Chapter 19 The Progressive Era

Mrs. Hauber

Who were the Progressives?

  Emerging Middle Class Believed in the idea of Progress —growth and advancement of the U.S.

 Wanted Reforms that included:  Better working conditions    Better Pay Less Corruption More government involvement to end abuses

The Gilded Age

 Lasted between 1870 and 1890  Wealthy men took advantage of poor immigrants  Corruption and dishonesty existed in the government

The Spoils System

 Immigrants and other political supporters were granted jobs in exchange for votes.

 The wealthy business owners often used bribery to get laws passed that were in their favor.

 Big Business had a huge influence over politics

Civil Service Commission

  Pendleton Act —created the Civil Service Commission Civil service —a system based on merit to receive government jobs  Excluded the judiciary, elected positions, and the military  Those who performed highest on a test got the jobs.

Interstate Commerce Act

 Was set up to oversee the railroad industry and any trade that crossed state lines.

 Forbade rebates   Included ferries, buses, bridges, pipelines, etc.

Sherman Anti-trust Act —stopped businesses from trying to destroy competition.

 Was not fully enforced

Corruption in the Cities

 Party bosses —powerful politicians that controlled the means to production and demanded payoff from businesses.

  Handed out free turkeys and coal to the immigrants and poor in exchange for jobs and their votes.

Boss tweed —Most famous party boss that cheated NY out of $100 million; fled to Spain; was caught and died in jail.

TR’s Square Deal

   Square Deal —When TR becomes President, he promises everyone equal opportunity.

Progressives —believed in reforms to help the everyday man. Progressives wanted to put an end to economic privilege and corrupt politics.

Death of McKinley

 In the 1904 election, McKinley won again.

  Assassinated early in his presidency at the Pan-American Conference Leon Czolgosz — anarchist who murdered McKinley  TR becomes President

Teddy Roosevelt

      Dynamic personality; lots of energy Well-to-do family Poor health Became blind in one eye from boxing Became champion of the everyday man despite his wealth Known as the “trustbuster”

The Coal Strike

 Problems for mine workers    Poor working conditions Reckless on safety No raises in over 20 years   Long work hours John Mitchell —President of the United Mine workers that organized a strike

Coal Strike (continued)

 The Mine owners refused to work with the union  Coal was necessary for railroads, so TR intervened.

 After threatening to send in the army, the mine owners finally agreed to arbitration  Coal miners received most of their demands.

The Northern Securities Case

 TR defended the public interest against trusts  A combination of railroads in the Northwest forced people to pay whatever rates the railroads wanted to charge  TR sued them under the Sherman Anti-trust Act  The Court ordered the trust to dissolve.

Good Trust vs. Bad Trust

 Good Trusts   Beat its rival because of better prices Better products   Managed more efficiently Should only be regulated  Bad Trusts  Formed to gouge the public   Ends competition Should be broken up or dissolved

Hepburn Bill

  TR strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission Hepburn Bill —gave the ICC power over pipelines, express and sleeping car companies, bridges, ferries, and terminals

Other Reform Legislation

 Meat Inspection Act —required all meatpackers to meet federal inspection requirements  As a result of Upton Sinclair’s book “The Jungle”  Pure Food and Drug Act —required proper labeling and safeguards against the testing on new drugs.

Conservation of Natural Resources

  Conservation —the movement to conserve resources for future use (such as forests and water) Newlands Reclamation Act —Large dams and canal systems were built to conserve water for irrigation.

Section 2: Middle Class Reformers • Overview: – Reform in the Cities – State Government Reform – Direct Democracy – Women’s Suffrage and Other Changes in Voting – Muckrakers

A. Reform in the Cities • Political bosses—those who controlled the cities by promising jobs for votes.

• City mangers took over in many smaller cities (non-politicians) • Settlement houses—housing for the urban poor

B. State Government Reform • Robert LaFollette—Wisconsin governor who initiated many progressive reforms • TR called Wisconsin a “laboratory for democracy”

C. Progressive Measures • Child labor laws • Direct primary—public chose party candidate • 17 th amendment—direct election of senators • Initiative—initiate a law by petition • Referendum—public votes on a law • Recall—removing an elected official

More Progressive Measures • Workmen’s Compensation Laws • Women’s Suffrage – By 1896, women could vote in 4 states • More Regulation of the Railroads • Heavier tax burden for the rich

D. Muckrakers • Reform journalists and novelists who wrote about the evils of society – Ida Tarbell—attacked the Standard Oil Company – Lincoln Steffens—”Shame of the Cities” – Jacob Riis—”How the other Half Lives”— took pictures showing poor and starving children.

Taft

 Characteristics:      TR campaigned for his win Very large man; over 300 lbs (actually got stuck in the White House Bath Tub) Very cautious—exact opposite of TR Did not continue to support the Progressive Movement the way TR did Only person to be both President and Supreme Court Judge

Taft Disappoints the Reformers

   Reformers wanted a lower tariff Taft promised during his campaign to achieve this Payne-Aldrich tariff—only a minor revision to the existing tariff and disappointed the reformers.

Royal Progress of TR

   TR toured through Western Europe Spoke out against Taft when he returned Continued to call for Progressive Reforms

Taft vs. Roosevelt

    Many people wanted TR back as President and he loved a good fight.

