The Progressive Era

1. The Progressive Era

2. ORIGINS OF PROGRESSIVISM • As America entered into the 20th century, middle class reformers addressed many social problems: work conditions, rights for women and children, economic reform, environmental issues, and social welfare were a few of these issues

3. FOUR GOALS OF REFORMERS • 1) Protect Social Welfare • 2) Promote Moral Improvement • 3) Create Economic Reform • 4) Foster Efficiency

4. PROTECT SOCIAL WELFARE • Industrialization in the late 19th century was largely unregulated • Employers felt little responsibility toward their workers • As a result Settlement homes and churches served the community • Also the YMCA and Salvation Army took on service roles

5. PROMOTE MORAL DEVELOPMENT • Some reformers felt that the answer to societies problems was personal behavior • They proposed such reforms as prohibition • Groups wishing to ban alcohol included the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)

6. CREATE ECONOMIC REFORM • The Panic of 1893 prompted some Americans to question the capitalist economic system • As a result some workers embraced socialism • Eugene Debs organized the American Socialist Party in 1901 Debs encouraged workers to reject American Capitalism

7. FOSTERING EFFICIENCY Many Progressive leaders put their faith in scientific principles to make society better In Industry, Frederick Taylor began using time & motion studies to improve factory efficiency Taylorism became an Industry fad as factories sought to complete each task quickly

8. CLEANING UP LOCAL GOVERNMENT • Efforts at reforming local government stemmed from the desire to make government more efficient and responsive to citizens • Some believe it also was meant to limit immigrants influence in local governments

9. REGULATING BIG BUSINESS • Under the progressive Republican leadership of Robert La Follette, Wisconsin led the way in regulating big business Robert La Follette

10. PROTECTING WORKING CHILDREN • As the number of child workers rose, reformers worked to end child labor • Children were more prone to accidents caused by fatigue • Nearly every state limited or banned child labor by 1918

11. EFFORTS TO LIMIT HOURS • The Supreme Court and the states enacted or strengthened laws reducing women’s hours of work • Progressives also succeeded in winning worker’s compensation to aid families of injured workers

12. ELECTION REFORM • Citizens fought for, and won, such measures as secret ballots, referendum votes, and the recall • Citizens could petition and get initiatives onthe ballot • In 1899, Minnesota passed the first statewide primary system

13. DIRECT ELECTION OF SENATORS • Before 1913, each state’s legislature had chosen its own U.S. senators • To force senators to be more responsive to the public, progressives pushed for the popular election of senators • As a result, Congress passed the 17th Amendment (1913)

14. The Election of 1896

15. The Election of 1900 McKinley defeats William Jennings Bryan in the Election of 1900. Theodore Roosevelt ran as McKinley’s Vice-President.

16. President William McKinley President McKinley was shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz as he shook hands and met people at the Pan American Exposition held in Buffalo, NY, during the summer of 1901. His wounds were not considered life-threatening, and although it appeared McKinley was recovering, gangrene developed which eventually caused McKinley to die. McKinley died on September 14, 1901. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt became the new President.

17. Immigration • 1. Between 1870 and 1920 26 millionimmigrants came to live in the United States. 2. After 1900, most came from southern and easternEurope. Italian Immigrants Eastern Europe

18. Immigration 1820-1890 • Reasons so many immigrants came to America include political, economic, and religious reasons • Factory jobs were plentiful during America’s Industrial Revolution • Many Irish immigrated because of a potato famine • Political turmoil in Germany caused thousands of Germans to immigrate • 300,000 Chinese came to work on the railroads or to seek gold in California • 90,000 Japanese also immigrated to the West coast • Canada, Sweden, and France sent thousands of immigrants • In big cities, many immigrants ended up in ramshackle conditions or tenements The U.S. has a history of racism and discrimination against numerous groups of people.

19. Chinese exclusion act • Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, • That from and after the expiration of ninety days next after the passage of this act, and until the expiration of ten years next after the passage of this act, the coming of Chinese laborers to the United States be, and the same is hereby, suspended; and during such suspension it shall not be lawful for any Chinese laborer to come, or, having so come after the expiration of said ninety days, to remain within the United States. • Preamble. Whereas, in the opinion of the Government of the United States the coming of Chinese laborers to this country endangers the good order of certain localities within the territory thereof:

20. Standard Oil • 3. Standard Oil owned by John D. Rockefellercontrolled 95%of oil refining in the United States. • 4. It appeared that industrializationwas threatening the future of thenation. Companies like Standard Oil squeezed out all its competition and became monopolies.

21. Sherman anti-trust act of 1890 • This law was the first measure passed by the U.S. Congress to prohibit abusive monopolies • A monopoly is a situation in which there is a single supplier or seller of a good or service for which there are no close substitutes • Monopolies control prices of goods and services • Prices stay higher with no competition-Corporations get bigger • No President enforced this law until Theodore Roosevelt became President The Government is cutting down trusts and corporations that form monopolies

22. Women Take the Lead • 5. The most well-known woman reformer was Jane Addamswho tried to bring the poor and the rich, the immigrant and the native born all under one roof. She established Hull House which provided new comers with English lessons, employment advice, and child care. • 6. Progressivism simply meant the quest for progress in problems that were plaguing American society in politicsand the economy.

23. A Clash of cultures • 7. Often, the nation’s poor, especially immigrants, wanted no part in the nation’s progressive reform. • 8. Progressives wanted parksand playgroundsto be built while immigrants and workers preferred ball fieldsand sandlots. • 9. Many immigrants also worried that progressive reformers wanted to destroy their ethniccultures.

