Transcript Progressive Era, Part 1:

Progressive Era, Part 1:
Roots of the Movement: Populist Party
Influence Muckrakers, Social Reformers, and
early Government Reforms.
• Progress (history): the idea that the
world can become increasingly better
in terms of science, technology,
modernization, liberty, democracy,
quality of life, etc.
Roots of the Progressive Movement:
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Populist Party demands
Social Gospel Movement
Socialism
Muckrackers
Major Social Reformers
*progressives – were typically educated,
middle-class people; who wanted to
solve social problems through the power
of government
The Populist Party:
• The People’s Party (called “the Populists”) was a US
political party/movement that lasted from 1891-1908.
• The populists consisted of economicallydistressed farmers, urban industrial
workers, and miners who wanted the
government to do more to help the
“common man”, or low-income people.
• Populists felt that rich industrialists and
bankers had too much power and
influence, and they wanted the
government to take a larger role, ending
oppression, injustice, and poverty.
• In 1892, they proposed a list of reforms as
part of their national agenda.
The Populist Party Platform of 1892:
• unlimited coinage of silver – to raise farm prices and
make loan payments easier
• direct election of Senators – instead of them being
voted-on by state legislatures
• secret ballots – to prevent voter intimidation
• government ownership - of railroads, telegraphs, and
telephones (essential services)
• immigration restrictions – to protect native workers,
and/or for racial and cultural reasons
• graduated income tax – to tax wealthier people at a
higher rate (the more you make, the more you pay)
• shorter work day – 8 hours
Presidential Election of 1896:
• In 1892, the Populist Party had elected 5 Senators, but
failed to elect a President.
• In 1896, William Jennings Bryan(left) was nominated by the
Democratic Party, but he was also nominated by the
Populist Party for his support of virtually all their views.
• Bryan narrowly lost the election to Republican William
McKinley(right), who was pro-business, and wanted to
maintain the gold standard for US currency.
The Social Gospel Movement:
• In the late-1800s, Protestant clergymen began
preaching to church-goers and crowds about the
ills of the lower-class. The primary leader of the
social gospel movement was Josiah Strong.
• This “social gospel movement” advocated
reforms such as the abolition of child labor, and
safer working conditions; and opposed the
harshness of laissez-faire enterprise.
• Groups like the Salvation Army (originally formed
in London, but spread to the US in 1880)
emphasized the Christian duty to help those who
were less fortunate. “Each man is his brother’s
keeper.”
Socialism:
• The poor conditions related to abuses by large banks
and corporations led some critics to demand an end to
the free enterprise system, also known as capitalism.
• Socialists – believed that government should take
control of certain key industries (like transportation
and gas lines), and generally provide more welfare.
• Communists – believed workers should seize control by
force, and abolish all private property.
• Eugene Debs – was one of the
founders of the Industrial Workers of
the World (labor union), and he also
ran as the Presidential candidate for
the Socialist Party several times.
Review - The Roots of Progress:
• Populist Party and William Jennings Bryan –
farmers, factory workers, and miners organized
politically and proposed many ideas for reform
(mostly for their own interests).
• Social Gospel Movement – Protestant preachers
began promoting “Christian duty” to help the lower
class, and end bad conditions.
• Socialism – political ideology that opposed laissez
faire capitalism, and favored more government
control over the economy; it became more popular
during this time period. (late-1800s)
The Muckrakers:
• muckrakers: group of U.S. writers identified with pre-World
War I reform and exposé literature
• As cities expanded, newspapers and magazines reached
larger audiences. Investigative reporters began to expose the
abuses and poor conditions of industrial society in the late1800s, and making them public knowledge.
• They became known as “muckrakers” because they raked-up
the “muck” or dirt of American life.
Famous Muckrackers:
• Jacob Riis: How the Other Half Lives
• Ida Tarbell: History of the Standard Oil
Company
• Upton Sinclair: The Jungle
Jacob Riis:
• Jacob Riis was a reporter and photographer for the New
York Tribune in New York City.
• He spent much of his career reporting on the urban poor,
and the bad conditions of New York slums.
• His book, How the Other Half Lives: Studies among the
Tenements of New York (1890), contained renders of his
photographs; and created a public demand for reform to
help the poor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EACoIbokOcc
Ida Tarbell:
• Ida Tarbell was an American teacher, author and journalist. She
was one of the leading "muckrakers" of the progressive era.
• In 1904, she published her book, The History of the Standard
Oil Company; which exposed John D. Rockefeller’s ruthless
business practices.
• Tarbell’s criticism of the Standard Oil Company helped increase
public opposition of corporate trusts.
What is a Corporate Trust?
• In common terms, a corporate trust is when businesses
agree to work for each-other’s interests.
• When large corporations agreed to a trust, it sometimes
ending-up creating a monopoly – where one business, or a
group of businesses, controlled the majority of an industry.
