Reform Movements in US History

1. Reform Movements in US History By: Hayden McCall

2. Anti-Slavery Movement • William Lloyd Garrison • published "The Liberator" in 1831 –an abolitionist pamphlet that called for immediate emancipation of all slaves • One of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society (1833) • The American Colonization Society • Wanted to return freed slaves to Africa (Liberia) • Led by middle class men & women, not supported by Garrison

3. Anti-Slavery Continued • Frederick Douglass • Escaped from his Maryland slave master • Was inspired by Garrison’s Liberator and published his own abolitionist newspaper called the North Star • Very intelligent - broke the mold that many whites had that slaves were inferior because they would not learn to function in society on the same level as whites could • Wrote & spoke about his life as a slave – left no gruesome details out

4. Anti-Slavery Continued • In 1845, 15 years after Garrison began publishing the Liberator, the Free Soil Party was created that opposed the allowance of slavery in westward territories • 14 years later, in 1859, John Brown led a raid at Harper’s Ferry, VA to free slaves (unfortunately, he is caught and killed) • *Lincoln elected in 1860* - southern states secede, start of Civil War • In the midst of the Civil War (1861-1865) Abraham Lincoln issues and Emancipation Proclamation for slaves in rebelling states • *1865: CONGRESS PASSES THE 13TH AMENDMENT BANNING SLAVERY!*

5. Industrial Reform • The Industrial Revolution • Starts in 1790 when Samuel Slater opened the 1st industrial mill • Introduction of new machines • Interchangeable parts introduced (Eli Whitney) • Introduction of wage labor = replaceable workers • Railroads across the country • Erie Canal & Steamboats • Increased ease in transporting messages and goods long distances

6. Industrial Reform • Cotton gin – created by Eli Whitney in 1793, it revolutionized the farming of cotton & revived the need for slaves in the South • Erie canal – completed in 1825, tied the rapidly expanding West to the old East and made trade much easier and faster

7. Industrial Reform • American System – Henry Clay was a large supporter of this reform system that had 3 key tenets • Tariffs to protect American business • A Bank of the United States • Federal $$ for internal improvements • Market Revolution – massive improvements in transportation and communication, change in industry with the Eli Whitney’s invention of interchangeable parts • business transitioned to more unskilled labor ex: one person makes 1 part over and over again • Rise in sectionalism as South has cotton, West has wheat, North has factories

8. Industrial Reform • As a result of the simple labor jobs, more unskilled immigrants were able to find work, and this sometimes created a nativist sentiment, as Americans felt that immigrants were stealing their jobs • Factories and mills were created that had poor conditions, thus Unions were created to speak for the average workers

9. Labor Groups • Commonwealth v. Hunt case (1842) established that trade unions are legal and that workers have a right to strike • TheKnights of Labor was created in 1869 • included all wage workers (skilled, semi skilled, unskilled) • included women and blacks • Samuel Gompers formed the American Federation of Labor in 1886 for • skilled workers • demanded higher wages/better conditions • The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) was formed in 1905 • Went against the AFL's refusal to welcome unskilled workers into their unions - industrial unions, membership for all! • Eugene V. Debs was one of the IWW founders, was also a leading socialist, organized the Pullman Strike

10. Labor – Strikes & Riots • Railroad Strikes of 1877 in W. Virginia because of pay cuts • Workers forced to return to work by federal troops sent by President Hayes • The Knights of Labor suffered a terrible loss in 1886 when workers gathered (lead by Terence Powderly) to strike for an 8 hour work day in Haymarket Square • someone threw a bomb into the crowd and many suffered injuries – made the Knights seem like anarchists • The Pullman Strike in 1894 • workers rebelled b/c wages were cut by 1/3, military intervention was necessary to keep mail delivery on track • Progress! Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938 makes it illegal to sell products made by children and also set a minimum wage

11. Labor Continued • The 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire that killed about 150 people underscored the demands for safer conditions that labor unions had been advocating for

12. Women – The Beginning & Groups • 1869 Seneca Falls Convention is held in NY - a group of men and women outlined the goals of the movement • Women's suffrage • Equal treatment of women and men • 1869 Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed the National Woman Suffrage Association • Anti-15th amendment & wanted an amendment for women's suffrage • The same year, Lucy Stone created the American Woman Suffrage Association • Pro-15th amendment & wanted amendments to be passed state-by-state for women's suffrage