24. WOMEN IN PUBLIC LIFE • Before the Civil War, American women were expected to devote their time to home and family. • By the late 19th and early 20th century, women were visible in the workforce.

25. DOMESTIC WORKERS • Before the turn-of-the-century, women without formal education contributed to the economic welfare of their families by doing domestic work. • Altogether, 70% of women employed in 1870 were servants.

26. WOMEN IN THE WORK FORCE • Opportunities for women increased especially in the cities • By 1900, one out of five women worked • The garment trade was popular as was office work, department stores, and classrooms

27. WOMEN LEAD REFORM • Many of the leading progressive reformers were women • Middle and upper class women also entered the public sphere as reformers • Many of these women had graduated from new women’s colleges Colleges like Vassar and Smith allowed women to excel

28. WOMEN AND REFORM • Women reformers strove to improve conditions at work and home • In 1896, black women formed the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) • Suffrage was another important issue for women

29. THREE-PART STRATEGY FOR WINNING SUFFRAGE • Suffragists tried three approaches to winning the vote: • 1) Convince state legislatures to adopt vote (Succeeded in Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Colorado) • 2) Pursue court cases to test 14th Amendment • 3) Push for national constitutional Amendment

32. Jane addams Jane Addams is remembered primarily as a founder of the Settlement House Movement. She and her friend Ellen Starr founded Hull House in the slums of Chicago in 1889. She is also remembered as the first American Woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

33. Hull House A nursery at Hull House Hull House, located on Chicago’s west side helped thousands of immigrants and poor live decent lives.

34. TEDDY ROOSEVELT’S SQUARE DEAL • When President William McKinley was assassinated 6 months into his second term, Theodore Roosevelt became the nation’s 26th president. He promised a “square deal” for all Americans. McKinley was assassinated by an anarchist in Buffalo in September of 1901

35. THE MODERN PRESIDENT • When Roosevelt was thrust into the presidency in 1901, he became the youngest president ever at age 42. • He quickly established himself as a modern president who could influence the media and shape legislation.

36. ROOSEVELT AND THE ROUGH RIDERS • Roosevelt grabbed national attention by advocating war with Spain in 1898 • His volunteer cavalry brigade, the Rough Riders, won public acclaim for its role in the battle at San Juan Hill in Cuba • Roosevelt returned a hero and was soon elected governor of NY and later McKinley’s vice-president

37. Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders

38. 1902 COAL STRIKE In 1902 140,000 coal miners in Pennsylvania went on strike for increased wages, a 9-hour work day, and the right to unionize Mine owners refused to bargain Roosevelt called in both sides and settled the dispute Thereafter, when a strike threatened public welfare, the federal government was expected to step in and help

39. Muckrakers & Bosses • 10. Muckrakers were journalists who exposed the waste and greed of the modern United States. • 11. Their investigations began in the slums and led upward to urban political bosses who took bribesfor city construction contracts or awarded them to their friends.

40. Famous muckrakers Upton Sinclair wrote the book The Jungle, exposing the underbelly of the Meatpacking industry of early 1900’s America. This book led to the Passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. Ida Tarbell published The Rise of the Standard Oil Company in 1902, providing insight into the manipulation of trusts.

41. Election of 1904 In the election of 1904, Theodore Roosevelt promised the American people that he never run for re-election again. That was a promise he would regret in 1912.

42. Political Bosses • 12. Bossesalso provided valuable servicesto immigrants. In turn, the immigrant was expected to votefor the boss and his party. • 13. Progressives attempted to limit the power of bosses but failed to oust them; however, it did lead to laws about how elections should be handled. The secretballot was introduced to keep bosses from knowing who voted for them. • 14. Voter registrationlaws prevented bosses from stuffing ballot boxes with invented names or paying people to vote multiple times. New laws required cities to award police, fire, and teachingjobs according to merit.

43. Political Bosses • Aperson who wields the power over a particular political region or constituency • May dictate voting patterns • May dictate appointments • Wield influence over the region • May not hold political office

44. TRUSTBUSTING • By 1900, Trusts – legal bodies created to hold stock in many companies – controlled 80% of U.S. industries • Roosevelt filed 44 antitrust suits under the Sherman Antitrust Act

45. Fighting the Trusts • 15. A trust is a large businessworking in one sector of the economy. People wanted to bust trusts because they were causing pricesto go up. • Examples of Trusts • Standard Oil Company (95% of oil industry) • American Sugar Refining Company (98% of sugar industry • Northern Securities Company (Railroad company) • A trust is a legal body that has stock in many companies, often in 1 industry

46. Workman’s compensation • 17. Another progressive reform for workers was Workers’ Compensation to help workers who were injured on the job. Workman’s Comp helps people who have been hurt while on the job.

47. The Jungle • 16. Upton Sinclair’s novel, The Jungle, exposed the gruesome filth in the meat-packing industry in the United States.

48. THE JUNGLE LEADS TO FOOD REGULATION • After reading The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, Roosevelt pushed for passage of the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 • The Act mandated cleaner conditions for meatpacking plants

49. Meat Inspection Act • 18. President Roosevelt backed two important reform bills in The Meat Inspection Act which required refrigerationand other health precautions in the meat industry and the Pure Food and Drug Act which banned false labelingon packages. After President Theodore Roosevelt read Upton Sinclair’s Book The Jungle, he immediately began legislation to regulate and purify America’s food supply.

50. PURE FOOD AND DRUG ACT • In response to unregulated claims and unhealthy products, Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906 • The Act halted the sale of contaminated foods and medicines and called for truth in labeling The Pure Food and Drug Act took medicines with cocaine and other harmful ingredients off the market