The Progressive Era 1890s-1920
The Progressive Era A period in history, from 1890 to 1920, where Americans responded to the economic, social and political problems that existed as a result of industrialization and urbanization and sought to reform these poor conditions. Reform: to change
Who were the Progressives? Progressives: people who fought to reform problems in society Aka reformers Reform: to change Mostly educated, middleclass Americans Muckrakers: journalists who uncovered dirt ( muck ) in society in order to draw attention to problems
What the Progressives want to reform (change)? Economic problems- regulate big business and protect the consumer; establish a fair tax system Social problems- make life safer and more comfortable by fixing issues that affect day to day life for different groups of people (housing, voting, worker s rights, etc ) Political Problems- increase participation in democracy, improve efficiency
Early Political Reformers The Populist Party( The People s Party : a political party formed in 1892 to address the problems faced by many farmers Main goals: Wanted the government to help raise farm prices Regulate railroad rates An income tax An Eight hour workday Limits on immigration Coin money with silver
Economic Reform Industrialization à bosses abused workers by paying them very little yet working them very hard in unsafe conditions Laissez Faire economics caused these problems- allowed big business to go unregulated Trustbuster: someone who fought to break up big trusts (Teddy Roosevelt) Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890): Any business that limited trade between customers and other businesses was illegal Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914): Strengthened the Sherman Anti-trust Act and allowed the government to further enforce anti-trust laws
Other Economic Reforms Interstate commerce: trade or business that crosses state lines. The Constitution gives the Federal government the right to regulate interstate commerce. Interstate Commerce Act (1887): It forbade practices such as pools and rebates, and said that shipping rates had to be fair and just. Pool: joint action of rival companies to avoid competition Rebate: partial refund of money given to valued customers (even though they gave back money, they gained a steady source of business [i.e. Rockefeller]) Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC): organization established to oversee the railroads.
The 16 th Amendment: The Graduated Income Tax Congress has the right to tax a person s income Graduated Income Tax: An income tax which rises in steps with the amount of money you make: The more you make, the more you are taxed. The less you make, the less you are taxed.
Gilded Age Politics = Corruption THE PROBLEMS Political machines ran the citiestook advantage of immigrants by providing for their needs in exchange for votes Spoils System: the practice of rewarding political supporters with jobs. Also known as patronage. THE SOLUTION Civil Service Commission: federal jobs are given out based on merit (ability), not politics. Candidates must take a test to demonstrate skill or knowledge for a position first.
Increasing the Federal Government s Role in the Economy Federal Reserve Act (1913): Established the Federal Reserve System, an organization that controls the supply of money to the US and regulates federal interest rates Federal Trade Commission (FTC): a watchdog agency that investigates companies to ensure they are not using unfair business practices to eliminate competition
Political Reform: The Problems Ordinary people did not have a say in government Laws benefited big businessmen and did not protect the average person Laissez faire economics allowed big business to control the government Government corruption: the spoils system regarded unqualified people with government jobs, tax money was used to pay salaries
Political Reform: The Solutions- Empowering THE VOTER Primary elections: the people elect candidates Initiative: the people propose bills to become laws Referendum: the people can vote directly on bills Recall: the people can remove an elected official from office Civil Service Commission: people must prove they are qualified for a job 17 th Amendment: Direct election of senators by the people
SOCIAL REFORM WAS NEEDED Crowded cities No garbage disposal or clean water Dangerous neighborhoods Tenements- unsafe, unsanitary Workplace dangers Child labor Women s rights
JACOB RIIS Photojournalism- How the Other Half Lives Exposed the living conditions in tenements Lead to building codes, zoning laws, landlord requirements, clean water efforts for cities
LINCOLN STEFFENS AND IDA TARBELL Muckrakers- journalists who uncovered problems in society to draw attention to them Both used magazines to reach wider audiences Lincoln Steffens: The Shame of the Citiesexposed political corruption in cities Ida Tarbell: The History of Standard Oil- exposed corrupt and cutthroat business tactics used by monopolies
UPTON SINCLAIR- THE JUNGLE Revealed disgusting conditions in meatpacking plants: Rats, poison, spoiled meat, mold, dirt. Meatpackers would dye meat to look fresh and mix it with spoiled ingredients Lead to the Pure Food and Drug Act- a consumer protection law that required the proper labeling of food and drugs. Prevented the manufacture, sale, or transportation of poisonous or dangerous foods, drugs and liquors.