•
John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil
Company used corporate trusts and
horizontal integration to eliminate
competition with other oil businesses.
•
During this time period, the Standard
Oil Company controlled nearly 80% of
all oil production in the United States.
Upton Sinclair:
• Upton Sinclair was an author, and also the founder of
California’s chapter of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties
Union).
• Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, was a novel published in 1906
that described the unsanitary practices of the meatpacking industry. The novel was based on his undercover
investigations of meat-packing plants in Chicago.
• The book caused a public
uproar that helped push
for the passing of the Pure
Food and Drug Act, and
the Meat Inspection Act –
both in 1906 under Pres.
Teddy Roosevelt.
Making Better Products:
• Upton Sinclair’s conversations with President Theodore
Roosevelt about the unsanitary conditions of meat-packing
industries was a major influence on Teddy’s decision to pass
the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act; as
part of his “Square Deal” program (we’ll talk about later).
• Meat Inspection Act (1906)- gave federal inspectors the right
to prevent poor-quality meat from being sold. It also
established national standards for meat-packing plants.
• Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)- government could place
fines on companies for mislabeling food or medicine.
Companies had to be truthful about what they were putting
in their products. (no selling rat meat and calling it beef jerky)
Social Reformers:
• A social reformer, as the name implies, is somebody
who works to better society. Social reformers often
do charity work, or press for government action to
help those less fortunate.
4 Major Social Reformers of this Time Period:
• W.E.B. DuBois
• Ida B. Wells
• Jane Adams
• Susan B. Anthony
W.E.B. DuBois:
• William Edward Burghardt DuBois was an AfricanAmerican sociologist, historian, and civil-rights activist.
• He published “Souls of Black Folk” in 1903, which was a
historical study of race relations in the US. In the book,
he advocated the right for African Americans to vote,
get a good education, and have equal justice under law.
•
He was one of the founders of the
NAACP (National Association for
the Advancement of Colored
People); which was a black civil
rights organization. He was also
the editor of the NAACP monthly
magazine: The Crisis.
Susan B. Anthony:
• In 1872, progressive journalist and author Susan B. Anthony
argued that she had the right to vote, according to the
Fourteenth Amendment – which granted citizens equal
protection of the laws.
• However, in 1874, the Supreme Court ruled that although
women were citizens, they could not vote. (suffrage = the
right to vote)
• In 1890, Susan B. Anthony formed and led the National
American Woman Suffrage Association.
• In 1920, The 19th
Amendment gave women
the right to vote - by making
it illegal for states to deny
suffrage based on gender.
Ida B. Wells:
• Ida B. Wells was an African-American journalist,
newspaper editor, and supporter of the women’s suffrage
movement.
• In March of 1892, three of her African-American friends:
Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell, and Henry Stewart were
lynched in Memphis Tennessee after they had tried to
defend their grocery store from white mob.
• In response, Wells organized a national
anti-lynching campaign; and began
doing investigative journalism to expose
lynching cases around the country. Her
articles were often published in the New
York Age newspaper; and she also gave
public speeches at black civil rights
events in New York.
Jane Adams:
• Jane Adams was a progressive activist, an author, and a supporter
of the women’s suffrage movement.
• In 1889, She founded and operated Hull House in Chicago Illinois,
which was the first and most famous settlement house in the
United States.
• Settlement houses were all-purpose community centers aimed at
helping the poor to rise above their social status . They provided
food, child care, and English lessons for native poor people, and
poor immigrants who needed to adapt to society in America.
Review – Muckrakers and Reformers:
• Jacob Riis: photographer and journalist, documented NY poverty, wrote
How the Other Half Lives.
• Ida Tarbell: author and journalist, wrote History of the Standard Oil
Company, and created outrage against corporate trusts.
• Upton Sinclair: author, investigated corrupt practices of meat-packing
plants in Chicago, wrote The Jungle. Influenced Teddy Roosevelt to pass
the Meat Inspection Act, and the Pure Food and Drug Act.
• W.E.B. DuBois: historian and author, NAACP co-founder, editor of their
monthly magazine The Crisis.
• Susan B. Anthony: author and journalist who fought for women's’
suffrage, she led the National American Woman Suffrage Association.
• Ida B. Wells: journalist and newspaper editor, started a national antilynching campaign, and documented cases of lynching in the New York
Age newspaper.
• Jane Adams: progressive activist, founded Hull House in Chicago which
was a settlement house.
Modern-Day Muckraking:
• Super Size Me: a 2004 American documentary film directed
by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent
filmmaker. Spurlock's film follows a 30-day period from
February 1 to March 2, 2003 during which he ate only
McDonald's food. The film documents this lifestyle's drastic
effect on Spurlock's physical and psychological well-being,
and explores the fast food industry's corporate influence,
including how it encourages poor nutrition for its own profit.