The Progressive Era
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Transcript The Progressive Era
The Progressive Era
AMERICAN STUDIES
Problems created by the Industrial Revolution
Working conditions: Long hours, low wages, unsafe
conditions, and child labor
Laissez Faire: No regulations on big business
Companies could treat workers how they wanted, could make
products how they wanted, etc.
Living conditions: Dirty, crowded, unsanitary, no
help for the poor
African Americans: Racism and segregation
Women: Sexism and discrimination
The Progressive Movement
Reformers: Urban middle class
Well-educated people who wanted to fix the problems created
by the Industrial Revolution
Reduce govt corruption and social inequalities
Promote true democracy where all are protected and
represented
Not an organized political party/movement, but
change in public opinion or mindset
Reform = change
Progress toward being a better society
Practice Question
What problem arising from U.S. industrialization did
the progressive reformers of the late 19th and early
20th centuries want the federal government to
address?
A. use of child labor in the workplace
B. unfair taxes on the wealthy
C. restrictions on the use of natural resources
D. lack of capital for railroad expansion
What Progressives Fight For
Progressives fight to reduce the increasing gap
between rich and poor
Against child labor
More women enter workforce: stand up for worker’s rights,
health and safety
Help for the poor
Conservation: Save the environment
Equal treatment for all classes, races, and genders
Views on Laissez-Faire and Big Business
Conservative View: Keep Laissez-Faire; economy
should not be regulated by the govt
Business should be free to compete in any way
Ignore problems of Industrialization because there are more
benefits for business
Social Darwinism: The rich deserve their money
14th Amendment: Regulations deprive people of “life, liberty,
and property”
Progressive View: End Laissez-faire; economy should
be regulated by the govt
Want laws to regulate business’s unfair practices to protect
consumers and promote fair treatment for all
Need to solve problems of Industrialization and end suffering
Newspaper’s Role in Progressive Movement
Mass Circulation of Newspapers
Newspaper and magazine industry grows with advances in
technology
Play a key role in spreading awareness about social
and economic issues
Sold for a penny
Yellow Journalism: publish shocking stories of
sensation, corruption and scandal to get more
readers
Do we have journalists like this today?
Newspaper Rivals
Joseph Pulitzer: New York
World
William Randolph Hearst:
New York Journal
Muckrakers
Muckrakers: Investigative journalists who uncover
corruption and abuses in society
In newspapers, magazines, novels, etc.
“Rake up the muck” in society to expose dirty truth
below the surface of business and politics
Monthly women’s magazine have long articles on
horrible factory conditions and corrupt city officials
Ida Tarbell
One of the first women in investigative reporting
McClure Magazine
1904: Exposes monopolistic methods used by
Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company
Contributes to US Supreme Court Case that breaks
up the monopoly in 1911
Lincoln Steffens
1904: Published a collection of McClure articles
into the book The Shame of the Cities
Uncovers political corruption in the city
governments
Taking bribes, embezzling taxes, using force to remove other
candidates
Photographer Jacob Riis:
Book “How the Other Half Lives”
Shows the hard life of immigrants in the US
Upton Sinclair
Wrote novel The Jungle: exposes the horrors of the
Chicago meatpacking industry
No rules/regulations about how to handle meat, sanitation, what can
go in the sausage, etc.
Public outcry leads to new laws:
The Meat Inspection Act (1906): Gave US officials the
power to check the quality and healthfulness of meats
shipped in interstate commerce
Pure Food and Drug Act:
FDA: Food and Drug Administration established to inspect and
approve quality food
http://app.discoveryeducation.com/search?Ntt=the+ju
ngle&N=18342&N=18343&N=4294939055
Practice Question
What was the Muckrakers role during the
Progressive movement?
A. They were able to work white collar jobs.
B. They uncovered and spread the problems created
during the Industrial Revolution.
C. They used papers to spread the news that the rich
should control the government.
D. They managed the poor at work .
Social Settlement Movement
Terrible living conditions for immigrants in the city
Exposed by photographer Jacob Riis
Encourage efforts to reduce overcrowding and
unsanitary conditions in tenements
Many women become experts on problems of urban poverty
Use their knowledge to persuade legislators to enact new laws
to protect poor and children
Settlement House
Building where women and children could go for
help adjusting to life in the US
Hull House run by Jane Addams in Chicago
Women offered classes in English, art, literature and music
Better supervision to keep kids safe and out of work
Women’s Rights
Suffrage: the right to vote
Seneca Falls Convention in NY (1848): Women’s
suffrage movement begins
First victories for equal rights are on the western frontier states
Men believe women are too emotional, have their husband’s to
represent them, shouldn’t have a voice in the govt
Women want their constitutional rights as a citizen in a
democracy
Leaders: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone and
Susan B. Anthony
Civil Disobedience: Break a law to protest it because
it is unjust
Practice Question
In 1872, as part of a state by state campaign for
women’s suffrage, Susan B. Anthony knowingly and
deliberately violated New York state law by casting a
ballot in the presidential election. She was tried,
found guilty, and ordered to pay a fine. What was the
purpose of Susan B. Anthony’s act of civil
disobedience?
