Wilhite
U. S. History
Progressive Era
The Origins of Progressivism
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New Reform Ideas
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II.
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America was undergoing great change at the turn of the 20 Century
 76 million people lived in U.S. in 1900
 Telephones
 1900- 677,000
 1915- 6 million
 1903 Wright Brothers/first flight/lasted 12 seconds
 electricity had entered homes and factories
 Life Expectancy
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1901- 49 years
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1920- 56 years
 from 1900- 1914 the number of high schools doubled
 the number of students increased 2 1/2 times
 1899-1914 - 76% increase in production of manufactured goods
 Automobiles
 1900- 4,000
 1917- 5 million
Progressive Era
during the period a variety of reformers worked to make progress in society
 not all people agreed on goals or methods
unlike Populism, the Progressive movement was a predominately urban, middle-class movement
progressivism changed the way people viewed the role of the government
the ideology of progressivism mixed a liberal concern for the poor with a conservative wish to control
social disorder
journalist and writers helped provide the catalyst for the progressive movement
 Henry George -1879 Progress and Poverty advocated a single land tax
 Edward Bellamy-1888 Looking Backward advocated nationalizing industry
in reaction to Henry George’s ideas single tax clubs sprang up all over the U.S.
 in 1894 club member from OH, MN, and PA. migrated to Fairhope, AL and formed a single tax
colony
Socialism- favors public or government control of property and income
 1901 Socialist Party of America
 by 1912 they had won over 1000 municipal elections
labor leaders wanted to reduce working hours and get better wages and working conditions
 business leaders used injunctions against unions to prevent strikes
municipal reformers wanted a civil service system for city employees and home rule
 Alabama note: Alabama cities have only limited home rule now
The Muckrakers
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derisive term used by Teddy Roosevelt to describe reformers (from Pilgrim’s Progress)
 writers who informed the public about the abuses of business
 Roosevelt's main criticism of the muckrakers was that they were better at exposing problems than
at offering solutions
Famous Muckrakers
 Upton Sinclair
 wrote about the meat industry in The Jungle
 The Jungle helped lead to passage of legislation requiring Federal inspection of meat
 Meat Inspection Act of 1906
 Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906
 halted the sale of contaminated foods and medicines and called for truth in labeling
Jungle excerpt:
It was stuff such as this that had made the embalmed beef that had killed several times as many
U.S. soldiers as all the bullets of the Spaniards [in the Spanish American War]
 Ida Tarbell
 wrote of the predatory practices of John D Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust
 Jacob Riis
 How the Other Half Lives
 described poverty, disease, and crime that afflicted immigrant neighborhoods in New York City
 Lincoln Steffens
 in his series of articles entitled "The Shame of the Cities“ exposed the corrupt alliance
between big business and municipal government in St. Louis
III.
The Goals of the Progressives
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Progressive thought government should play a larger role in regulating economic activity
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 industrialization in the late 19 century was largely unregulated
most Progressives wanted the government to intervene to stop unfair business practices
 opposed government control of business except for essential services (water electricity, sanitation
etc.)
 mechanization in in industry contributed to what some perceived has a dehumanizing of
workers
 employers felt little responsibility toward their workers
 settlement houses and churches served the community and organizations like the YMCA
and the Salvation Army took on service roles to help the poor
 Jane Addams opened Hull House to supply services to urban poor, help her neighbors, and to
create meaningful work opportunities for educated women
Florence Kelly worked to end child labor and improve working conditions for women
Progressives believed that government should take more responsibility for human welfare and
should develop more social welfare programs
some reformers felt that the answer to society’s problems was personal behavior
proposed such reforms as prohibition
groups wanting to ban alcohol included the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)
Progressive Legislation
I. Urban Reforms
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progressives supported reforms that attacked political machines and bosses
 most urban working people opposed the actions of the progressives against the party machines
because the machines were a source of jobs and services
progressives supported city takeover of utilities
 by 1915 two out of three cities have some form of city owned utilities
cities supported social welfare programs
State Reforms
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an important political aim of the Progressive movement was to stimulate democratic reforms such as
the initiative, the referendum, and recall
 the initiative, referendum, recall, and direct primary are all intended to increase citizens' control
over state and local governments
primary elections allow voters to select nominees for upcoming elections
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the 17 Amendment provided for the direct election of Senators
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 before the 17 Amendment, Senators were chosen by state legislatures
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III.
