The Age of Progressivism: From Roosevelt to Wilson

1. 23 From Roosevelt to Wilson in the Age of Progressivism1900–1920

2. The Troubles of William Howard Taft A 1910 Puck cartoon shows Taft snarled in the intricacies of office as his disappointed mentor looks on.

3. From Roosevelt to Wilson in the Age of Progressivism1900 – 1920 • The Spirit of Progressivism • Reform in the Cities and States • The Republican Roosevelt • Roosevelt Progressivism at Its Height • The Ordeal of William Howard Taft • Woodrow Wilson’s New Freedom

4. The Republicans Split • Fight between Taft and Roosevelt for 1912 Republican presidential nomination • Taft won; Roosevelt formed Progressive or “Bull Moose” party to unseat him • Battle between Taft, Roosevelt outlined nation’s fears over urban-industrial growth • Currents of progressive reform

5. Conservationist as Hunter Teddy Roosevelt, with his hunting party in Africa, poses with one of the nearly three hundred animals he and his group took down. As president, Roosevelt had supported measures protecting wildlife in the United States, including designating Pelican Island, Florida, as the nation’s first wildlife refuge.

6. The Spirit of Progressivism

7. The Spirit of Progressivism • Progressivism not a coherent movement

8. The Spirit of Progressivism (cont’d) • Shared values • Concern about effects of industrialization • Optimistic about human nature and potential for progress • Willing to intervene in others lives, either private charity or government • Sense of evangelical Protestant duty and faith in the benefits of science • Commitment to improve all aspects of American life

9. The Rise of the Professions • Professions bulwarks of Progressivism • Law • Medicine • Business • Education • Social work • Professionalism strengthened through entrance exams, national associations

10. The Social-Justice Movement • Reformers forsook individualized reform to address larger structural problems • Applied scientific methods to social reform • Social work became a profession

11. The Purity Crusade • Crusade against vice • 1911: Membership in Women’s Christian Temperance Union hit 250,000 • 1916: 19 states prohibit alcohol • 1920: 18th Amendment prohibits alcohol

12. Woman Suffrage, Woman’s Rights • Women filled Progressive ranks • National Conference of Social Work • General Federation of Women’s Clubs • 1890: National American Woman Suffrage Association formed

13. Progressivism in Action An Infant Welfare Society nurse treats the baby of an immigrant family in Chicago. Medical discoveries and improvements in the quality of medical education fostered an interest in public health work among the social-justice reformers.

14. Woman Suffrage, Woman’s Rights (cont’d) • 1920: 19th Amendment passed • Suffrage seen as empowering women to benefit the disadvantaged

15. Woman Suffrage, Woman’s Rights (cont’d) • Politically active women push reforms of social justice movement • African American women form National Association of Colored Women • Susan B. Anthony: American Woman Suffrage Association • National Woman Suffrage Association pickets White House

16. A Ferment of Ideas:Challenging the Status Quo • Pragmatists: measure value of ideas by actions they inspire • Dewey: Education should stress personal growth, free inquiry, creativity • Judge Lindsey: “Sociological Jurisprudence”

17. Map 23.1 Woman Suffrage Before 1920 State-by-state gains in woman suffrage were mainly limited to the Far West and were agonizingly slow in the early twentieth century.

18. A Ferment of Ideas: Challenging the Status Quo (cont’d) • Eugene V. Debs forms Social Democratic Party • 1912: Socialist presidential candidate Eugene Debs polls over 900,000 votes

19. Votes for Women Woman suffrage was a key element in the social-justice movement. Without the right to vote, women working for reform had little power to influence elected officials to support their endeavors.

20. Reform in the Cities and States

21. Reform in the Cities and States • Progressives wanted government to follow the public will • Reform government • Reorganize for efficiency, effectiveness • New agencies address particular social ills • Posts staffed with experts • Government power extended at all levels

22. Figure 23.1 Voter Participation in Presidential Elections, 1876–1920

23. Interest Groups and the Decline of Popular Politics • Decline in voter participation • 77% from 1876–1900 • 65% from 1900–1916 • 52% in the 1920s • remained near 52% through 20th century • Interest groups got favorable legislation through lobbying

24. Reform in the Cities • Urban reform leagues formed professional, nonpolitical civil service • Appointed commissioners replaced elected officials in many cities

