The Progressive Era Reform shifts from the farm to the city and climbs the ladder of government from the local to the state and then to the national level.
I. The Problems of the 1890 s Huge Gap between rich and poor Tremendous economic and political power of the rich Wealthy were insensitively flaunting their wealth before a poorer public
I. Problems of the 1890 s (cont.) Industrial workers hideously poor, living in squalor and working in dangerous conditions Jacob Riis How the Other Half Lives (1890) Little concern for Black America
II. Progressive Reformers
A. Streams of Reform The Social Gospel movement --Walter Rauschenbusch: Christianity and the Social Crisis (1907) Settlement House Workers --Jane Addams, Hull House in Chicago (1889) Americans of Old Wealth
A. Streams of Reform (cont.) Young, sociallyconscious lawyers Investigative Journalists -- Muckrakers --Lincoln Steffens, Ida Tarbell, John Spargo, and Upton Sinclair Small businessmen
Thomas Nast Political cartoonist / satirist Lampooned big business, politicians, cops, etc.
Muckrakers John Spargo Bitter Cry of the Children Child Labor practices in U.S. factories Lincoln Steffens Shame of the Cities Urban Poor Upton Sinclair The Jungle Child Labor, then unsanitary conditions
B. Features of Progressive Reform Desire to remedy problems through government initiative Reliance on experts -- Robert Lafollette s Wisconsin Idea Change government if government is not going to change Wanted reform not revolution Stressed the importance of efficiency in reform --Frederick W. Taylor
B. Features of Progressive Reform (cont.) Want to bring order out of chaos --Creation of NCAA in 1910 --Federal Budget (1921) Desire to make politics more democratic Desire to make businessmen more responsible for problems
B. Features of Progressive Reform (cont.) Desire to make society more moral and more just Desire to distribute income more equitably Desire to broaden opportunities for individual advancement Women were active in progressivism --Suffragettes like Susan B. Anthony / Carrie Chapman Catt
B. Features of Progressive Reform (cont.) Infiltrated both political parties -- Republican insurgents Middle-class reform movement Operated on all three levels of government
III. Sample Progressive Reforms
A. Political Reforms Tried to put more power into the hands of the people Innovative changes in city government --city managers and commission model / Galveston TX WISCONSIN IDEA Robert M. LaFollette The Direct Primary Initiative, Referendum and Recall The Secret Ballot Direct Election of Senators and the Vote for Women
B. Social Reforms Child labor laws Ten-hour work days --The Brandeis brief --Muller v. Oregon (1908) The case upheld Oregon state restrictions on the working hours of women as justified by the special state interest in protecting women's health. --Bunting v. Oregon (1917) Prohibition initiatives Moral Purity campaigns --Mann Act (1910) -prohibited white slavery and the interstate transport of females for "immoral purposes".
B. Social Reforms (cont.) Minimum safety standards on the job Minimum standards for housing codes City Beautification movement Immigration Restriction Eugenics --Buck v. Bell (1927) Little Help for Blacks --NAACP (1909) -- Birth of a Nation DW Griffith
IV. Progressive Amendments to the Constitution Progressive reliance on the law 16 th Amendment (1913) federal income tax 17 th Amendment (1913) direct election of senators 18 th Amendment (1919) prohibition 19 th Amendment (1920) vote for women
V. Presidential Progressivism: Theodore Roosevelt Great drive, energy and exciting personality TR s interests and early years NYC police commissioner Spanish-American War experience -- Rough Riders Political Rise from NY Governor to Vice- President
A. First Term as President (1901-1904) McKinley s assassination Offered energetic national leadership Cast every issue in moral and patriotic terms --The Bully Pulpit Master Politician Modest goals for his accidental presidency
B. Trust-Buster? TR s attitude toward Big Business Wants to regulate in order to get businesses to act right The Square Deal (1902) Making an example of the Northern Securities Co. The Elkins Act (1903) and the Bureau of Corporations heavy fines on railroads that offered rebates, and upon the shippers that accepted these rebates
C. Second Term as President (1905-1909) More vigorous progressivism Hepburn Act (1906) Federal Meat Inspection Act (1906) Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) Conservation Policy --Preservation vs. Conservation
VI. A Tough Act to Follow : The Presidency of William Howard Taft (1909-1913) The Election of 1908 Taft s political experience Taft s weight Not a dynamic politician Never completely comfortable as President
VI. Presidency of Taft (cont.) Controversy over the Tariff More conservative than TR, but also more trust suits The Ballinger- Pinchot Affair Growing tension with Teddy Roosevelt
VII. The Election of 1912 Growing split within the Republican Party Creation of the Bull Moose Party Progressive Party Platform: New Nationalism Democrats drafted Woodrow Wilson Results of the Election
VIII. Democratic Progressivism: The Presidency of Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) Wilson s early life and political career True progressive and dynamic speaker Sympathetic to small businessmen Could be a stubborn, moral crusader and ideologue
A. New Freedom Wilson s brand of progressivism Wants to recreate the golden age of small American businesses Wilson wants to open channels for free and fair competition Historic Jeffersonian approach to federal power
B. Key Wilsonian Legislation Underwood Tariff Act (1913) Lower Tariff Federal Reserve Act (1913) created Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914) Federal Trade Commission (1914)
C. Congressional Progressivism After 1914 Wilson was not a strong progressive when it came to social reform Congress takes over the progressive agenda Appointment of Brandeis to Supreme Court Examples of congressional progressive legislation after 1914 --Federal Highways Act (1916)
IX. The Waning of the Progressive Movement Progressive movement peaks by 1917 Success of the movement led to its decline Advent of World War I also hurt progressive activism Progressives themselves began to weary of their reform zeal as did the nation as a whole Ironically, voter participation has steadily declined since the election of 1912