A. to gain support for a particular candidate
B. to use propaganda to influence public opinion
C. to call attention to a perceived injustice
D. to show that unjust laws could not be enforced
Iron Jawed Angels
Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiZRUoqWKB0
Part 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fXpob-C5po
Part 8:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZwoEn5bNug
Part 9:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwcFlhtlfe8
Part 10:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx9iSnmdTZA
Part 11:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HAjqFJTz8w
Suffragists
They present the amendment to Congress every year
for 40 years, but men shoot it down
Progressive Movement supports women’s rights
New Leaders: Alice Paul and Carrie Chapman Catt
Protest using marches and picketing, writing
editorials, serving jail time and going on hunger strike
Passed in Congress in 1919, then must be ratified by
the states
1920: 19th Amendment gives women the right to vote
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYQhRCs9IHM&l
ist=PLPzx_JMdsdg1DhvwhI6mkGdINq5FeH1L&index=4
Practice Question
Fight for Birth Control
Many women suffer and risk their health living in
poverty with frequent pregnancies
Margaret Sanger: Nurse who believed women should
have info on ways to prevent pregnancy
1914: Published magazine and opened first clinic in
Brooklyn, NY
Launched movement for planned parenthood that
gained support in later decades
Temperance Movement
Many progressives (mostly women) wanted to fight
alcohol abuse
Increases poverty and crime rates
Reformers: Carrie Nation would walk into a saloon
and destroy alcohol bottles with an axe
Prohibition:18th Amendment passed in 1919
prohibits sale and manufacture of alcohol (until
1933)
Practice Question
Prohibition was a political attempt to regulate
A. Destruction of families caused by alcohol.
B. Low wages due to monopolies and big business.
C. Injuries caused by organized crime.
D. Poverty caused by illegal drugs.
The Black Movement
Plessey vs. Ferguson: Segregation is legal
Allows Jim Crow Laws in the South to segregate and
discriminate
Progressive Black leaders challenge laws and try to
win support from white reformers
Many blacks in the south being lynched by mobs of
whites
Lynched: To be hung in public to make a statement
Ida B. Wells: Muckraker who writes about racial injustice and
lynching
http://app.discoveryeducation.com/search?Ntt=naacp
Practice Question
What was the effect of the passage of Jim Crow laws
in the United States in the late 19th century?
A. Racial segregation was required by law in
southern states.
B. Native Americans were moved onto reservations.
C. Restrictions were placed on business monopolies.
D. Women were denied the right to vote in national
elections.
Booker T. Washington (1856-1915)
Former slave turned Progressive pacifist
Many white leaders agree with him about
education and training blacks for skilled jobs
Advisor to Teddy Roosevelt
Accepts white supremacy and segregation
Wants economic and educational opportunities,
and fair treatment in court
W.E.B. Dubois (1868-1963)
African American scholar and activist
Chief leader: Organizes Niagara Movement to focus
on publicizing and protesting acts of injustice against
African Americans
Criticizes Booker T. and does not accept inferiority;
wants total equality
Conservative view vs. Radical view
Extreme Radical: Marcus Garvey leads “back to
Africa” movement for black independence
NAACP
1909: Dubois’ movement helps found the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Jane Addams was also one of the founders
Fights for civil rights: Raise awareness through media, fight
against laws in court
1915-1917: Supreme Court:
Desegregates housing
Allows blacks on juries
Run for office in party primaries
Practice Question
What was one perspective of African-Americans that was
reflected in the founding of the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)?
A. the hope of encouraging widespread emigration to
Africa
B. the belief that racial segregation was justified in all
circumstances
C. the goal of forming a new political party to represent
African-Americans
D. the desire to bring about legal and social equality for
African-Americans
Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
President after the death of McKinley at World’s fair
Square Deal: Teddy’s campaign promises fair treatment
for all groups in the US
Poor and rich, laborers and big business, etc.
Works for reform of Laissez-faire system
The Presidents: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTqUKRJk7dQ
Before Roosevelt
Laissez Faire: Govt keeps their hands off the economy
and big business
Stewardship Theory: New idea that presidents had an
obligation to guide the nation’s economic and
political affairs to create better conditions for the
majority
Previous presidents had intervened on the behalf of big
business instead of the people
Teddy wants regulation to help the people
Brought 44 anti-trust cases to court
Teddy Trust Buster
Practice Question
As a result of industrialization in the United States in
the late 19th and early 20th centuries, progressive
reformers sought government regulation of business
in order to
A. control economic cycles of inflation and recession.
B. provide money for public services such as schools
and libraries.
C. restore competition by limiting the power of
monopolies and trusts.
D. prevent companies from moving their factories to
other countries.
Reform Local Government
Progressives focus on issues in urban areas
Problems: Cities controlled by corrupt bosses and
political machines
Only provide aid to the poor who will vote for them
Take bribes and charge high taxes
Reform/Solutions: Remove politicians associated
with political machines
Reduce cost of govt, lower taxes, end corruption
Provide better city services like transportation, police, etc.
