Chpt 4 Progressive Era

1. Chpt 4 Progressive Era

2. Industrialization, urbanization and immigration had brought many benefits to the US • But they also created many social problems • What problems would they create? • The idea of Progressivism emerged • Progressives believed that new ideas, and honest, efficient government could bring about social justice

3. Origins of Progressivism… • Progressives came from all walks of life – wealthy, poor, all religions, all political parties, all areas of the nation • Many of the leaders came from the growing middle class • They wanted change that would fix the problems that industrialization and urbanization had caused • All levels of government were petitioned to pass laws to help the poor and disenfranchised

4. Progressivism was set up to get rid of corruption, make gov’t more responsive to the peoples needs, put a stop to big business

5. A Variety of Problems…. • Many wanted political reform • Women wanted the right to vote • Many want to stop corruption – shutting down political machines • Many lacked paved roads, safe drinking water, decent housing and adequate municipal services • Bribery and shady deals were rampant

6. Middle class Americans wanted Gov’t to “bust the trusts” – big business had created locked up markets and small businesses were not surviving • Complained that the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 was not strong enough to stop big business • Many for religious reasons wanted to bridge the gap between rich and poor – wanted change for factory workers and miners – wanted change for those living in city slums – wanted to help children, workers and consumers

7. Muckrakers…. • Socially conscientious journalists/writers dramatized the need for reform in magazines and newspapers • A muckrake is a tool used to clean manure out of an animals hooves – name coined by Teddy Roosevelt • What is the connection?

8. Lincoln Steffens… • Editor of McClure’s Magazine – know for uncovering social problems • 1903 Shame of the Cities was published – articles on political corruption • Exposed Philadelphia city officials in their scam with the electric company • Exposed corruption – bribery, buying votes, threats, intimidation

9. Jacob Riis… • Photographer for the NY Evening Sun – took pictures of the unsafe, crowded, rat infested tenement buildings from 1890 - 1903 • Published How the Other Half Lives – this book shocked the nation and led to many reforms

11. Ida Tarbell… • Wrote The History of Standard Oil - exposed John D. Rockefeller for using ruthless methods to get rid of his competitors, charging higher prices and reaping huge profits

12. Muckraking Novels… • The naturalist novel was developed – honestly portrayed human suffering and misery and the struggles of common people • Sister Carrie – written by Theodore Dreiser in 1900 – tells the story of a young girl from a small town who was drawn into the brutal world of Chicago and NYC

13. Upton Sinclair… • The Jungle exposed the despair of immigrants working in Chicago’s stockyards and meat packing plants – it also revealed the unsanitary conditions of that industry • http://www.powayusd.com/online/usonline/worddoc/jungle.htm Jungle Video w/ video quiz

14. Social Gospel Guides Reform… • Many felt that Christianity should be the basis for social reform. • Walter Rauschenbusch – Baptist minister – wanted to fix society with a blend of Christianity and reform. • Wrote Christianity and the Social Crisis – discussed what he called the “social gospel” – by following the Bible (charity & justice) – society would be the “kingdom of God”

15. Many Protestant leaders followed Rauschenbusch program • They pushed for the end of child labor and shorter workweeks • They also pushed for the federal gov’t to limit the power of corporations and trusts • Does this fit with the Progressive’s goals?

16. Settlement House Workers… • Settlement house = community center that provided social services for the poor • Childcare classes to young mothers, English classes to immigrant workers • Nursery schools and Kindergarten classes were set up • Theater, art and dance classes were set up for adults

17. Jane Addams… • 1889 Addams opened Hull House in Chicago • Hull House grew to include 13 buildings within a few years • Addams and Hull house became an inspiration to many college educated middle class women • By 1911 – 400 settlement houses in the US

18. Around 1900, child labor was often used in US factories and farms. At the turn of the century, nearly 1 million children under the age of 15 worked in US industries. Another million worked on farms. This led to abuses and serious safety issues. About a decade later, people began to protest for better child labor laws. • What are the child labor laws in your state today? Depending on their age, are children limited to certain kinds of jobs? Are the hours they can work each week limited Do you think that these laws are good? Write a clear paragraph explaining your answer.

