The Gilded Age and the
Progressive Movement
I. Historical Definitions
A. The Gilded Age:
a time period between
the Civil War and the
2nd Industrial
Revolution where
American society
seemed prosperous on
the outside, but was
corrupt and ugly on
the inside.
B. Progressivism : a
movement to improve
society by addressing
the social and political
problems caused by
rapid industrial
expansion and urban
growth.
II. Gilded Age Problems
A. Crime: Few laws to keep order
B. Sanitation: diseases and health problems spread
easily
C. Housing: little regulation; landlords not required
to fix buildings; crowded and unsafe tenements
(low income apartments)
D. Safety: Few cities had organized
police or fire departments; few laws
requiring safety features in buildings.
E. Labor: Child labor, few laws
regulating business
F. Politics / Political Machines:
powerful organizations that used
illegal methods to control
government and grow rich from it.
1.Bosses: political leaders who controlled
elections through bribery and payoffs
2.Spoils System: awarding jobs to loyal machine
members
3.Tactics: offering immigrants both jobs and
social mobility; charity work for the poor
4. Example: New York City’s political machine,
Tammany Hall, was led by Boss William
Marcy Tweed
Tammany Hall's William "Boss" Tweed, as portrayed by 19th
century political cartoonist Thomas Nast
III. Progressive Solutions
A. Police and firefighting systems set up in
many urban areas
B. Urban Organizations discusses local and
national issues
C. African American groups were a political
force (esp. community churches)
D. Women’s Groups were a
social force
1. Female Social Work
became a profession for
upper class women -- Jane
Addams and Ellen Gates
Starr
2. Many formed settlement
houses to aid immigrant
families – Hull House
(1889)
Jane Addams encouraged people to take responsibility for
the less fortunate in Chicago and founded Hull House.
E. Reforms in Journalism and the Arts
1. Muckrakers : Journalists who called for
reform by writing about corruption in
business and politics
2. Realism : writing style that focused
on more accurate images of American
society.
F. Labor Unions
1. Holding Companies are created to
control big business
2. States developed labor departments to
regulate the workplace
G. Reform at the National Level
1. Environmental movement to create National
parks
2. Children’s Bureau Established
3. Four Progressive Amendments Passed
16th Amendment  government has the power to collect income
taxes to help pay for the growing government programs
17th Amendment  there is now a direct election of Senators; this
put politics more directly in the hands of the people.
18th Amendment  prohibited the making, selling, and
transportation of alcohol. (later repealed by the 21st Amendment)
19th Amendment  women gain the vote
IV. The Limits of Progressivism
A. African Americans and their problems
were often ignored.
B.Problems of immigrants and small
farmers were rarely addressed
C.Many progressives supported imperialism
and the “civilizing” of undeveloped
nations – which would eventually lead to
the Spanish American War.