The Progressive Era 1890-1920
Bell Work: 10/13/14 (Monday) Now, it is very necessary that we should not flinch from seeing what is vile and debasing. There is filth on the floor, and it must be scraped up with the muck rake; and there are times and places where this service is the most needed of all the services that can be performed. But the man who never does anything else, who never thinks or speaks or writes, save of his feats with the muck rake, speedily becomes, not a help but one of the most potent forces for evil... The effort to make financial or political profit out of the destruction of character can only result in calamity. - Theodore Roosevelt What do you think Roosevelt is referring to? What is a muckraker? Do you think he is in favor of or opposed to muckraking?
Objectives Identify the causes of Progressivism. Analyze the role that journalists played in the Progressive Movement.
Section 1: The Drive For Reform Reformers crossed social, economic, political lines Beliefs: Industrialization and urbanization had created troubling social and political problems Wanted society and government to help people Use logic & reason to solve problems End corrupt government
Some sought political reform Vote for women End political machines that allowed some to prosper while others lived in dangerous conditions Big business break up the trusts Social stop the growing gap between rich and poor, child labor, conditions, etc.
Muckrakers journalists and writers who exposed the muck ugliest side of life Lincoln Steffens The Shame of the Cities Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives, photographer who turned his camera on the urban poor Ida Tarbell, The History of Standard Oil, about Rockefeller s ruthless tactics Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, about the horrors of the meatpacking industry
Bell Work: 10/14/14 (Tuesday) What role do you think muckrakers played in the early 20th century?
Objectives Evaluate some of the social reforms that Progressives tackled. Explain what Progressives hoped to achieve through political reforms.
Reform of Society Social Gospel follow the Bible s teachings about charity and justice to help society Settlement houses provided social services to the poor Jane Addams Hull House Child labor laws, more educational opportunities John Dewey urges students to think not memorize facts Help industrial workers Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, 1911 leads to reforms in industry (killed 146 mostly young women)
Reforming Government Cities switch to city commission form of local government after the hurricane of 1900 (worst natural disaster in American History 8,000 killed) Direct primary people voted in local elections directly to put officials on upcoming ballots Initiative people could put law on ballots by getting signatures on a petition Referendum could approve or reject laws passed by local legislatures Recall voters could remove corrupt officials from office 17 th Amendment direct election of senators Progressive governors Bob LaFollette (WI), Teddy Roosevelt (NY), Woodrow Wilson (NJ)
Objectives Analyze the impact of changes in women s education on women s roles in society. Explain what women did to win workers rights and to improve family life. Evaluate the tactics women used to win passage of the Nineteenth Amendment.
2. Women Make Progress WCTU Temperance movement picks up Margaret Sanger birth control, fewer children, better quality of life Florence Kelley Nat l Consumer League safer products for the home Ida B. Wells rights for African American women (had also protested lynching) Carrie Chapman Catt NAWSA lobbied for women s suffrage Alice Paul 19 th Amendment suffrage (right to vote)
Bell Work: 10/17/14 What were some forms of discrimination faced by African American and other minority groups in the early 20 th century?
3. Struggle Against Discrimination Americanization tried to make immigrants more American Disturbed by alcohol use; customary in many countries Plessy v. Ferguson Separate but Equal is ok Washington & DuBois want reform (different strategies) Niagara Movement demanded immediate change (DuBois) NAACP forms after riots in Springfield, IL (after attempted lynching)
Discrimination cont. Urban League focused on poor workers; provided clothes, books, helped find jobs Anti-Defamation League to defend Jews Mexican, Native, and Asian Americans also form groups to fight prejudice and discrimination
4. Roosevelt s Square Deal President after McKinley s assassination; youngest; Secretary of Navy Square Deal keep wealthy and powerful from taking advantage of poor, but not that government should take care of the lazy Trustbusting enforces Sherman Antitrust Act Meat Inspection Act processing plants Pure Food and Drug Act today enforced by the FDA
Roosevelt cont. Conservationist w/john Muir; outdoorsman Reserve land for public use Yosemite National Park Water Reclamation Act govt. would regulate water, manage dams, reservoirs New Nationalism restore govt. trustbusting powers Progressive Party Bull Moose
5. Wilson s New Freedom 1912 Democratic Woodrow Wilson New Freedom Plan control corporations Lowered tariffs so American workers could buy foreign if U.S. products got too high 16 th Amendment Income Tax Federal Reserve Act holds reserve funds for banks, sets interest rates, supervises banks
Wilson cont. Federal Trade Commission Monitored business practices that might lead to monopoly (FTC) Clayton Antitrust Act specified activities that businesses could not engage in, protected labor unions Enforces the Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Legacy of Progressivism More government protection of people s lives More control over people s lives Helped children, natural resources, public health, working conditions, regulated businesses