19. Protecting Children… • Atty. Florence Kelley helped to convince the state of Illinois to ban child labor…soon other states followed suit • She worked to establish the National Child Labor Committee which lobbied the federal gov’t to set up the US Children’s Bureau in 1912 – this group studied any issue that affected children’s health and welfare • What modern day groups do the same?

20. 1916 Congress passed the Keatings-Owens Act which banned all child labor • 1918 – US Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional • 1938 would finally see the end of child labor for good

21. Education Reforms… • Many states passed laws that required children to attend school until a certain age • There were many heated debates about what and how a child should learn • Some wanted only work skills taught – others said literature and fine arts • Most believed that girls and boys should not learn the same things

22. John Dewey criticized US schools for having children memorize facts and not to think creatively • Dewey wanted schools to teach new subjects like history and geography as well as skills like cooking and carpentry • His ideas were discussed by many at that time but were not all adopted until many years later

23. Help for Industrial Workers… • Early 1900s – US had the highest rate of industrial accidents in the world • Long hours, poor ventilation, hazardous fumes & unsafe machinery • Yearly – 30,000 workers died on the job and over a half million were injured

24. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory… • March 1911 – NYC – 146 employees- mostly young Jewish women- were killed in a fire that ravaged the building • Doors were locked from the outside by management to prevent theft • Many jumped from windows to escape the fire – firefighters found skeletons hunched over sewing machines

26. Progressives were outraged – called for reforms • NYC passed laws to make workplaces safe – other states followed suit • Many states adopted workers compensation laws which set up funds to pay injured workers • Some states passed laws limiting the workday to 10 hours. • The Supreme Court however ruled that those laws were unconstitutional

27. Government Reforms… • The goals of the Progressive Party in reforming the government were… • To get rid of political bosses/political machines in the big cities, limit the control of powerful business interests, give the people more say in gov’t, make the gov’t more efficient and more effective

28. Reform Election Rules… • Traditionally party leaders picked candidates for state and local offices • Wisconsin Gov. Robert La Follette set up the direct primary – citizens vote to select nominees for upcoming elections • By 1916 all but 4 states had direct primaries • Progressives pushed for four more changes…

29. The Initiative… • This gave people the power to put a proposed new law directly on the ballot in the next election by collecting citizens signatures on a petition • This meant that voters themselves could pass laws rather then waiting for elected officials to act

30. The Referendum… • Allowed citizens to approve or reject laws passed by the legislature

31. The Recall… • This gave voters the power to remove a public official from office before their terms ended

32. 17th Amendment… • This amendment set the direct election of Senators by voters not state legislators

33. Robert La Follette… • Governor of Wisconsin – became a leader of the Progressive Party – “Fighting Bob” • Made many reforms in his state – Railroads were forced to charge lower fees and to pay higher taxes • Education was improved, factories were made safer, and the direct primary was adopted • Others called Wisconsin the “Laboratory of democracy”

34. Other Progressive leaders… • Hiram Johnson- Gov. of CA – shattered the Southern Pacific Railroads stranglehold of the state gov’t, set up the direct primary, initiative, referendum, & recall - he also fought for the careful use of natural resources such as water, forests and wildlife • Theodore Roosevelt of NY worked to develop a fair system for hiring state workers and to make some big companies pay taxes • Woodrow Wilson of NJ also reduced the railroads power and pushed for a direct primary law

35. Progressive Women… • Women wanted to be more than wives and mothers – wanted a bigger role in their communities • Education helped – women’s colleges prepared them for teaching and nursing • Some colleges trained women to become leaders in the reform movement • Middle class white women began to fight the problems they saw in society

