Transcript Chapter 21
Chapter 21 Progressivism Web Progressivism and the Protestant Spirit • The first Progressives were young, mainly middle-class Protestants – Became “Ministers of reform” • Social Gospel movement Muckrakers, Magazines, and “Realism” • Investigative journalists published problems in society – Derided by Theodore Roosevelt and others as “muckrakers” • Mass-circulation magazines helped spread muckrakers’ work • Also helped by rise of “realism” – Intellectual movement that prized detachment, objectivity, skepticism – Impetus for reformist push among middle-class Settlement Houses and Women’s Activism • Goal was to help immigrant poor cope with realities of urban life • Hull House (1889) first U.S. Settlement House – Variety of programs to ease adjustment to life in America – Also worked for government regulation/intervention – Recognized value of “immigrant gifts” Settlement House and Women’s Activism (cont.) • Progressive reformers as culturally conservative – Disdained displays of female sexuality – Opposed alcohol consumption • Supported Women’s Christian Temperance Union and Anti-Saloon League • Culminated in Eighteenth Amendment (1919) • Women • S clubs also worked for reform in areas of traditional female concern – Education, playgrounds, libraries; fire and sanitation codes Socialism and Progressivism • Socialist Party of America at its peak during Progressive Era • Appeal to Reason reached 750,000 subscribers weekly – Serialized Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle • Wide variety of socialisms in America • Close alliance between socialism and progressivism – Some progressives even traveled back and forth between the two ideologies Cities and Towns Electing Socialist Mayors ©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license. Municipal Reform • Early battles over transportation and utilities • Reform city government by instituting structural reforms – City commission and city manager – Often reduced influence of poor and minority voters Political Reform in the States • Reforms to undermine party bosses and return sovereignty to the people – Direct primary; direct election of senators; initiative; referendum; recall; • Efforts to ensure a virtuous, informed electorate – – – – Australian ballot (actually predated Progressive Era) Personal registration laws Requirement that citizenship precede voting rights Restrictions in South on African-American voting rights • Woman suffrage – Exception to general trend toward limiting the electorate – Accepted fundamental differences between men and women – Nineteenth Amendment, 1920 Voter Participation in 13 Southern States, 1876, 1892, 1900, 1912 ©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license. Economic and Social Reform in the States • Robert La Follette and the “Wisconsin Idea” – Extensive reformist agenda – Especially tried to curb power of corporations – Worked in collaboration with social scientists fron University of Wisconsin • Wisconsin industrial Commission, 1911 • Progressive reform in New York – Under direction of governor Charles Evans Hughes – Fought political corruption, regulated business – Reformers pressuring for social justice regulation A Renewed Campaign for Civil Rights • Rising criticism of Booker T. Washington’s accommodationism • W.E.B. Du Bois and the Niagara Movement – Militant political agenda – National Association for the advancement of Colored People (1910) • The Crisis, edited by Du Bois • Gave rise to the National Urban League, which worked to improve economic and social conditions for blacks in the cities National Reform • Certain problems demanded national solutions • Leadership came from executive rather than legislative branch • Theodore Roosevelt and the “Square Deal” – First Progressive president – Strengthen government, vis-à-vis corporations • Anthracite coal strike, 1902 • Hepburn Act, 1906 – Pure Food and Drug Act, 1906 • Meat Inspection Act, 1906 – Support for environmental action • Laid foundation for National Park Service, 1916 The Taft Presidency • William Howard Taft was Roosevelt’s handpicked successor • Did not end up meeting expectations – Controversy over the tariff – Struggle over forest land • Roosevelt signaled his displeasure in 1910 – Set stage for his political return Roosevelt’s Return • Elaborated “New Nationalism” in 1910 – Broad reform program based on increased federal power • Stabilize economy, protect weak, restore social harmony • Midterm elections revealed popularity of his ideas • Tried unsuccessfully to challenge Taft for Republican nomination in 1912 • Formed Progressive (Bull Moose) Party – Far-reaching reform program The Rise of Woodrow Wilson • Identified with anti-Bryan wing of Democratic Party • Believed that reform should proceed in an orderly, peaceful way • Emerged by 1912 as one of the nation’s most outspoken progressives The Election of 1912 • Skillful political dealing netted Wilson the Democratic nomination • Socialist Eugene Debs, Progressive Roosevelt, Republican Taft rounded out field • Three reformist candidates, one conservative • Debate focused on the trusts – Wilson program of “New Freedom” • Government would assume power to break up the trusts, then surrender the new powers once that had been accomplished – Debs called for government ownership of the trusts – Roosevelt’s New Nationalism advocated permanent new powers for government – Wilson won with plurality ©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license. Presidential Election, 1912 The Wilson Presidency • First order of business was tariff – Underwood-Simmons Tariff, 1913 • Reduced rates from approximately 40 to 25 percent • Difference would be made up by new federal income tax • Issue of financial system overhaul – Federal Reserve Act, 1913 • • • • Most important law of Wilson’s first term Systemized and strengthened nation’s financial system Represented retreat from New Freedom Seemed more like Roosevelt’s New Nationalism The Wilson Presidency (cont.) • Pull back from rigorous antitrust prosecution – Federal Trade Commission Act, 1914 • Amounted to helping business regulate itself • Another retreat from New Freedom • Wilson, in effect, had become a New Nationalist • By 1916, Wilson was endorsing all sorts of reformist legislation – Kern-McGillicuddy Act – Keating-Owen Act – Adamson Act • Democrats became the chief guardian of the American Web reform tradition