The Rise of

Progressivism

Era in American history that ran between 1890-1920

A collection of ideas and activities about how to fix the problems in American society

They all believed that it was up to the government to take more of an active role in solving society’s problems that had been caused by immigration and urbanization

Muckrackers

Immigrants

Prohibition

Suffragettes

White Slavery

C H I L D L A B O R

Labor Unions

Civi l Rights

Social Welfare Progressivism

Created charities to help the poor and disadvantaged. YMCA, Settlement Houses and Salvation Army. Also pushed for laws to fix social problems

In 1900 over 1.7 million children worked outside the home. Florence Kelley worked to end child labor and improve women’s working conditions (sweat shops, etc.)

Work place reforms also got a boost during this period… safer working conditions and workers compensation laws were created

Moral Improvement- Prohibition

Also pushed for laws to fix social problems

Moderation or elimination of liquor because of the evils it had created within our society- review political machines

Laws banning the production sale or consumption of alcohol was what prohibition was after

Impact of the WCTU

Muckrakers

Group of journalists

who investigated

social conditions and

political corruption

Put pressure on

politicians to address

the issues and

propose reforms

Jacob Riis was a

Muckraker- How the

Other Half Lives

Different approaches to

Progressivism Problems could be solved if government was

more efficient

It could become more efficient by applying principles of Scientific Management Influence of Frederick W. Taylor

Managing cities required experts, not politicians- replace the existing system with a commission plan

A board of commissioners or city manager would select and hire specialists to run city departments

In 1901 Galveston, TX will be the first to adopt this plan, soon many cities followed

Wisconsin- the laboratory of

Democracy Robert LaFollette a

progressive minded governor of Wisconsin was able to push through many new initiatives when he became a Senator of the United States

Direct primary, initiative, referendum and recall,

Direct Election of Senators 17th Amendment to the Constitution

Social Welfare

Keating-Owen Child Labor Act- prohibited children under the age of 14 from working in factories

Adamson Act- Established an 8 hour workday for Railroad workers

In 1917 the Supreme Court upheld a ten hour workday for men

Regulation of the mines, telephone companies and other large businesses followed suit

Approved the Federal Farm Loan: Long term loans at low interest rates for farmers

Eugene V. Debs

Led the American Socialist Party

Ran in the Presidential election in 1912

Believed the government should run all major utilities, take them away from private ownership

Progressives take on Big

Business Progressives wanted to address the illegal

practices of Big Business but could not come up with a consensus Some wanted the government to break up the

monopolies to restore competition- Ida Tarbell and Standard Oil

Another group wanted to create more government agencies to handle the problems

Socialism: the idea that the government should operate and control all major industries, running them for the public A small group of progressives were in favor of Socialism

Most Progressives believed in American System of Free Enterprise

Section 2

Women at the turn of the Century

Work Reform, Education and

African-Americans

By the end of the 19th

Century women HAD to

work outside the home to

earn money

By 1900 1of 5 women

held a job. 25% worked

in factories

Others were working in

offices, stores and

classrooms

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

NYC-146 women killed

Women and Education

Only women schools such as

Vassar, Smith and Wellesley

Impact of African-American

women during the time

period

Formed NACW

Created Nurseies and

Kindergartens

Suffrage movement

Suffrage movement

All the way back to the end of the Revolutionary War women had been seeking the right to vote

In July 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the first women’s rights convention, Seneca Falls, New York, after being told they could not participate in the World Abolitionist Convention in London, England

After the Civil War the 14th and 15th Amendments had guaranteed the African-American male citizenship and the right to vote, but still not women

West of the Mississippi

Many states west of

the Mississippi had

already granted

women the right to

vote in state

elections

Largely due to the

contributions of

women in the move

westward

National American Women’s

Suffrage Association By 1890 women

formed NAWSA, National American Woman Suffrage Association

Tried three different ways to gain the vote: Convince State

Legislatures- worked out west

Appealed to the Supreme Court the 14th Amendment

Pushed for their own Amendment

The Vote is gained!

