The Progressive Movement

Transcription

1 Section4 The Progressive Movement As you read, look for: the impact of the progressive movement in the state, and vocabulary terms progressive movement and workers compensation. Above: Louisiana s first governor of the twentieth century, Democrat William W. Heard, ended the convict lease system. The goal of improving the quality of life for all Americans was part of the progressive movement. As the new century began, reformers examined America. With industrial growth had come larger cities, and urban development led to urban problems. The progressive thinkers recognized the political, social, and economic challenges of the twentieth century. These progressives believed government local, state, and national was best equipped to deal with these challenges. They thought government should act to correct the problems of society. They had faith in the idea of progress, the belief that humans could keep improving their society to make it better and better. Progressives worked to reform society in three main ways. First, they wanted government to fight poverty and improve the living conditions of its citizens. Progressives worked hard to reform prisons, improve working conditions, outlaw alcohol, and extend voting rights to women. Second, they wanted to break up large corporations and regulate business. Third, they wanted voters to have more influence in government. In Louisiana, the progressives also wanted good government and social justice, but they were more traditional and conservative than the national group. However, even in conservative Louisiana, some of the reforms sought by the progressives were put in place. In 1886, laws were passed regulating the hours that women and children could work. More child labor laws were passed as concern increased. Each of the early twentieth-century governors introduced some progressive reforms; some of the governors were more successful than others. W. W. Heard, the first governor of the new century, ended the convict lease system. The next governor, Newton Blanchard, separated juvenile lawbreakers from adult criminals by building a reform school in Monroe. Blanchard s efforts also improved public education in the state. Education had been neglected because voters would not approve the funding needed for the schools. With Blanchard s support, a new law allowed local school boards to borrow money by selling investment bonds. With these funds, more than 406 Chapter 12 Louisiana s Transition Era: Populism and Power

2 two hundred new schools were built. The number of high schools increased from twenty-six to fifty-three. Governor Blanchard also doubled the state budget for education. He appointed James B. Aswell as the state superintendent of education. Aswell brought qualified teachers to the schools, built new schools, and established a standard high school program. Because of his new programs, Aswell earned the title father of modern education in Louisiana. Governor J. Y. Sanders led the state s first conservation efforts to protect the environment and started a program of road improvement. When Luther Hall was governor, the state started a workers compensation program (a government insurance program for those killed or injured on the job). Check for Understanding Above: Governor J. Y. Sanders began a program to improve the roads before World War I. 1. What was the goal of the progressive movement? 2. What did progressives in Louisiana do to help working children? 3. What are two ways Governor Blanchard improved public education? Section 4 The Progressive Movement 407

3 Connecting with U.S. History International Conflicts By the end of the nineteenth century, the citizens of Louisiana recognized that the fate of their state was tied to the fate of their country. They accepted their roles as citizens of the United States. Towns and cities sometimes celebrated the Fourth of July, although Confederate Memorial Day (June 3) continued to be an important holiday. This renewed patriotism was challenged by two wars. At the end of the century, Cuban patriots were fighting for independence from Spain. In February 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine mysteriously exploded in the harbor of Havana, Cuba. Over two hundred American sailors died. Shortly afterward, Congress declared war on Spain, and President William McKinley called for volunteers to drive the Spanish from Cuba. Louisiana responded with two regiments of infantry, three batteries of artillery, and several hundred sailors. A total of about five thousand men from Louisiana served in this war, which lasted only four months. The Second Louisiana Infantry Regiment was among the first American troops to enter Havana. Louisiana lost only one soldier in the Spanish-American War. In 1914, war broke out in Europe. The Central Powers, led by Germany and Austria-Hungary, were opposed by the Allied Powers, led by France, Great Britain, and Russia. President Woodrow Wilson de- 408 Chapter 12 Louisiana s Transition Era: Populism and Power Above: Teddy Roosevelt (second row, second from left) led the Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War. clared the United States a neutral nation. In April 1917, however, the United States declared war on Germany because German submarines were sinking passenger ships on the high seas. This war has come to be known as World War I. As the United States entered another war, Louisiana again supported the action. World War I touched the French connections of many Louisiana citizens. At the railroad stations, when Louisiana troops departed for the war, La Marseillaise (the French national anthem) was played along with patriotic American songs. Several military camps were established in the state. A large army camp was located near Pineville,

4 Above: A gigantic Buy Liberty Bonds sign hung along New Orleans s Canal Street during World War I. It was the largest sign in the world at the time. Right: During World War I, radio operators trained at an army camp on the Tulane University campus in New Orleans. and a camp to train aviators was built in Lake Charles. Shipyards at Madisonville and Slidell built vessels for the United States Navy. Over 80,000 Louisianians served in the armed forces. One of the most famous heroes of World War I was Marine Major General John A. LeJeune of Pointe Coupee Parish. He later became the commandant of the Marine Corps, and the famous Marine training camp in North Carolina is named in his honor. Louisiana rejoiced in victory along with the rest of the country. At the war s end in November 1918, church bells rang and steam whistles blew. In Shreveport, people celebrated with a two-day bonfire in the middle of Texas Street. Patriotic spirit filled the state. Section 4 The Progressive Movement 409

5 Meeting Expectations Plessy v. Ferguson The U.S. Supreme Court must decide if laws passed by Congress or the state legislatures agree with the U.S. Constitution. The justices written decisions are called opinions. The following two opinions were issued by the Court in 1896 during their ruling on the Louisiana law that required railroads to provide separate cars for blacks and for whites. Homer Plessy had challenged this law, and Judge John H. Ferguson was the original trial judge. The majority of the Supreme Court justices agreed with the Louisiana law. Justice Brown s opinion explains the majority decision. Justice Harlan gave the only dissenting opinion. Justice Brown [The Legislature] is at liberty to act with reference to the established usages, customs and traditions of the people, and with a view to the promotion of their comfort, and the preservation of the public peace and good order.... We consider the underlying fallacy of the plaintiff s argument to consist in the assumption that the enforced separation of the two races stamps the colored race with a badge of inferiority.... The argument also assumes that social prejudices may be overcome by legislation, and that equal rights cannot be secured to the Negro except by an enforced [mixing] of the two races. We cannot accept this proposition. If the two races are to meet upon terms of social equality, it must be the result of natural affinities, a mutual appreciation of each other s merits, and a voluntary consent of individuals. Justice Harlan... the statute of Louisiana is inconsistent with the personal liberty of citizens, white and black, in that state, and 410 Chapter 12 Louisiana s Transition Era: Populism and Power hostile to both the spirit and letter of the Constitution of the United States.... Slavery, as an institution tolerated by law, would, it is true, have disappeared from our country; but there would remain a power in the states, by sinister legislation, to interfere with the full enjoyment of the blessings of freedom, to regulate civil rights, common to all citizens, upon the basis of race, and to place in a condition of legal inferiority a large body of American citizens, now constituting a part of the political community, called the people of the United States, for whom, and by whom through representatives, our government is administered. Such a system is inconsistent with the guaranty given by the constitution to each state of a republic form of government.... For the reasons stated, I am constrained to withhold my assent from the opinion and judgment of the majority. 1. List two phrases that show Justice Brown s opinion about the law. 2. List two phrases that show Justice Harlan s reason for disagreeing with the majority opinion. 3. In your own words, write a one- or twosentence summary of each of these two opinions. 4. The concept of present-mindedness, or looking at the past through today s eyes, must be considered as we examine this court decision. From today s view, we find it hard to understand why only one of the justices would have found segregation unconstitutional. Why did they look at this issue differently in 1896?