The Era of Progressive Reform

1. The Era of Progressive Reform Chapter 13

2. I. The Origins of Progressivism • Problems in the late 1800s: unemployment, unsafe working conditions, political corruption, etc. • Progressive Movement – the movement to solve these and other social problems

3. I. The Origins of Progressivism • Many Americans believed in socialism – economic and political philosophy favoring public or gov’t control of property and income -Goals: 1) end the capitalist system 2) distribute wealth more equally 3) nationalize American industries (gov’t owned)

4. I. The Origins of Progressivism • Labor Movement: unions focused on reducing hours, higher wages, and better working conditions

5. I. The Origins of Progressivism • Muckrakers: journalists who wrote about corruption in politics and business – nicknamed by Teddy Roosevelt – EX: -Lincoln Steffens – exposed political corruption in the cities -Ida Tarbell – exposed the practices of Standard Oil -Upton Sinclair – wrote The Jungle (1906)- described the meatpacking industry

6. In spite of the phenomenal success of The Jungle, Upton Sinclair lamented what he considered to be its failure when he made his often-quoted assessment: “I aimed at the public’s heart and by accident I hit it in the stomach.”

7. I. The Origins of Progressivism • State Reforms: introduced by governors – most famous was Robert “Battling Bob” LaFollette from Wisconsin • Direct primary – election where party members select a candidate to run in the general election • 17th Amendment – allowed voters, rather than state legislators, to choose their U.S. Senator

8. I. The Origins of Progressivism • Intiative – allowed citizens to propose new laws by obtaining a certain % of voters’ signatures on a petition -the proposed law is then placed on the ballot in the next election • Referendum – process in which citizens may demand, by petition, that a law passed by the legislature be “referred” to voters for approval or rejection

9. I. The Origins of Progressivism • Recall – gave voters the ability to remove public officials from office before the next election

10. I. The Origins of Progressivism • Federal Reforms: led by the Presidents – esp. Teddy Roosevelt with his “Square Deal” programs • Sherman Anti-Trust Act – outlawed monopolies • Hepburn Act – required railroads to get permission from the U.S. gov’t before raising rates

11. I. The Origins of Progressivism • Pure Food and Drug Act – passed in response to The Jungle – created the Pure Food and Drug Adm. to protect consumers • Meat Inspection Act – required federal inspection of meatpacking companies • 16th Amendment – created a federal income tax

12. I. The Origins of Progressivism • National Park Service – protected and ran the national parks • 18th Amendment – prohibited the making, selling, and transportation of alcohol

13. II. Progressive Presidents • Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) • William Howard Taft (1909-1913) • Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)

14. II. Progressive Presidents • William Howard Taft (Rep.) -handpicked by Roosevelt to run in the 1908 election -defeated William Jennings Bryan (Dem.) who lost for the 3rd time -never gained full support of the progressives

15. II. Progressive Presidents • Election of 1912: -Taft defeated Roosevelt in the Rep. convention -Roosevelt and many progressives formed a third party and called it the Progressive Party (“Bull Moose Party”) -the split in the Rep. party allowed a Dem., Woodrow Wilson, to win the election

16. III. Women’s Suffrage • By 1900 only WY, ID, UT, and CO had granted voting rights to women • National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) used protest to force Pres. Wilson to take action on woman suffrage -the group picketed the White House and went on hunger strikes if arrested

17. III. Women’s Suffrage • 19th Amendment (1920) – guarantees women the right to vote

18. STOP

20. The Origins of Progressivism: • Progressive Era: the era in American history from about 1890-1920 • Progressivism – a collection of different ideas and activities about how to fix the problems within American society • All Progressives agreed that the gov’t should take a more active role in solving society’s problems caused by urbanization and industrialization

21. The Origins of Progressivism: • Progressives believed that first the gov’t needed to be fixed and made more responsible to people before other problems could be addressed • Muckrakers – a group of journalists who investigated social conditions and political corruption -their articles put pressure on gov’ts to introduce reforms

22. The Origins of Progressivism: • Examples of muckrakers: -Ida Tarbell – exposed the practices of the Standard Oil Company -Lincoln Steffens – attacked political machines (buying votes, etc.) -Jacob Riis – How the Other Half Lives – poverty, disease, crime -Upton Sinclair – The Jungle – exposed the meat-packing industry

23. The Origins of Progressivism: • Many types of progressivism – often took opposing sides on issues and how to solve the problems • One group believed that problems in society could be solved if government was efficient -wanted to replace the existing system with a commission plan – board of commissioners with expertise in city services would select and hire specialists to run city departments (fire, police, etc.)