13. Women’s Movement Gains Momentum • NWSA & AWSA merge to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association • Wanted amendments for suffrage to be passed state-by-state • 1913 - Seeing that state-by-state amendments are not realistic, Alice Paul and Lucy Burns form a radical group called the Congressional Union • Used methods of civil disobedience such as picketing outside the White House to gain the attention of the government • Demanded a federal amendment

14. A Success for Women! • *19TH AMENDMENT IS PASSED IN 1919!* • Guarantees women the right to vote

15. Civil Rights – The Beginning • Progressive Civil Rights • W.E.B Dubois – advocated for full & immediate social equality for African Americans in all aspects of life • Founded the NAACP in 1909 – wanted to use the judicial system to achieve equality • Booker T. Washington advocated for accommodation – hard work & education first, and civil rights will come with time • The 1954 landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education reversed the earlier decision in Plessyv. Ferguson that "separate but equal" was legal • Declared school segregation illegal

16. The Movement • 1955- Rosa Parks is put in jail for refusing to sit in the back of the bus in Montgomery, AL • the Montgomery Bus Boycott follows this, and the movement chalks up a win - bus segregation declared unconstitutional • 1957President Eisenhower sends in federal troops to allow 9 black children to attend the Little Rock High School • In 1960, college students in Greensboro, NC began sit-ins at Woolworth’s, where they refused to serve black patrons • fire, but the activists continued to spread their message across the south

17. The Movement - Continued • 1961- students begin to take part in the "Freedom Rides” • Black and white volunteers boarded buses in Washington, D.C and rode south to test if cities had effectively complied with the legislation that required them to integrate • students were harassed and buses were set on fire, but the activists continued to spread their message across the south • In 1963, the largest demonstration in the movement yet occured when about 200,000 activists march in Washington and gather at the Lincoln Memorial where MLK delivered his "I have a dream" speech

18. Progress! • 1964: the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is passed that declares discrimination based on race to be illegal! Woohoo! • 1964, the 24th amendment is passed that outlaws poll taxes - makes it much easier for blacks to vote • 1965, the Voting Rights Act provides federal protection to blacks attempting to exercise their right to vote • Much thanks to the Freedom Summer - students who came to the South to help register black voters NO discriminatory practices at the polls (such as literacy tests)

19. Photos from the Civil Rights Movement 1) Rosa Parks, 2) Freedom Schools 3) March on Washington

20. Social Reform thru Government • FDR’s New Deal • Works Progress Administration • Civilian Conservation Corps/Agriculture Adjustment Act • Tennessee Valley Authority • Social Security • Wagner Act – guarantees workers’ right to strike/bargain with bosses (aka a win for the unions!) • LBJ’sGreat Society • Medicare/Medicaid • Aid to education to overcome the War on Poverty

21. Big Businesses Reform • Sherman Anti-Trust Act • 1890 • Limits monopolies • Clayton Anti-Trust Act • 1914 • Enforces the Sherman Anti-Trust Act & adds some provisions • Unions don’t count as monopolies • Interstate Commerce Act • 1887 • An attempt to regulate the unfair practices of the railroads who were charging different business different prices • No price discrimination • Must publish shipping rates • Created the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate this

22. Social Reform • Students for a Democratic Society – protested the draft and the Vietnam War • Kent State shooting (protestors of the war shot down by the state’s National Guard) • Sparked colleges across the country to protest the war as well – sort of in the name of those who died

23. Social Reform • 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York's Greenwich Village transform the Gay movement • After having been raided many times, the patrons finally fight back against the police and cause a 3 day riot • 1st time that they stand up for themselves • Changes the movement from just a small # of activists to a more widespread group calling for equality for homosexuals • 1986 - homosexuality is removed from the list of mental disorders

24. Environmental & Food Reform • 1906 – the Pure Food and Drug Act was passed after Upton Sinclair revealed, in his book The Jungle, how unsanitary processed food in America was • Called for regulations of processed food to ensure that they meet some health standards • Today, the people in charge of this are the FDA – Food and Drug Administration • Nixon passed the Clear Air/Clean WaterAct in 1972 to eliminate toxins from water and try and put a stop to pollution after Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring reveals the negative effects of DDT to the environment and people

25. The End!