Thomas Nast Political cartoonist- used art and satire to expose political dirt Satire: the use of humor, irony, exaggeration to prove a point Created the familiar donkey for Democrats, elephant for Republicans, and Uncle Sam Went after Boss Tweed and the Tammany Ring
Carrie Nation Fought for temperance- the prohibition (banning) of alcohol Arrested 30+ times, smashed up bars with a a hatchet Member of the Women s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU): Focused on health and hygiene, prison reform, temperance, other reforms Helped to pass the 18 th Amendment- Prohibitionbanning alcohol in the U.S.
Jane Addams and Lillian Wald Settlement houses- community centers that offered services to the poor: Cooking, hygiene, English, government, sewing, reading, sports and music How might the efforts of these settlement houses be viewed as forced assimilation? Jane Addams: Hull House in Chicago (1889). Won a Nobel Prize for her work Lillian Wald: Henry Street Settlement, Lower East Side NYC (1893)
The Fight for Civil Rights W.E.B. DuBois- African American activist who wanted equality for all- helped to establish the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) ADL: Anti-Defamation League- fought to end discrimination against Jews and to end Anti- Semitism
Worker s Rights Florence Kelley- fought to end child labor and establish laws to limit children in the workplace Mother Jones- worked with the Knights of Labor to fight for worker s rights (especially miners)
Women s Suffrage Suffrage: the right to vote Suffragist: Someone who fights for the right to vote Suffragette: term used in England to describe someone who fights for the right to vote
Women s Suffrage Not a new battle- women had been demanding the right to vote for generations Seneca Falls Convention (1848) Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony founded the National Woman Suffrage Association, calling for a Constitutional amendment for the right to vote American Woman Suffrage Association focused on earning the right to vote one state at a time Eventually they merge and become the National American Women s Suffrage Association (NAWSA), led by Carrie Chapman Catt
A New Generation of Suffragists Alice Paul: spent time in England and witnessed the more militant tactics of the British suffragettes; believed those tactics would be more successful in the U.S. Pickets, marches, protests, hunger strikes 1916: Founds the National Woman s Party, a singleplatform political party: get women the right to vote
NWP Focuses on President Wilson
The 19th Amendment- Women s Suffrage The 19th Amendment (1919) granted women the right to vote. Ratified in 1920, just in time for a presidential election
Presidents of the Progressive Era Teddy Roosevelt Former Rough Rider (Calvary unit of the Spanish-American War) Former Governor of NY Unlikely president: was added to McKinley s reelection ticket in 1900 by political machines; McKinley is assassinated in 1901
Teddy s Square Deal Conservation- protect natural resources, set aside millions of acres of land for federal parks and preserves Trustbusting- break up bad trusts Consumer Protection- pass laws to protect people from being hurt by businesses (Pure Food and Drug Act) Foreign Policy (coming soon!)
Presidents of the Progressive Era William Howard Taft- 1908 Former Secretary of War Opposite of Roosevelt: quiet, cautious, didn t want power Supported most progressive efforts, like trustbusting and the graduated income tax, but still lost the support of progressives
Election of 1912 Roosevelt decides to run for re-election against Taft for the Republican nomination: T.R. had more public support, but Taft had the support of the Republican party leaders = vote was split, the nomination went to Taft T.R. s supporters stormed out of the convention and formed a third party, the Progressive Party (nicknamed the Bull Moose Party), and nominated Roosevelt. I feel as strong as a bull moose The Democrats put forward a reform-minded New Jersey governor, Woodrow Wilson.
Presidents of the Progressive Era Woodrow Wilson- Democratic nominee. Very progressive, former Governor of New Jersey Together, Taft and Roosevelt had more votes than Wilson, but because the Republicans split their vote, Wilson won the election of 1912. Wilson s New Freedom: Wilson s program for economic reform Several of the economic reforms of this era were passed under Wilson s presidency: Federal Reserve Act, FTC, Clayton Anti-Trust Act, etc Progressive Era basically ends with the U.S. entering WWI- focus shifts to winning the wa
THE LEGACY OF PROGRESSIVISM WHAT IT DID: Increased government intervention in economic, social and political issues WHAT IT DIDN T DO Create equality for all: Discrimination still existed, inequality still existed, specially for African Americans and other minority groups