The Progressive Era: 1889-1919

1. The Progressive Era: 1889-1919 “When America moved into the 20th century with new business, technology, and interest in world events.”

2. Stats From the Past • In 1910 census, the U.S. had 92.5 million people. The life expectancy had gone from 46.3 years in 1900 to 48.4 years in 1919. • The average salary was $750 a year. A Model T automobile cost $450. The Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk. The radio was invented. • Basketball, Baseball, Football, and the Kentucky Derby were all introduced in U.S. • Toys: Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, & Teddy Bears are all invented in this era. Blue Laws were written to keep businesses closed and no sports to be played on Sundays.

3. The Progressive Movement • The Progressive Movement believed that the government was the best way to gain improvements for society. They believed that mankind could make progress in living. • Progressives wanted three things: fight poverty, break up monopolies, and increase voters’ influence in government.

4. The Progressive Movement • One example of Progressives in action was Upton Sinclair’s book: The Jungle. In this book, Sinclair described the horrific conditions of the meat-packing plants in Chicago. This led to Congress passing the Meat Inspection Act of 1907. Writers like Sinclair were called “Muckrakers”.

5. Changes in the Prison System • People like Rebecca Felton wrote in the AJC about the abuses of the convict lease program. • Chain gangs replaced them, so the prisoners still had to work, but now for the state. • In 1901, a federal penitentiary was built in Atlanta. • In 1915, Georgia became the 1st state to have a juvenile court system, where young offenders were tried and sentenced differently than adults.

6. Labor Unions • As big businesses grew, the workers organized into unions to get better wages. If they were not paid more, then all the workers would go on strike. • Georgians, as well as other southern states did not generally support unions. • Children often quit school to work in factories. For example, Mary Phagan earned 12 cents an hour and worked 66 hours a week in the National Pencil Factory in Atlanta (her boss was Leo Frank).

7. The Temperance Movement:(the prohibiting of making & selling of alcohol) • Women formed groups called the Women’s Christian Temperance Union & The Anti-Saloon League were formed. • Carrie Nation, a 6’ tall woman, would carry a hatchet into a saloon and destroy all the alcohol that she saw. She was arrested 30+ times and sold souvenir toy hatchets to help her pay her fines for the destroyed alcohol. • By 1881, 48 counties in Georgia had banned alcohol. They were considered “dry” counties. • By 1919, the 18th amendment was passed for the U.S. Constitution that banned alcohol in the entire United States.

8. Woman’s Suffrage Movement:“Fighting for the right to Vote” • Women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Rebecca Felton, Lucretia Mott, and Susan B. Anthony led protests to get the right to vote to women, including a march in Atlanta in 1915. “Suffragettes” finally saw the 19th Amendment of 1920 allow women the right to vote.. Ironically, Georgia was one of 5 states that did not vote for the amendment. 36 states did vote it into power. • Rebecca Felton said, “It is embarrassing to apologize for the ignorance and stupidity of (Georgia’s) state legislature!” • Did you know Georgia’s 1st woman mayor was Alice Strickland of Duluth in 1922?

9. Juliette Gordon Low • Juliette Low visited England in 1911 and saw the British Boy Scouts and their activities. When she got back to GA, she called a friend and said, “Come right over. I’ve got something for the girls of Savannah and all America and all the world and we’re going to start it tonight!” • So, on March 12, 1912, the 1stGirl Scout troop was started in Savannah.

10. Martha Berry • Martha Berry started a school on 28,000 acres in Rome, GA to educate rural children. It was first opened in 1901. It later became a full 4 year college in 1932. • She believed these children were Georgia’s future who just needed an opportunity.

11. Tom Watson: A Populist • A populist “leads the common people in their struggle against the elite”– Tom Watson was Georgia’s best known Populist. • The Farmer’s Alliance and labor unions joined together to form the Populist Party, also known as the People’s Party.