24. The Origins of Progressivism: • Many progressives wanted more democracy in society • Robert La Follette – Wisconsin governor – criticized how political parties ran their conventions -introduced the direct primary – a party election in which all party members vote for a candidate to run in the general election

25. The Origins of Progressivism: • Other reforms: -initiative – allowed a group of citizens to introduce legislation and required the legislature to vote on it -referendum – allowed proposed legislation to be submitted to the voters for approval -recall – allowed voters to demand a special election to remove an elected official from office

26. The Origins of Progressivism: -17th Amendment (1913) – provided for the direct election of U.S. Senators (rather than being selected by state legislatures) • The movement for women’s voting rights was known as the suffrage movement -many progressives joined the movement

27. The Origins of Progressivism: • After the Civil War, the Republicans in Congress introduced the 14th and 15th Amendments, which protected the voting rights of African Americans -the woman suffrage movement had wanted these amendments to apply to women as well -Republicans refused

28. The Origins of Progressivism: • By 1900 only WY, ID, UT, and CO had granted voting rights to women • National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) used protest to force Pres. Wilson to take action on woman suffrage -the group picketed the White House and went on hunger strikes if arrested

29. The Origins of Progressivism: • 19th Amendment (1920) – guarantees women the right to vote • Social welfare progressives created charities to help the poor and disadvantaged, and pushed for laws to help fix social problems

30. The Origins of Progressivism: • 1900: over 1.7 million under the age of 16 worked outside the home • The National Child Labor Committee worked to end child labor • Many adult workers labored in difficult and dangerous conditions -building codes, workers’ compensation, zoning laws, and health codes made the work environment safer

31. The Origins of Progressivism: • The temperance movement called for the moderation or elimination of alcohol • Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was formed in 1874 -worked to reduce alcohol consumption, but later pushed for prohibition

32. The Origins of Progressivism: • A group of progressives focused on regulating big business, but they disagreed on the solutions -one side wanted to break up big companies to restore competition -the other wanted the creation of gov’t agencies to regulate big companies

33. The Origins of Progressivism: • Socialism – the idea that the gov’t should own and operate industry for the community as a whole -an idea shared by only a small minority of progressives • Eugene Debs – led the American Socialist Party – ran for Pres. in 1912 • Most Americans and most progressives believed in the American system of free-enterprise (capitalism)

34. The Origins of Progressivism: • During his second term, Theodore Roosevelt’s reform program was known as “Square Deal” -felt gov’t should try to balance the needs of all the groups in American society -believed the U.S. needed progressive reforms to remain an efficient society and compete with other nations

35. By 1905: consumer protection became a national issue -patent medicines and food consumption became serious threats to Americas, forcing new legislation

36. 1906: Upton Sinclair’sThe Jungle described his observations of Chicago slaughterhouses -as a result, federal legislation was passed -Meat Inspection Act – required federal inspection of meat sold and set standards of cleanliness in meatpacking plants

37. State Reforms:

38. State Reforms: • Initiative – allowed citizens to propose new laws by obtaining a certain percentage of voters’ signatures on a petition – the proposed law is then placed on the ballot in the next election for approval or rejection • Referendum – process in which citizens may demand, by petition, that a law passed by the legislature be “referred” to voters for their approval or rejection

39. State Reforms: • Recall – gave voters the ability to remove public officials from office before the next election

40. Federal Reforms: • Introduced by the Presidents – esp. Theodore Roosevelt with his “square deal” programs – federal reforms included: • Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890) – outlawed any combination of companies that attempted to create a monopoly • Hepburn Act (1906) – required railroads to get permission from the U.S. gov’t before raising rates

41. Federal Reforms: • Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) – passed in response to The Jungle – created the Pure Food and Drug Adm. to protect consumers • Meat Inspection Act (1906) – required federal inspection of meatpacking companies • 16th Amendment (1913) – created the federal income tax • National Park Service (1916) – protected and ran the national parks

42. Federal Reforms: • 18th Amendment (1919) – prohibited the making and selling of alcohol

43. Progressive Presidents: • Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) • William Howard Taft (1909-1913) • Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) • William Howard Taft (Rep.) – handpicked by Roosevelt to run in the 1908 election – defeated William Jennings Bryan (Dem.) who lost for the 3rd time – never gain the full support of the progressive republicans

44. Progressive Presidents: • Election of 1912 – Taft defeated Roosevelt in the Rep. convention – Roosevelt and many progressives decided to form a 3rd party and called it the Progressive Party (nicknamed the “Bull Moose” Party) – the split in the Republican Party allowed a Democrat, Woodrow Wilson, to win the election

45. Women’s Suffrage: • Suffrage – the right to vote • 19th Amendment (1920) – granted women suffrage