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Chapter 21

Chapter 21 . The Progressive Spirit of Reform. Political Corruption. Gilded Age: "What is the chief end of man?--to get rich. In what way?--dishonestly if we can; honestly if we must." -- Mark Twain-1871 During the "Gilded Age," every man was a potential Andrew Carnegie.

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Chapter 21

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  1. Chapter 21 The Progressive Spirit of Reform

  2. Political Corruption • Gilded Age: "What is the chief end of man?--to get rich. In what way?--dishonestly if we can; honestly if we must."-- Mark Twain-1871 During the "Gilded Age," every man was a potential Andrew Carnegie. • 90% of people were living below the poverty line • Many believed that government should help fix this inequality

  3. Political Corruption • Political machines: powerful organizations that used both legal and illegal methods to get their candidates into office • Stuffed ballot boxes • Paid people to vote a certain way • Bribed vote counters • Why? To control local government

  4. Tammany Hall • Rewarded supporters with jobs • Allowed illegal businesses to operate • Drew support from immigrants • Provided services to poor families

  5. Cleaning Up Political Corruption • American’s disliked the spoils system • Many employees were unqualified and untrained • Presidents Hayes, Garfield, and Arthur pushed for reforms – were largely unsuccessful • Why?

  6. Reforms • Progressives: People who worked to reform society in the late 1800s • Goals: eliminate causes of problems such as • Crime • Disease • Poverty • Provide Better working conditions • Education in poor neighborhoods • Muckrakers: raked up and exposed the muck, or filth, of society

  7. Reform Successes • Progressives started settlement houses • Hull House • City Planners • Safer building codes • Opened new public parks • Civil and sanitation engineers • Improved transportation • Addressed pollution and sanitation issues, such as waste disposal and clean water • Result: drop in death rates

  8. Education Reform • Improving education would lead to a better society • States passed laws requiring children to attend school • Started kindergarten programs • Improve education of medical professionals

  9. Government Reforms

  10. Robert M. La Follette • From Wisconsin • Leader of the reform movement • Decreased the power of political machines • Used university professors to and other experts to write new laws and work in state agencies • Made public information available on how politicians voted • His plan became a model for reforms in other states

  11. Reform Literature • Read pages 668 – 669 • Study guide 1

  12. Reforming the Workplace • Progressives and other reformers focused on improving conditions for American workers • Improve conditions for child laborers • Unions and reformers • Improve safety • Limit working hours

  13. Children • 1900: more than 1.75 million children under 15 worked in industry • Children as young as 7 provided cheap labor but brought home only small amounts of money • Reformers wanted labor laws to protect women and children

  14. Page 672

  15. Triangle Shirtwaist Fire • http://youtu.be/UdNYqBP_5q4 • http://youtu.be/TsUPj-mmI-8 On 24 April 2013, Rana Plaza, an eight-story commercial building, collapsed in Savar, a sub-district in the Greater Dhaka Area, the capital of Bangladesh. The search for the dead ended on 13 May with the death toll of 1,129.[4] Approximately 2,515 injured people were rescued from the building alive.[

  16. Reform Legislation • Children: • 1912 :first minimum wage law • Establish rates for child workers • Women: • Muller v. Oregon: Restricted women’s work hours women’s health was of public concern • Workers compensation laws: guaranteed a portion of lost wages to workers hurt on the job

  17. Unions and reformers take steps to improve safety and limit working hours

  18. Some businesses opposed workplace regulation • Economy should operate without government interference • Capitalism: system in which private businesses run most industries and competition determines the price of goods • Socialism: system in which the government owns and operates a country’s means of production • What do you think?

  19. Unions • Growth of unions. Membership grows from 800,000 in 1900 to 5 million by 1920 • American Federation of Labor (AFL): Samuel Gompers

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