Robert La Follette was elected governor of Wisconsin in 1900
 because of his unwillingness to compromise on principle, he earned the nickname "Fighting Bob"
 employed the academic staff of the University of Wisconsin to draft bills and administer the laws
that he introduced
 these reforms became known as the Wisconsin Idea
 The Wisconsin Idea set up a state railroad commission, established the nation’s first state
income tax, placed legal limits on lobbying
John Dewey's theories on "progressive education" advocated:
1. children learn best by doing
2. school's developing a student's social outlook
3. rote memorization was an ineffective way of earning
4. students should be encouraged to work on group projects
as a result of the increasing demands for reform in medicine by the progressives, the medical
profession established the American Medical Association, to represent the field as a whole
March 25, 1911 fire broke out on the eighth floor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company
 many of the doors were locked, preventing escape
 146 people died
 reformers asked the city to appoint fire inspectors, to make fire drills mandatory, and to unlock fire
exits
 the Triangle Shirtwaist fire showed the need for safer work conditions
 by 1920, all but five states had taken steps to make it easier for workers to collect payment for
workplace accidents
limiting working hours became an important progressive issue
 in Holden v. Hardy (1898), the Supreme Court ruled states [Utah] may limit the number of hours
workers are allowed to work in hazardous industries
 Lochner v. New York (1905) Supreme Court struck down a law setting maximum hours for bakers
 Muller v. Oregon (1908), the Supreme Court upheld an Oregon law that limited women laundry
workers to 10 hours a day
Federal Reforms
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at 1901 Pan Am. Exhibition President William McKinley was shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz
 McKinley died and his vice-president Theodore Roosevelt (TR) became the President
"Let the watchwords of all our people be the old familiar watchwords of honesty,
decency, fair-dealing, and commonsense."... "We must treat each man on his worth
and merits as a man. We must see that each is given a square deal, because he is
entitled to no more and should receive no less. The welfare of each of us is
dependent fundamentally upon the welfare of all of us." New York State Fair,
Syracuse, September 7, 1903
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 Roosevelt saw the Presidency as a “bully pulpit” from which he could preach his ideas
Theodore Roosevelt spoke of the “criminal rich” and wanted to be known as a “trust buster”
 Roosevelt was not anti-business
 he did not want to end all trusts
 thought good trusts should be tolerated while bad trusts are prevented from manipulating markets
 1890 Sherman antitrust act was passed but not used much until Teddy Roosevelt used it against
trusts and holding companies
the Hepburn Act (1906) strengthened the authority of the Interstate Commerce Commission by
giving it the power to set maximum rates that railroads could charge
Roosevelt helped create the U.S. Forestry Service and enlarge the national park system
 Gifford Pinchot made director of U.S. Forestry Service
 with respect to government-controlled public lands, Roosevelt generally favored conservation with
carefully managed development
several new amendments were added to the constitution during the Progressive Era
 Sixteenth Amendment established income tax
 until 1913 the government used tariffs for its income
 in 1862, in order to support the Civil War effort, Congress had enacted the first income
tax
 income tax was abolished in 1872
 a flat rate Federal income tax was enacted in 1894
 1895 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional
 Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co (1895)
 violated Article I, Sections 2 and 9 of the Constitution
 progressives believed tariffs drove up prices for the working poor
 progressive income tax is based on the idea that taxpayers with larger incomes should be
taxed at a higher rate
 Seventeenth Amendment provided for the direct election of Senators
 Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the sale or possession of alcoholic beverages
 Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote
Progressive Presidents
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Taft's Presidency
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Election of 1908
 Roosevelt decided not to run for re-election
 hand-picked his Secretary of War, William Howard Taft to be the next Republican presidential
nominee
 Democrats chose William Jennings Bryan
 Taft won
Taft pursued 90 antitrust cases and supported many other reforms
Taft angered progressives by not reducing tariffs
Ballinger-Pinchot affair angered conservationists
 1910,Taft’s Secretary of the Interior (Richard Ballinger) allowed several businessmen to obtain
resource rich government land in Alaska
 Forestry Service head Gifford Pinchot protested the sale and Taft fired him
Taft saw job not as “bully pulpit” but as an administrative job
Taft had a strong record on progressive legislation but he failed to win progressive support
The Election of 1912
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in 1912 Taft and Teddy Roosevelt fought for the Republican nomination
 Taft won
Teddy Roosevelt - angry that he did not get the Republican nomination - formed his own party that
championed progressive causes
 the Progressive Party took the bull moose as its symbol and is also known as the "Bull Moose"
Party
 Roosevelt's platform called for federal regulation of business, workplace protection for women
and children, voter reforms and income and inheritance taxes
 the Progressive Party's vice-presidential candidate was Hiram Johnson
 as the governor of California, Hiram Johnson was a leader in establishing workmen's
compensation laws
The first casualty when war comes is truth. ~Hiram Johnson
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III.