25. Reform in the Cities (cont’d) • City manager idea spread • Reform mayors • Tom Johnson of Cleveland • "Golden Rule" Jones of Toledo

26. Action in the States • State regulatory commissions created to investigate business conduct • Initiative, referendum, and recall created • 1913: 17th Amendment provided for direct election of U.S. senators

27. Action in the States (cont’d) • Robert La Follette of Wisconsin, developed “Wisconsin Idea”: • Called the “laboratory of democracy” • Focus of progressivism shifts to Washington

28. The Republican Roosevelt

29. The Republican Roosevelt • Often defied convention • Brought an exuberance to the presidency • Surrounded himself with able associates

30. Busting the Trusts • 1902: Wave of trust-busting led by suit against Northern Securities Company • 1904: Northern Securities dissolved

31. Busting the Trusts (cont’d) • Roosevelt reputed a "trust-buster" • Comparatively few antitrust cases under Roosevelt, Taft did almost twice as many in half the time

32. Trust-Buster A cartoon illustrating Theodore Roosevelt’s promise to break up only those “bad trusts” that were hurtful to the general welfare. Despite his reputation as a “trustbuster,” Roosevelt dissolved relatively few trusts.

33. "Square Deal" in the Coalfields • 1902: United Mine Workers strike in Pennsylvania threatened U.S. economy • U.M.W., companies to White House • Roosevelt won company concessions by threatening military seizure of mines • Roosevelt acted as broker of interests

34. Roosevelt Progressivism at its Height

35. Roosevelt Progressivism at Its Height • 1904—A four-way election • Republican—Theodore Roosevelt • Democrat—Alton B. Parker • Socialist—Eugene V. Debs • Prohibition—Silas C. Swallow • Roosevelt won 57% of popular vote, 336 electoral votes

36. Regulating the Railroads • 1903: Elkins Act prohibited railroad rebates, strengthened Interstate Commerce Commission • Widespread popular demand for further railroad regulation after Roosevelt’s reelection

37. Regulating the Railroads (cont’d) • 1906: Hepburn Act further strengthened Interstate Commerce Commission • Membership from five to seven • May fix reasonable maximum rates • Jurisdiction broadened to include oil pipeline, express, sleeping car companies

38. TABLE 23.1 The Election of 1904

39. Cleaning Up Food and Drugs • Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (1906) prompted federal investigation of meatpacking industry • 1906: Meat Inspection Act • Sets rules for sanitary meatpacking • Requires government inspection of meat products

40. Cleaning Up Food and Drugs (cont’d) • Samuel Hopkins Adams exposed dangers of patent medicines • 1906: Pure Food and Drug Act • Required manufacturers to list certain ingredients • Banned manufacture and sale of adulterated drugs

41. Conserving the Land • First comprehensive national conservation policy • Roosevelt worked with Gifford Pinchot, chief of Forest Service • Policy defined “conservation” as wise use of natural resources • Quadrupled acreage under federal protection

42. Map 23.2 National Parks and Forests During the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, who considered conservation his most important domestic achievement, millions of acres of land were set aside for national parks and forests.

43. Conserving the Land (cont’d) • Roosevelt’s challenge • Attacked “malefactors of great wealth” • Criticized conservatism of federal courts • Agitated for pro-labor legislation

44. TABLE 23.2 The Election of 1908

45. Conserving the Land (cont’d) • Popular response • Business leaders blamed for financial panic • Overwhelming majority support

46. The Ordeal of William Howard Taft

47. The Ordeal of William Howard Taft • Taft: Abled administrator, poor president • Conservative Republicans resurged • Taft lost support of Progressives

48. Party Insurgency • Tariff split Republicans • Progressives: high tariff favored trusts • Conservatives: high tariff protected business • 1909 Payne-Aldrich Act provoked Progressives to break with Taft

49. The Ballinger-Pinchot Affair • Gifford Pinchot leading conservationist, Roosevelt appointee • Pinchot accused Interior Secretary Richard Ballinger of selling public lands to friends • Taft fired Pinchot • Progressives antagonized

50. Taft Alienates the Progressives • 1910: Taft successfully pushed Mann-Elkins Act to strengthen ICC • Empowers ICC to fix railroad rates • Progressive Republicans attacked Taft’s plan of a Commerce Court to hear ICC appeals • Progressives obstructed Taft’s negotiations