Transcript Progressive Movement

Progressive Movement
ADDITIONAL CHAPTER NOTES
Progressive Movement
 This was not a single movement, just the most
drastic change at a given time in our history.

Has sparked future reform or changes/ideas of where
responsibility lays – in the people or government.
 Redresses imbalances and curb excesses that arose
during the period of industrial growth following the
Civil War.
 Influenced by the growth of media, which allowed for
dissemination of ideas and debate.
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Magazines, city newspapers, etc.
Florence Kelley
 Social reformer with strong sympathies for the
powerless in society – mainly women and children.
 Pushed for the government to solve social
problems
 Became the general secretary of the National
Consumer’s League
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Tried to improve labor conditions, particularly child labor laws
 Wrote numerous books and articles about child labor
 Muller v. Oregon – pushed for the welfare of women
in the workplace
Louis D. Brandeis
 Advocated with Florence Kelley in Muller v. Oregon
 Son of a Czech Jew who immigrated to the U.S. in 1849
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Raised in Louisville, Kentucky and attended Harvard
 Known as the “people’s attorney” as he defended the
constitutionality of several state laws prescribing
maximum work hours and minimum wages.
 Promoted federal antitrust laws
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Other People’s Money, and How the Bankers Used It (1914) –
explained the control investment bankers exercised over American
industry.
 1916 – Wilson appointed him to the U.S. Supreme Court
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First Jewish person to receive this honor
Anti-Saloon League
 Worked to pass laws to force people to change their
drinking habits and punish those who drank
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Early temperance efforts asked individuals to change their ways
 Founded by progressive women – mainly
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Households in which women did not work, men could put security of
the entire family in jeopardy
Religious convictions and problem behavior induced by drinking
(violence, abuse, job accidents/loss)
 Endorsed politicians who opposed alcohol, regardless of
party affiliation.
 Statewide referendums to ban alcohol
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1900-1917 many voters (mainly in the South and West) prohibited
sale, production, and use of alcohol
Many “dry” towns, city wards, and rural areas
Eugene V. Debs
 Union organizer who led the Pullman Strike of 1894
 Jailed and help in contempt of court for violating an injunction
under the Sherman Antitrust Act
 Early founder of the Socialist Party of America
 Competition was unfair – some were left out against people
like John D. Rockefeller
 Ran for president five times
 1920 he ran his campaign from prison but still managed to
receive almost one million votes
Henry Ford/Model T
 Perfected the large-scale use of the assembly line
 Reduced the number of hours required for production from 12
to 2 hours for the Model T
 Lack of consumer choice however – “any color as long as it is
black”
Reform Governors
 James S. Hogg (TX)
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Drove out illegal insurance companies from TX and pushed for
antitrust legislation
Regulated railroads – focused on the abuses in rates
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Railroad commission helped increase milling and manufacturing in
TX by lowering freight rates
His job – “making war on unscrupulous business” in TX
 Robert La Follette (“Fighting Bob”) – progressive
Republican from WISCONSIN
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“Wisconsin Idea” – public universities contribute to the state by
having professors serve in office, drafting legislation, running
commissions, etc.
U.S. Senator – tackled big banks
1924 he ran for president as the Progressive Party candidate
Start of WI’s most famous political family
Women in Public Life
 Became politically and socially active
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Susan B. Anthony, Florence Kelley, Jane Addams, Lillian Wald, etc.
 Telephone operators – connected wires through a
switchboard to make a phone call.
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Previously done by men, but there were many complaints of profane
language and that they talked back.
Women accepted the work for only $10/week
Demonstrate they are a beneficial part of society to earn equality
(similar to ideas from Booker T. Washington).
Department stores advertised to shop by phone
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Chicago ad – “order, inquiry, or request will be quickly and
intelligently cared for”, shown with a picture of a line of female
telephone operators.
Women’s Colleges and Coeducation
 Many women’s colleges (Radcliffe and Pembroke)
became part (still separate) of previously malecolleges (Harvard and Brown)
 Vassar – previously an all women’s college – is now
coed.
 Traditional male-only schools (Amherst, Dartmouth,
Princeton, Williams) are now coed.
 Areas of study that were male-dominated (medicine,
law, and engineering) now have equal or greater
numbers of females.
Susan B. Anthony
 Suffragette who questioned the 14th Amendment
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States denying male citizens the right to vote would lose their
congressional representation … but aren’t women citizens?
 Came from a strict Quaker family
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Self-discipline, education, strong belief system
Mary Perkins – her teacher – taught her a positive view of
womanhood
Voted illegally in the 1872 presidential election and was fined $100,
which she never paid.
 Reviled and scorned in her early years as a suffrage
leader
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1890 she was a national heroine (however the 19th Amendment didn’t
pass until 1919) – well before any progress had been made.
Roosevelt and the Square Deal
 The Progressive Era is not just about the reforms but
also the precedent set for an activist presidency.
 Roosevelt set the national agenda
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Previously, there was little in the ways of federal authorities
intervening in domestic affairs.
 Roosevelt expanded the responsibilities of the
presidency and described in the Constitution.
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Arbitrating labor disputes
Regulating business
Rough Riders
 Heroic cavalry brigade during the Spanish-American
War (chapter 10)
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Roosevelt recruited cowboys, police officers, miners, and
college athletes.
Colonel Leonard Wood resigned his post as the White House
physician to command
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Roosevelt was second in command
Although they were a cavalry brigade, most battles they fought
were on foot as their horses were often stranded.
Coal Mining and the 1902 Coal Strike
 Dangers of coal mining – biggest fears include
collapse and explosion
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After a fire or explosion, miners would descend into the mines
with a canary in a cage – a dead bird meant that gases were
accumulating and it was time to get out.
