedom” promised eradication of special interests and a return to competition

◦Roosevelt called for a “New Nationalism,” based on regulation of large corporations

◦hard-core Republicans voted for Taft, but the progressive wing went for Roosevelt

◦Democrats, both conservative and progressive, voted for Wilson; as a result, Wilson won easily

Wilson: The New FreedomWilson: The New Freedom

◦Wilson quickly established his legislative agenda and successfully steered his legislation through Congress

◦in 1913, the Underwood Tariff substantially reduced tariffs; a graduated income tax made up for lost revenue

◦the Federal Reserve Act finally provided the nation with a centralized banking system

◦Congress created the Federal Trade Commission to regulate unfair trade practices

Wilson: The New FreedomWilson: The New Freedom

◦the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 outlawed price discrimination, “tying” agreements, and the creation of interlocking directorates

◦Wilson’s decisive management style and a Democratic majority in Congress accounted in large part for his successes

◦Wilson’s progressivism had its limits; he refused to support legislation to provide low-interest loans to farmers or to exempt unions from antitrust actions

◦Wilson also declined to push for a federal law prohibiting child labor and refused to back a constitutional amendment granting the vote to women

The Progressives and The Progressives and Minority RightsMinority Rights

◦a darker side of progressivism manifested itself in the area of race relations

◦a reactionary on racial matters, Wilson was fairly typical of progressive attitudes; only a handful failed to exhibit prejudice against nonwhite people

◦most progressives assumed that Native Americans were incapable of assimilating into white society

◦Asians were subject to intense discrimination

◦in the South, the Progressive Era witnessed the institutionalization of “Jim Crow”

◦many progressive women adopted racist arguments in support of the Nineteenth Amendment, while Southern progressives argued for the disenfranchisement of blacks to “purify” the political system

◦Booker T. Washington and his philosophy of accommodation failed to stem the rising tide of racism, and a number of young and well-educated blacks broke away from his leadership

Black MilitancyBlack Militancy

◦W. E. B. Du Bois, the first American black to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard, called upon blacks to reject Washington’s accommodationism

◦he urged them to take pride in their racial and cultural heritage and demanded that blacks take their rightful place in society without waiting for whites to give it to them

◦he recognized that environment, not racial factors, caused problems of poverty and crime

◦Du Bois was not, however, an admirer of the ordinary black American

W. E. B. Du BoisW. E. B. Du Bois◦frankly elitist in approach, Du Bois

contended that a “talented tenth” of blacks would lead the way to their race’s success

◦in 1905, he and other like-minded blacks founded the Niagara Movement

◦while it failed to attract mass support, it did stir some white consciences

◦a group comprised largely of white liberals founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909

◦the NAACP was dedicated to the eradication of racial discrimination from American society

◦the leadership of the NAACP was largely white in its early years, but Du Bois became a national officer and editor of the organization’s journal

◦more important, after the founding of the NAACP, virtually every leader in the struggle for racial equality rejected Washington’s approach

New Constitutional Amendments 16th16th – Income Tax 17th17th – Direct election of U.S.

Senators Purpose- Reduce corruption and give

people a voice in government 18th18th Prohibition of Alcoholic

Beverages Purpose- believe it hurt the family

19th 19th – Women’s Suffrage Most Controversial- Divided households

and the longest to achieve

The Progressive Movement:The Progressive Movement:Election ReformsElection Reforms

INITIATIVEINITIATIVE – bill proposed by the people instead of lawmakers – put on a ballot (voters can propose laws)

REFERENDUMREFERENDUM- voters, not legislature, decide if initiative becomes law

RECALLRECALL – voters remove elected official through early election

passage of statewide direct primary electionstatewide direct primary election which led to the…

1717thth AMENDMENT AMENDMENT – direct election of Senators by voters rather than state legislators

Chapter 22 The Progressive Movement ReformsWhat actions did the Progressives take to create reforms? In the boxes below, list 2 (or more) examples of actions taken by people and/or organizations aimed at reform.

Social Workplace (women/children)

The Progressive Movement

Moral

Political

Economic

Which group was the MOST SUCCESSFUL and WHY?