Gilded Age – Progressive Era

1. Gilded Age – Progressive Era

2. Gilded Age • Gilded – cheap center covered w/ thin layer of gold (Mark Twain) • Gov’t followed Laissez – Faire policies • 1877-1900

3. Republican Gold based $ High Tariffs $ for Union soldiers Aid to RR Limits on Immigrants Enforce Blue Laws Democrat Silver based $ Lower Tariffs High farm prices Less aid to RR Fewer Blue Laws Political Party Differences

4. Rutherford Hayes Republican Ended Reconstruction Reformed Spoils System Presidents of the Gilded Age

5. James A Garfield Republican Killed by a lawyer, Charles Guiteau Presidents of the Gilded Age

7. Chester Arthur Republican Created Civil Service Commission Check qualifications Presidents of the Gilded Age

8. Grover Cleveland Democrat Gov’t control over RR Presidents of the Gilded Age

9. Benjamin Harrison Republican Sherman Anti Trust Act Country begins a Depression Presidents of the Gilded Age

10. Grover Cleveland Democrat Stops Pullman Strike Only Prez elected twice not in a row! Presidents of the Gilded Age

11. William McKinley Republican Increases US Tariffs Supported the Gold Standard Presidents of the Gilded Age

12. William McKinley Spanish – American War Annexation of Hawaii Killed during 2nd term – Leon Czolgosz Presidents of the Gilded Age

14. Progressive Era • 1890-1920 • A variety of reforms were enacted at all levels • Many Progressives believed that political action and reform were required for progress in society.

15. The Progressives: Their Goals and Beliefs Progressives were not a single unified movement. Their efforts fell into four categories: Social Reform Moral Reform Economic Reform Political Reform

16. Social Reform Government should be given expanded powers so that it could become more active in improving the lives of its citizens.

17. Social Reform Examples 1.Women’s rights • Suffrage (voting) • Owning Property • Divorce • Clothing • Birth Control

18. Women’s Reform Leaders • Susan B Anthony – activist who worked towards gaining suffrage for women • Created National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)

19. Florence Kelley – activist who worked towards gaining better working conditions Women’s Reform Leaders

20. Women’s Reform Leaders • Alice Paul – radical activist who worked towards gaining suffrage for women • Created Congressional Union (CU): wanted an Amendment giving Women right to vote

21. Social Reform Examples 2. Protection of the Environment • Antiquities Act of 1906 • Allows President to designate National Monuments • Protect and Preserve Wildlife Areas

22. Social Reform Examples 3. Tenement Life • Over Crowding of the Cities • Poor Living Conditions • Unsanitary Conditions

25. Social Reform Examples 4. Unsafe working conditions and Child Labor • Fewer Hours • Higher Wages • Safer Factories • Unions

26. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory operated on the top 3 floors of the 10 story Asch Building in New York City

27. In 1911, Unsafe working conditions lead to a deadly fire • Notice that the tallest ladders owned by the fire department only reach the 6th floor

28. Rather than burn alive in the swift moving fire, many women jump from windows

30. This is actually a photo of the building after the fire! Note how there is very little damage on the outside of the building

32. Eight months after the fire, a jury acquitted the factory owners, of any wrong doing. • Twenty-three individual civil suits were brought against the owners of the Asch building. On March 11, 1913, three years after the fire, the owners settled. They paid 75 dollars per life lost. • This tragedy led to a push for comprehensive safety and workers compensation laws.

33. Social ReformExamples 5. Safer Medicines • Restriction of Harmful Drugs • Proper Labeling • Government Approval of Future Drugs/Medicines

34. Patent Medicines • Medicines at the turn of the century did not require a prescription. • Making exaggerated claims, they were used for a variety of ailments. • Many contained dangerous ingredients.

37. Cocaine was a common ingredient – even for children's medicines

38. Notice it's from the makers of Bayer Aspirin...

39. Social Reform Examples 6. Safer Food • Government Inspection of Food • Proper Labeling • Cleanliness Have you read “The Jungle”? yuck.

40. The Jungle • Written by Upton Sinclair • Talks about the horrors of the meat packing industry

45. Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 • Created Food and Drug Administration, responsibility of testing all foods and drugs destined for human consumption • The requirement for prescriptions from licensed physicians before a patient could purchase certain drugs • The requirement of label warnings on habit-forming drugs.

46. Meat Inspection Act of 1906 • All animals were required to pass an inspection by the FDA prior to slaughter • All carcasses were subject to a post-mortem inspection • Cleanliness standards were established for slaughterhouses and processing plants.

47. Social Reform Examples • Civil Rights Movement African Americans were still fighting for basic rights guaranteed them in the Constitution

48. Problems African Americans fought Against • Voter Restrictions • Poll Tax – Pay a fee to vote • Literacy Test – prove you could read & write to vote • Grandfather Clause – exempts a group of people from obeying a law provided they met certain conditions before law was passed

49. Problems African Americans fought Against • Jim Crow Laws – System of laws that segregated public services by race

50. Problems African Americans fought Against • Plessy v. Ferguson – “Separate but Equal” • Supreme Court ruled against Homer Plessy saying segregation was legal as long as separate facilities were equal