In 1918 the House passed a woman’s suffrage amendment, but it failed by two votes in the Senate

In June of 1919, the Senate finally passed the 19th Amendment

On August 26, 1920 the states ratified guaranteeing women the right to vote

Women’s actions during the US participation in WWI is what tipped the scales

Section 5

TR’s Second Term

TR’s Reform Program was known as the Square Deal

He felt government should try to balance the needs of all groups in society

U.S. needed progressive reforms so we could remain efficient and compete with other nations

The Trust buster! Northern Securities. TR puts teeth into the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

Makes some BIG enemies- Big Business

Other Accomplishments

Coal Miners Strike Everyone got a Square Deal

Hepburn Act ICC ties to railroad

Consumer Protection Meat Inspection Act

Pure Food and Drug Act

Newlands Reclamation Act 5 National Parks; 18 Monuments

230 million acres of land set aside

Placed Gifford Pinchot to head US Forest Service

He changed the Presidency

TR’s actions during

his presidency caused

Americans to

increasingly look to

the federal

government to solve

the nation’s economic

and social problems.

The Executive Branch

of government greatly

increased in power!

Upton Sinclair- The Jungle

Author Upton Sinclair wrote about the atrocities that were occurring everyday in the meat packing industry of the United States

Read the excerpts provided and answer the questions

Civil Rights & Progressives

Booker T. Washington W.E.B. Du Bois

Concentrate on achieving economic gains, rather than legal or political ones

Had dinner with TR at the White House- not well received by many Southern members of Congress

Founded Tuskegee Institute

One of the original founders of the NAACP in 1909

Said Southerners continued to take away civil rights of African Americans

Even though they were making gains in education and vocational training African Americans should demand their rights, especially voting rights to gain full equality

Section 4

Taft takes the White House

Hand picked by TR W.H. Taft had no

problem defeating Wm. Jennings Bryan

in the 1908 Presidential election

Was a skillful administrator (Philippines)

and judge, he told TR that he really

wanted to be a Supreme Court Justice

Was very thoughtful, presumed slow,

when making decisions- led to conflicts

with the Progressives

Taft and Cannon

Taft had to work with Sen. Cannon because Sen. Cannon had the power to push legislation or block it

Taft told the Progressives to back off and in return Cannon gave Taft the Payne-Aldrich tariff bill he had wanted sent through

It did raise some tariffs while lowering others

Progressives feel alienated with Taft

Ballinger-Pinchot Affair

Gifford Pinchot accused Richard Ballinger of trying to turn over government lands in Alaska to private industry so they could strip its resources. The accusation was groundless but Pinchot leaked the story to the press and Taft fired him for insubordination

The Progressives felt Taft had sold the Square Deal down the river

Mid-term elections went against Taft

Taft’s Progressive Reforms

Taft brought twice as many anti-trust

cases to the Supreme Court as TR had.

Taft established the Children’s Bureau to

fight child labor

He was a conservationist who monitored

the activities of mining companies,

expanded national forests and protected

water power sites from private

development

TR’s reaction to Taft

When Taft brought an anti-trust lawsuit against U.S. Steel, a trust that TR had established as the right way to do things, that is when TR went against Taft and began to criticize his hand picked successor

Progressives convinced TR to re-enter politics for President in the 1912 election and challenge Taft for the Republican nomination

Formation of the Progressive Party, their mascot was the Bull Moose

The 1912 Election

Republican: W.H.

Taft

Democrat: Woodrow

Wilson

Progressive:

Theodore Roosevelt

Socialist: Eugene V.

Debs

Section 5

Woodrow Wilson

Governor of New Jersey- Model of Progressive Reform

Progressive issues in his platform

Former President of Princeton

New Freedom a counter to TR’s New Nationalism

First Democrat since 1892

Regulating the Economy

Remember, Wilson was very well educated and will show it immediately in the office of President

In his eight years as President he issued reforms that affected tariffs, the banking system, trusts and workers rights

Underwood Tariff and the levying of an individual income tax

The Federal Reserve System to protect consumers money

Creation of the Federal Trade Commission monitored businesses for unfair practices

Social Welfare

With less money coming in from tariffs President Wilson will look towards individual and business income tax (16th Amendment) to generate money to run the government

As President, Wilson backed away from his campaign promises to help the African-American. Particularly in the Anti-Lynching Bill he never put forth

H e also chose cabinet members that were segregationists

African-Americans felt betrayed

Legacy of Progressivism

Americans looked to the government to play an active role in regulating the economy and solving social problems

Quality of life was improved through governmental legislation

In 1905 African-American leaders met to demand full political rights and responsibilities as well as an end to racial discrimination for African-Americans

America’s entrance into WWI will be that which ends the Progressive Movement