Cleveland and Toledo had very Progressive leaders
State Government Reform
Problems: The people have very little say in the govt
Big business has too much power
Solutions:
The secret ballot voting system
Direct Primary: Voters nominate candidates by direct popular
election
Not chosen by political party officials (17th amendment)
Initiative: People can sign a petition to force state legislature to
consider a proposed law
Referendum: Proposed law could be submitted directly to the
people to be voted on
Recall: People could vote on whether to remove an elected
official from office
Social Welfare Reform
Problems:
Child labor
Unsanitary and unsafe streets
Poor quality housing
Lack of education of the poor
Solutions:
Regulation of child labor
Urban planning for better sanitation and police force
Construction of safer housing
Mandatory public education requirements
Economic/Business Reform
Roosevelt is the first president to make a serious
effort to break up the trusts
Problems: Monopolies cause high prices, less
choice, and low quality goods
http://www.history.com/topics/labor/videos#jp-morganbattles-coal-miners-in-1902
Solutions:
Elkins Act: Punishes railroads for giving rebates
Hepburn Act: Interstate Commerce Commission can fix rates
charged by railroads and limits discounts
Enforce the Sherman Antitrust Act: Prosecute and break up
trusts/monopolies
Teddy Roosevelt: Trust Buster
Environmental Reform
Problems: Industrialization causes…
Factory pollution in cities
Lumber and mining companies destroy land out West
Solutions: Conservation to manage use of land and
protect wilderness areas
Conservationist = Environmentalist
The Newlands Reclamation Act (1902): Provided money from
sale of desert lands to be used to finance irrigation projects
The Inland Waterways Act (1907): Appoints a commission to
study use of nation’s rivers
TR establishes 149 national forests/parks
National Parks
Gifford Pinchot: Forces lumbering companies to
replant trees
John Muir: Supports laws to create national parks
like Yosemite and the Grand Canyon
Practice Question
The 1890 U.S. Census led some people to conclude
that there was no longer a frontier line in the West.
Early in the 20th century, President Theodore
Roosevelt advocated the conservation of the nation’s
natural resources. These events signaled a change in
how people perceived
A. farmland.
B. urban areas.
C. wilderness areas.
D. centers of industry and technology.
William H. Taft (1909-1913)
Progressives like: Takes over 90 trusts to court to
break up monopolies
A former member of Teddy’s cabinet who would carry on his
Progressive beliefs
Progressives dislike: Helps business with high tariffs
but doesn’t help the environment
Payne-Aldrich Tariff (1909): Raises prices on imports instead
of lowering them like Progressives wanted
Taft fires Gifford Pinchot and focuses more on business than
the environment
The Presidents:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTqUKRJk7dQ
Child Labor Legislation under Taft
Taft establishes Children’s Bureau to investigate
“welfare of children in all classes”
Keating-Owen Act (1916): Forbids transport of goods
made by factories that employ children
1918: Supreme Court declares it unconstitutional
Tried taxing them extra and passing amendment against it but
failed
1938: Fair Labor Standards Act outlaws child labor and sets
and minimum wage
Election of 1912
Republican Taft runs for re-election
Conservative reformer, moderate Progressive
Breaks up monopolies but still helps big business
Teddy runs as Progressive “Bull-Moose” party
Independent 3rd party candidate, anti-big business
Democrats nominate Woodrow Wilson
Progressive, anti-big business
Election of 1912
Socialist Party: 4th candidate Eugene Debs
Fights for unions and wants govt ownership of all companies
Wilson wins landslide victory: Republican party was
too divided
All candidates were reformers
Wilson promises New Freedom:
Lower tariffs, regulation of big business, and reform of the
banking system
Reform under Woodrow Wilson
Underwood Tariff Law (1913): Lowers tariffs, which
lowers prices of consumer goods
No more discounts for big business
Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914): Strengthens Sherman Act
Businesses must allow competition to exist
Lists specific monopolist practices that are illegal
Same people can’t sit on Board of Directors for several companies (no
interlocking dictatorships)
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 1914: Govt has power to
investigate and punish unfair business practices
Issue orders for monopolies to “cease and desist” anti-competitive
practices
Federal Reserve System
Before Wilson there was no system in control of
increasing/decreasing nation’s supply of currency
Organized system of central banks
Two functions: Promote banking stability
1. Control money supply according to changing needs
of business/economy
2. Provide private banks with reserve money in case to
many people withdrawal money, they can still stay
open
Inflation
Rise in general price of goods and services
Money has less purchasing power
Federal Reserve Bank must adjust interest rate to
avoid recession
http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm
Practice Question
What was a key reason for the creation of the Federal
Reserve System?
A. to encourage exports
B. to increase tax revenues
C. to reduce budget deficits
D. to promote banking stability
History of Halloween
http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/videos#b
et-you-didnt-know-halloween