12. Tom Watson: A Populist • His “down-to-earth” style helped get him elected to the GA General Assembly in 1882, and to the U.S. Congress in 1890 as a Democrat. • In 1891, Watson joins the new Populist Party to fight for Georgia farmers: “Before I give up this fight, I will stay here ‘til the ants tote me out of the keyhole”

13. Tom Watson: A Populist • Watson only served one term, but he got the Rural Free Delivery (RFD) Bill passed which told the U.S. Postmaster to deliver the mail free to rural area farms. It led to the building of roads, bridges, and other items to get the mail delivered to those farms.

14. Tom Watson: A Populist • The Democratic party worked hard to defeat their former member, and Watson lost his re-election bid, even though he worked to get the African-American vote. He then turned to the newspaper business and started The Weekly Jeffersonian and Watson’s Jeffersonian. • In 1896, he was the Populist Party choice for Vice-President; in 1904, he was their choice for President. He lost both elections, and then returned to the Democratic Party.

15. Tom Watson: A Populist • When he re-joined the Democratic Party, he changed his views on civil rights. He now opposed more rights for African-Americans or Jewish citizens. • His newspapers carried harsh articles about Leo Frank during his murder trial (over Mary Phagan). • Watson used this new publicity to get elected to the U.S. Senate in 1920, but died 2 years later.

16. Leo Frank & the Murder of Mary Phagan • On April 26, 1913, 13 year old Mary Phagan stopped to pick up her paycheck on the way to the Confederate Memorial Day Parade with her friends. At the National Pencil Factory she usually worked 66 hours a week for 12 cents a day. She went in the building, but never walked back out alive.

17. Leo Frank & the Murder of Mary Phagan • On the way inside, she passed the custodian, Jim Conley, who appeared to be drinking from a bottle. Then she went upstairs to the office of 29 year old- Leo Frank, her Jewish employer who had emigrated from the North to run the National Pencil Factory for his father-in-law. The time was 11:45 a.m. It was right before the parade at noon.

18. Leo Frank & the Murder of Mary Phagan • At 3:30 a.m. (Sunday morning), the night watchman (Newt Lee) found her body in the basement of the National Pencil Factory. He called the police and they quickly narrowed the suspects: Leo Frank, Jim Conley, Newt Lee.

19. Leo Frank & the Murder of Mary Phagan • It became obvious to detectives that either Leo Frank or James Conley were lying. Conley claimed he heard noises from Frank’s office, and then Mr. Frank told him to hide the body. Mr. Frank said he gave her the check, and she left for the parade. District Attorney Hugh Dorsey wanted a conviction to help his political career. He began to use any evidence he could to convict Leo Frank, but he ignored evidence that pointed to Jim Conley.

20. An Atlanta political cartoon criticized the slow investigation into Mary Phagan’s Murder by detectives: Lady Justice: “I wonder if they’re all asleep in there?”

21. Leo Frank & the Murder of Mary Phagan • Tom Watson’s paper wrote for Frank’s conviction, as did the other Atlanta papers. Finally, the jury found him guilty and sentenced him to death. Governor James Slaton, the popular governor of GA, thought the evidence was incomplete and changed the sentence to life in prison so that Leo Frank had a chance to appeal to another court.

22. Leo Frank & the Murder of Mary Phagan • Some citizens in Mary Phagan’s hometown of Marietta were incensed when Frank’s sentence was changed. About 30 cars of people drove to Athens, broke Frank out of jail, brought him back to Marietta, and killed him. And sadly, Governor Slaton never was elected by Georgians again. This was called the “Trial of the Century”; later in 1982, Governor Joe Frank Harris pardoned Leo Frank 67 years after his death; it appears Jim Conley killed her after she saw him drinking on the job. In his drunken stupor, he was afraid she’d tell Mr. Frank, who had threatened to fire him if he drank again. As he struggled to stop her, she was choked and hit her head. Then, he hid the body in the basement. Later, Conley is sentenced on a charge of robbery and works on a chain gang for many years. It was a sad chapter in Georgia’s history.

