The Progressive Era
1890-1920
The Origins of Progressivism
Problems with
industrialization
(unemployment, unsafe
working conditions, child
labor, political corruption,
etc.)
Many argued that
government had to
become more involved
Reformer individuals
wanted many social
welfare programs
Many reformers (aka
muckrakers) would
investigate issues of
concern and publicize
results to put pressure on
legislators at the local,
state, and national levels
Four Goals of Progressivism
Protecting Social Welfare (Social Gospel
Movement and Settlement House Movement)
Promoting Moral Improvement and Political
Reform (Prohibition and Voting Reform)
Creating Economic Reform (American Socialist
Party organized in 1901; anti-big business
policies)
Fostering Efficiency (in society and in the
workplace; led to lower worker days and better
management)
Local Reform Examples
Change corrupt city politics (“Political
Machine” corruption)
Natural Disaster Relief
Reform Mayors encouraged involvement
of everyone and enacted many socialist
ideas
State Reform Examples
Regulation (of the RRs,
mines, mills, telephone
co.s, and other large
businesses)
Reform Governors
(Robert M. La Follette of
WI)
Attacking Child Labor
State Labor Departments
and Laws (lower hours,
workers’ compensation,
benefits)
Reforming Elections
Initiative (a bill originated
by the people)
Referendum (a vote on the
initiative)
Recall (voters can remove
public officials from elected
positions through
requesting another vote
before the end of their
term)
Direct Election of Senators
(17th amendment - 1913)
National Reforms Examples
Under the Progressive Presidents
Theodore Roosevelt – Republican/Progressive
Party (1901-1909)
William Howard Taft – Republican (1909-1913)
Woodrow Wilson –Democrat (1913-1921)
Theodore Roosevelt
Background & personality
Square Deal
Health
1906 Meat Inspection Act
1906 Pure Food and Drug Act
Environment
Trust busting
Arbitration
RR regulation
Conservation
John Muir (Preservationist) v.
Gifford Pinchot (Conservationist)
1916 National Park Service
Civil Rights
Not a champion for civil rights
1909 NAACP formed
William Howard Taft
Background & personality
Taft v. Roosevelt in style
Progressives turn against
Taft and the Rep. Party
Splits
The election of 1912
Wilson’s (D) New Freedom
Taft’s (R) Conservatism
Roosevelt’s Progressivism
Eugene V. Debs’s
Socialism
Woodrow Wilson
Background & personality
Financial Reform
Clayton Antitrust Act 1914
Federal Trade Commission
(FTC)
Underwood Act 1913 to Lower
Tariff’s (cost of foreign goods)
Federal Income Tax
Federal Reserve System
Suffrage for Women with the
19th Amendment in 1920
Wilson’s Record on Civil
Rights
Women in Public Life
Victorian Era Expectations
Private v. Public Sphere
Before 1900’s, women were viewed in society as
Weak and fragile
Emotionally and mentally unstable
Motherly Saints
Their place was in the home
Sexually Pure
Incapable of making their own decisions
Women in Public Life Cont.
Demands of Women
During the Progressive
Era…
Career Choices
The Vote (aka suffrage)
Equal Pay for equal work
Control of property and
income
Equal access to education
An end to domestic
violence
Limits of Progressivism
Limited reforms for African American and other
minority groups
Most changes were observed in urban areas
WWI and rising international concerns thwarted
the continuation of progressive reforms on a
mass national scale.
Many unresolved progressive issues were,
however, addressed after the Great Depression
of the 1930’s under FDR’s New Deal