the election of 1912 was a four way race:
 William Howard Taft -Republican
 Woodrow Wilson -Democrat
 Theodore Roosevelt -Progressive Party
 Eugene V. Debs- SocialistWilson won in 1912 with 42% of the vote
 the Republican vote was split between Taft and Roosevelt
 the election of 1912 weakened the progressive wing of the Republican party for many years
 after his Presidency Taft served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
Wilson's Policies as President
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Woodrow Wilson's "New Freedom" and Theodore Roosevelt's "New Nationalism" were similar in that
both expanded the government's role in regulating businesses and business monopolies
1913, Congress created the federal reserve to regulate the banking system, interest rates, and the
amount of money in circulation
 created a new currency, the federal reserve note1914 Clayton Antitrust Act explicitly legalized
strikes and peaceful picketing
1914 Congress created the Federal Trade Commission
 the FTC was formed to serve as a “watchdog” agency to end unfair business practices
 FTC protects consumers from business fraud
Wilson appointed Louis D. Brandeis to the Supreme Court
Wilson won a second term (1916) by promising to keep the U.S. out of the War in Europe
Child Labor Act of 1916
 forbade the transportation among states of products of factories, shops or canneries employing
children under 14 years of age
 declared unconstitutional in Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918)
IV. The Limits of Progressivism
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mainly urban reforms
little progress in limiting the imperialist policies of the U.S. abroad
 many progressives supported imperialism
little attention was given to correcting racial injustice
Addendum
I.
Post Reconstruction Discrimination
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many southern communities were concerned that blacks would gain too much political power by
being allowed to vote
in the 1890s, states used several tactics to deny blacks the right to vote
 some states required voters to own property and pay a poll tax
 literacy tests required voters be able to read
 grandfather clauses exempted men from voting restrictions if their grandfather had voted before
January 1, 1867
many states mandated segregation of the races
 segregation laws were known as "Jim Crow" laws
 de jurie segregation - by law, legally mandated separation of races
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 de facto segregation - by fact or circumstance, occurs on its own
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
 Herman Plessy argued his right to equal protection of the laws was violated by a Louisiana law
segregating railroad cars
 the Court said that the Fourteenth Amendment was "not intended to give Negroes social equality
but only political and civil equality
 established "separate but equal" doctrine
African Americans Resist Discrimination
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Bishop Henry M. Turner of the African Methodist Episcopal Church advocated black pride and
emigration to Africa
Booker T. Washington urged blacks to temporarily put aside their desire for political equality and
focus instead on economic security
 Washington outlined his ideas at the Atlanta Exposition in 1905
 became known as the Atlanta Compromise
W.E.B. Du Bois rejected Washington's ideas
 believed blacks must work for social and political equality
 in 1905, helped organize conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario to discuss racial progress
 this began the Niagara Movement
 called for:
 full civil liberties
 and end to racial discrimination
 recognition of human brotherhood
1909, Mary White Ovington, a white social worker, helped organize a nation conference on the
"Negro Question"
 from this conference the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
originated
 by 1914, the NAACP had 50 branches and 6,000 members
Suffrage at Last
I.
Susan B. Anthony
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Suffrage at the Turn of the Century
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Susan B. Anthony was from a Quaker family
 before the Civil War she worked for the abolition of slavery
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 after the Civil War, she demanded that women be given the same rights as blacks under the 14
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and 15 Amendments
 she became a well-known leader of the women's suffrage movement
in 1872 Susan B. Anthony led a group of women to the polls to vote and was arrested for her act of
civil disobedience
in 1890 a group of women suffragettes including leaders like Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Cady
Stanton, and Lucy Stone were joined by younger members to form the National American Woman
Suffrage Association (NAWSA)
NAWSA strategy:
1. get individual states to let women vote
2. get a Constitutional Amendment to allow women to vote
1869, Myra Bradwell of Chicago was denied a state license to practice law
in Bradwell v. Illinois (1873) the Supreme Court upheld the denial saying “wide difference in the
respective spheres and destinies of man woman”
Suffragist Strategies
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Carrie Chapman Catt replaced Anthony as head of the NAWSA in 1900
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a split developed in the movement
 suffragist leader Alice Paul formed the Congressional Union (CU)
 the CU wanted to be more militant and aggressive
 CU members went to jail
 NAWSA member condemned the CU tactics
IV. The Final Victory for Suffrage
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World War I helped break down the different spheres of men and women as women filled in for men who
had gone to war
 the war helped led to the passage of new amendments
 18th Amendment prohibited the sale or possession of alcoholic beverages
 liquor interest lost reason to fight women’s suffrage
 19th amendment gave women the right to vote
1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment and it became law
 reform in the United States has utilized a variety of methods to achieve many goals
 many reform movements have led to long-lasting changes in society