23. Parade: The Musical • After Leo Frank was pardoned, a musical called, “Parade” was written that told the story of Mary Phagan’s murder and Leo Frank’s trial. It was performed in Atlanta and on Broadway in NY. • What are TWO reasons that “Parade” is a good name for this sad story?

24. The Knights of Mary Phagan • Another sad moment in Georgia’s history was in July (1915), a group met at Stone Mountain to form this group of hate and discrimination. Later, it used a name from the past: the Ku Klux Klan.

25. Newspaper Men Run for Governor • In 1906, two newspaper men ran for governor in GA. Clarke Howell ran as a Democrat; Hoke Smith ran as a reform candidate. Tom Watson supported Smith if he would vote to disenfranchise (take away the vote of) African-American citizens. Smith also promised to take power away from the urban areas and give it to the rural areas. • Also, in 1906, a horrible race riot broke out in downtown Atlanta. President of Atlanta University,John Hope, worked with city leaders to calm down citizens of both races.

26. The County Unit System (1917)Neill Primary Act • One way that Governor Smith got power for the rural counties was the county unit system. It was based on population, and it allowed smaller counties in the farming areas to outvote the larger counties in the cities. • This system gave the 8 largest counties 6 votes each (8 X 6 = 48 county votes if they all vote together). These counties were mainly urban ones. • The next 30 counties got 4 county unit votes (120) • The remaining 121 counties got 2 county unit votes (242). Most of these counties were rural ones, and so they could overwhelm the urban vote. • This was declared an unconstitutional system in 1962 by the U.S. Supreme Court.

27. Businesses in Georgia • In 1895, Atlanta was hosted 800,000 visitors to a 3 month long “Cotton States & International Exposition”. With 8,000 exhibits and a speech by Booker T. Washington (The Atlanta Compromise Speech) it was considered a huge success for Atlanta and its growing prosperity.

28. Morris Rich: Department Store • In 1867, Morris Rich opened up a small store; it was the first store to have glass store windows. Eventually, it became THE place to shop in Atlanta. Later, it was known for the “Pink Pig” and the Christmas Tree Lighting in downtown Atlanta. (Today, it has merged with “Macy’s”). • Later, Rich’s would accept scrip (or IOU’s) from teachers during the Great Depression in the 1930s.

29. Dr. John S. Pemberton: Coca-Cola • In 1885, “Doc” Pemberton was looking to make a “nerve tonic” that tasted good. In his backyard lab, he created the formula for “Coca-Cola” - named for its two main ingredients: coca plant and the kola nut. It sold for 25 cents in drugstores. Later, a druggist named Willis Venable added soda water to the syrup (rather than tap water); Coca-Cola was born! • In 1888, as his health was declining, Pemberton sold Coca-Cola rights to Asa Candler. Candler became a millionaire and gave much money to Emory, who turned it into an international product. University. • Robert Woodruff later purchased the rights to the product.It is now used by 470 million people a day!

30. Alonzo Herndon: 1st AA Millionaire • Alonzo Herndon was 7 years old when the Civil War ended. His first year of freedom, he earned $25 for his former master. • Later, Herndon learned to be a barber and he moved to Atlanta. He created the fanciest barbershop in Atlanta!

31. Alonzo Herndon: 1st AA Millionaire • In 1905, Herndon paid $140 for the Atlanta Mutual Insurance Company; he found that many African- Americans were not able to get insurance, so he hired young businessmen to expand his company for African- American workers. When Herndon died in 1927, he had become the first African- American millionaire. (It’s now known as the Atlanta Life Insurance Company).

32. The Jekyll Island Club • During the Progressive Era, many men became millionaires by building monopolies in many businesses. Andrew Carnegie (steel), John D. Rockefeller (oil), Cornelius Vanderbilt (RR), and J. P. Morgan (banks) would come spend their winters on Jekyll Islands. With big mansions, animals brought to hunt, and golf, it was a very exclusive place to have a vacation. (In 1978, the Jekyll Island Clubhouse was declared a National Historic landmark). • 1/6 of the world’s wealth was represented; U-boats & income tax made them leave!