36. Working Women… • Most women worked outside the home long hours in dangerous conditions – and then hand over their paychecks to their fathers, brothers, or husbands • Mostly factory jobs or domestics in households – immigrants, African Americans, and women from rural areas filled these positions with little to no education • Many were cheated and bullied by their employers • Without being able to vote – women had little chance to change their lives

37. Reformers Champion Women… • Laws were passed that limited the hours women could work – 10 hours/day • Supreme Court upheld the law saying that women as mothers could be treated differently than men – Progressive Reforms hailed this as a major victory • Later this rationale would also be used as the justification to pay women less money

38. NCL… • National Consumer League – formed by Florence Kelley – focused on lowering prices of consumer goods so women could run their homes more economically • The NCL gave special labels to healthy safe foods and urged women to buy them • It backed laws called for meatpacking inspections, make workplaces safer and make payments to the unemployed

39. Change for Family Life… • Reformers pushed for laws that helped women keep their families healthy and safe • Temperance Movement – WCTU Women’s Christian Temperance Union - 1870 – promoted the idea of never drinking alcohol – alcohol caused men to spend their money, neglect their families and abuse their wives • Led to the passage of the 18th amendment

40. Carrie Nation • Infamous WCTU member who went in to bars with her hatchet and smashed wooden bars and hacked open kegs of alcohol/beer.

41. Margaret Sanger knew that women’s lives would be healthier if they had fewer children/pregnancies • Opened the first birth-control clinic in 1916 • Sanger was arrested 8 times as a public nuisance • Eventually the gov’t allowed doctors to discuss family planning with their patients • 1921 Sanger founded the American Birth Control League – later became Planned Parenthood

42. African American Reformers… • Ida B. Wells – a black teacher – helped to set up the NACW – National Association of Colored Women – helped AA families strive for success and helped those that were less fortunate • With $ raised from educated black women – day care centers were established to protect and educate black children while their parents worked

43. Suffrage… • Suffrage – the right to vote – women argued that voting was the only way to ensure the health of their children, support education and a strong family life • Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton had been fighting for suffrage since the 1860s with small victories coming in Wyoming and Colorado

44. Catt Takes Charge… • Carrie Chapman Catt – lawyer and 1st female school superintendent - President of NAWSA • A charismatic speaker who urged women to join the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) • “Winning Plan” = Lobby Congress to pass a constitutional amendment for suffrage and use the referendum to get suffrage laws passed in individual states (NY, MI, OK)

45. “Society Plan” – recruit wealthy well-educated women to push for suffrage • She recruited women of all ranks and backgrounds – all of her recruits were called “suffragettes” • NAOWS – National Association Opposed to Women’s Suffrage worked in opposition because they believed that voting would take time from families and volunteerism that was so needed in the US at that time – eventually this group lost ground and faded away

47. Alice Paul – well educated Quaker – wanted radical tactics to win the right to vote • Nationals Women’s Party (NWP) used public protest marches – used picket signs outside the White House – many arrested – many went on hunger strikes • Many were shocked by NWP’s actions but the group itself made other groups look tame and helped them to be heard • NAWSA supported the US’s effort WWI – their actions made many legislators take note and support women’s suffrage

48. The 19th amendment became official in Aug. 1920 when Tennessee ratified the amendment by one vote • The right to vote “shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex” • The first election that all women were officially able to vote in was the Nov. 2, 1920 election of President Warren G. Harding

49. Progressive Contradictions… • While it supported women and white laborers – it did not fight as hard for immigrants and blacks • Most Progressives were white Anglo-Saxon Protestants who were hostile towards minorities • They wanted everyone in the US to follow the white middle-class way of life

50. Reform or Control? • Americanization efforts were made in settlement houses – how to speak English, how to dress, what to eat, how to celebrate holidays – more like WASPS – more likely to be loyal and moral citizens • Alcohol was a point of contention – alcohol with meals was customary in many European countries – drinking was immoral – support for the temperance movement grew because of prejudice against immigrants