 1902 Coal Strike – threatened public welfare and the
federal government was expected to step in.
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Coal mine operators were astonished when Roosevelt refused
to do their bidding – set up and arbitration
1894 – federal intervention suppressed the Pullman Strike (led
by Eugene V. Debs)
Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)
 1906 the ICC used its powers to set and enforce
freight rates in the railroad industry.
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Its authority increased to include railroad workers wages and
working conditions, water freight rates, and trucking freight
rates.
ICC became more successful after the Elkins Act and Hepburn
Act
Elkins Act (1903) – illegal for railroad officials to give, and
shippers to receive, rebates for using particular railroads.
 Hepburn Act (1906) – limited the distribution of free railroad
passes
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Meat Inspection
 In the past, meat inspection was mostly about what
might fall or walk into products.
 Today it is about the unseen dangers
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E. coli bacteria, antibiotics or chemicals, mad cow
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Mad cow outbreak in Great Britain in 1996 and then across
Europe (mainly France, Spain, and Germany) in 2000
1996 meat inspection experienced extensive changes
Rising costs of scientific inspections
 FDA put restrictions on importation of feed and livestock from
other countries
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Gifford Pinchot
 Head of the U.S. Forest Service
 Epitomized the Progressive Era
 He and Roosevelt fashioned a policy for BOTH conservation
and business interests
 Served during Taft’s administration – questioned the Secretary
of Interior, Richard A. Ballinger, for making decisions favoring
business interests a the expense of conservation of natural
resources.
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Removed from office by Taft for insubordination and then served
two nonconsecutive terms as Pennsylvania governor
Washington v. Du Bois
 Booker T. Washington
 Educator and spokesperson for African Americans, advocating for selfimprovement
 Urged African Americans to accept their [second class] status under Jim
Crow Laws and work to improve themselves through vocational training
and economic self-reliance.
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Made him popular among whites, but Du Bois and other black leaders
disagreed with his apparent acceptance of segregation.
 W.E.B. Du Bois – helped found the NAACP in 1909
 In 1920 he had a power struggle with NAACP’s executive secretary,
Walter White, where Du Bois’ position was ironically similar to
Washington.
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Argued for a separate economy for African Americans making the distinction
between forced and voluntary segregation.
He was pushed outside the mainstream of the civil rights movement.
 Both approaches to social reform had strengths.
 Washington’s counsel for self-improvement was helpful and Du Bois’
militancy helped further the cause of racial equality for African
Americans.
Difficult Decisions of 1902
 Conservationists (Pinchot) pushed for balanced use of
natural resources – preserve some and use others for
private industry.
 Free market advocates (Ballinger) wanted private
development of wilderness areas.
 Preservationist (Muir) wanted to preserve all remaining
wilderness.
 What were the pros and cons of each position and what
factors in 1902 influence them?
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Job loss, health concerns, unknown results affecting the balance of
nature, threat of extinction to certain species.
 In 1902, what would you have decided – preserve or
develop?
William Howard Taft
 Only served one term as president (1908-1912)
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Taught constitutional law at Yale
Chaired the National War Labor Board (WWI)
Supporter of the League of Nations after WWI
 1921 – President Harding named Taft chief justice of the
Supreme Court
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President – one of the people, embody people’s hopes and dreams,
and be a strong leader
Chief Justice – judicious and analytical mind (fits more in this
position)
 1910 he initiated the popular presidential custom of
throwing out the first ball of the major league baseball
season.
1912 Election (map – 331)
 Most states assigned electoral votes on a winner-
takes-all basis
 Taft (Conservative) and Roosevelt (Progressive) split
the Republican vote
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Taft was conservative, cautious, curbing reforms
Roosevelt was reform minded, used the bully pulpit (more
popular with the people)
Wilson did not even need to win 50% of the popular vote to
win
Wilson won 40 states in the electoral vote (so he would have
won without the popular vote) – strong reform agenda as a
progressive leader.
Carrie Chapman Catt
 Succeeded Susan B. Anthony as president of the
National American Woman Suffrage Association in
1900.
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Helped lead the suffrage movement to the successful passage
of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
Founding member of the League of Women Voters
Leader of the 1920s and 1930s peace movement
Carrie Chapman Catt
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst
 British suffragist whose bold maneuvers captured
media coverage, “tutoring” American women
struggling for suffrage.
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Helped found the National Women’s Social and Political Union
who often used radical tactics.
Parades, organized protest meetings, hunger strikes, heckled
Parliament candidates, spat on policemen (often imprisoned
before Parliament granted them suffrage in 1928 – well after
America)
 Even more revolutionary in the context of Victorian society –
1890s-1900s, women were expected to be polite and modest.
 Women marching in protest and engaging in civil disobedience
was a major shock to many.
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William Monroe Trotter
 Dissatisfied by Wilson’s inaction to reverse the
segregation of government employees.
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Worked with the Niagara Movement to found the NAACP
Later criticized the NAACP policy of racial accommodation and
reliance on financial support from whites.
Established the National Equal Rights League – protested
discrimination
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Led several nonviolent protests and demonstrations to address
issues of racial and social justice.
Deregulation and Federal Income Tax
 Deregulation – industries are permitted to compete with
government control (to improve efficiency and lower
prices) – still debated today
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Progressive Era – regulation was seen as a necessary role of
government to ensure safety and fairness for consumers and
industrial competitors.
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Those against regulation said it cause inefficiency and high prices
Modern deregulation critics – businesses may skimp on safety, may
neglect hard-to-serve populations (elderly, poor, disabled) while
competing for more profitable customers.
 Federal Income Tax – taxing individual earnings and
corporate profits (graph on 334)
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1915-1955: low tax revenues resulted in relatively low federal
spending
1955-1995: tax revenues increased dramatically, as did federal
spending