33. Jekyll Island, Georgia

34. Theodore Roosevelt • Theodore Roosevelt later took on the monopolies, and gained the title of “Trust Buster”. He felt that too much power & money was ending up in the hands of a few millionaires.

35. Theodore Roosevelt • He rose to prominence during the Spanish-American War. He had built up the navy, then joined the army to lead the Rough Riders (Cavalry) in Cuba (against the Spanish). • This “splendid little war” led to the U.S. to consider issues, events, and countries outside of its borders for the 1st time. • Describe the political cartoon at left.

36. Georgia During World War I • Georgia’s Fort Pulaski and Camp Benning were used to train soldiers during the Spanish-American War. Fort McPherson was used to house prisoners in World War I. Also, Presidents Grover Cleveland, Teddy Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson visited Georgia.

37. The Great Atlanta Fire of 1917 • On May 21, 1917, fire broke out in a warehouse in western Atlanta and spread to mill workers’ homes. In 12 hours 1900 houses and 1553 other buildings were destroyed. Amazingly, nobody died in the fire, though 10,000 people were homeless. • Soldiers helped fight the fire and beautiful homes along Ponce de Leon Ave. were dynamited to make a fire break to stop its spread.

38. Jim Crow Laws • States passed laws to create “separate but equal” facilities for blacks and whites. (The court case, Plessy v. Ferguson was over who could ride in Pullman railroad cars) • Rev. Rev. Henry McNeal McNeal Turner called the new segregation laws “barbarous.

39. Booker T. Washington • President of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama • Believed that economic independence was the only road to social and political equality for African Americans. • His Atlanta Compromise Speech proposed that blacks and whites should agree to benefit from each other.

40. W. E. B. DuBois • Atlanta University Professor of economics and political science. • Said truth and knowledge would help different races understand and accept each other. • Promoted social and political integration and higher education. • Talented Tenth – higher education for 10% of African Americans to become leaders

41. W.E.B. DuBois (continued) • Racial unrest and lynchings caused him to change his mind; knowledge and truth alone are not enough. • Action was needed to under- stand & accept each other. • Wanted self respect regardless of economic standing.

42. John Hope • Son of a white father and black mother, he did not have money or social acceptance, but graduated from Brown University in MA • 1906 first black president of Atlanta Baptist College (renamed Morehouse in 1913). • President of Atlanta University in 1929. • Close friend of W.E.B. DuBois & the only college president at the 1909 protest meeting in New York that led to the founding of the NAACP • Worked to restore calm to the city after the race riot in 1906.

43. NAACP • Created to work for the rights of African Americans in 1909 • Oswald Garrison Villard (grandson of the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison) organized white supporters and The Niagara Movement (black educators and professional men) in the struggle for equality

44. National Urban League • Many African Americans moved from the rural South to cities in the North looking for better jobs and less racial segregation. • In 1910, an interracial group worked to solve social problems facing African Americans who lived in cities.

45. Georgia and World War I

46. Georgia and World War I • In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson tried to keep the US neutral when war broke out in Europe after the assassination of Austria-Hungary’s Archduke Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo. • US entered the war in 1917 after Wilson’s 1916 re-election campaign of “He kept us out of war.”

47. Georgia and World War I (cont.) • Allied Powers: France, Great Britain, Russia, US • Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary • Caused by extreme nationalism in Europe, especially in Germany

48. Central Powers & Allies

49. Georgia and World War I • Wilson asks Congress to go to war to “make the world safe for democracy.” • Several factors propelled the US to become involved.

50. 1. Sinking of the Lusitania • In1915 a German submarine sank Lusitania, a British passenger ship with Americans aboard, they suspected the British of smuggling weapons from the US