“New Nationalism”—TR’s Campaign Slogan  Called for stricter regulation of larger corporations and a real tariff revision.

Republicans stuck with Taft TR started new Party called the Progressive Party (Bull Moose Party)

Election of 1912

   Four candidates included:    Taft (R) TR (Progressive) Wilson (D)  Debs (Socialist) Wilson won because the Republican vote was split between TR and Taft.

Taft had the least amount of votes ever for an incumbent President

Woodrow Wilson and the New Freedom

 Characteristics of Wilson:  Like a minister  Literary President  President of Princeton University  Gov. of NJ  Writing was wonderful but he was stiff in front of people.

A New Dedication

 Tariff Reform  Underwood Simmons Bill —reduced the tariff by 11% lower than the Payne-Aldrich tariff  Currency and Banking Reforms  “Run”—depositors withdrew their money from banks due to panic.

 A run could force a bank to close very quickly and cause other runs

Federal Reserve Act

 Divided the country into 12 districts providing each with a Federal reserve Bank  These banks:  Were the bankers banks  Lent money to banks to prevent runs  Created Federal Reserve Notes  Provided a way to mobilize the banking reserves in times of panic.

Regulating Business

 Clayton Anti-trust Act  Prohibited one company from taking over the stock of another if it created a monopoly  Forbade anyone to serve as a director of two ore more corporations when it lessened competition.

 Federal trade Commission (FTC) —issued a “cease and desist” order against practices that were unfair or restrained trade.

The Rights of Women

Women Win the Right to Vote

Seneca Falls Convention movement —marked the start of the women’s suffrage Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony started the National Women’s Suffrage Association In the late 1800s, 4 states granted women the right to vote: Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, and Idaho.

Growing Support

By 1900, many women were working outside the home.

They felt they deserved a say in laws that would affect them.

Suffragists —people who worked for women’s rights to vote

Important Suffragists

Carrie Chapman Catt —won suffrage for women state by state Alice Paul —radical who went on hunger strikes who finally appealed to Wilson for the 19 th Amendment

The 19

th

Amendment

By 1919, Congress made women’s right to vote a constitutional amendment.

This doubled the number of eligible voters

New Opportunities for Women

Higher Education Boston University gave the first PhD to a woman By 1900, the nation had over 1000 women lawyers and 7000 women doctors.

Women Reformers

Florence Kelley — investigated the conditions in sweatshops Was made chief factory inspector for Illinois Organized a boycott of goods from factories that employed children

The Crusade Against Alcohol

Women’s Christian Temperance Movement —organization that campaigned against alcohol abuse.

Frances Willard —President of the WCTU.

Spoke about the evils of alcohol Carrie Nation —stormed into saloons smashing beer kegs.

The 18

th

Amendment

In 1917, the 18 th Amendment — enforced prohibition.

Prohibition- banned the sale or consumption of alcohol.

African Americans

• Discrimination – Often refused to rent homes – Restricted to the worst housing – Had the poorest jobs

Booker T. Washington

• Booker T. Washington – Born into Slavery – Taught himself to read – Worked in the coal mines – Believed in earning respect from whites

over time

– Wrote the book “Up From Slavery” – Believed in Patience

W.E.B. DuBois

– First African-American to receive a PhD

from Harvard

– Believed in fighting for your rights – Started the NAACP (National Association

for the Advancement of Colored People)

– Did not believe in patience

Campaign Against Lynching

• Lynching—murder by a mob (usually

by hanging)

• Ida Wells urged Blacks to protest

lynchings by using boycotts

Setbacks and Successes

• Wilson ordered civil service jobs be

segregated

• Despite this, a few Black Americans

prevailed:

– George Washington Carver—discovered

hundreds of new uses for peanuts

– Sarah Walker—created hair care

products for African-American Women (she became the 1 st woman millionaire)

Mexican Americans

• Mexicans also

faced segregation

• In 1920, Thousands

of Mexicans fled to the US because of famine and a revolution.

• They were paid

lest than white workers and denied skilled jobs

Mexican Americans (continued)

• Created barrios—an

ethnic Mexican American neighborhood

– Largest one was

located in Los Angelos

• Mutualists—mutual

aid groups which pooled their money together to help pay for the sick and needy

Asian Americans

• Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 kept

Chinese from settling in the US

• In the 1900s, over 100,000 Japanese

immigrated to the US

– Most worked as farmers – Lived mostly in Hawaii and California – Farms became very profitable

Gentlemen’s Agreement

• Prejudice against Asians was high • Forced to attend separate schools • Gentlemen's Agreement—Japan

would stop more workers from coming to the US if the US would allow Japanese wives to join their husbands.

• In 1913, California banned Asians

who were not American citizens from owning land

Religious Minorities

• Anti-Catholic feelings arose in public

schools

• As a result, parochial school (schools

sponsored by the church) arose.

• Anti-Semitism—prejudice against

Jews.

• Anti-Defamation League—

worked to promote understanding and fight prejudice against Jews.

Section 5: Seeking A World Role

 TR  Taft  Wilson

A. TR and Foreign Affairs

 Motto: Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick  Loved power for the US and himself  US became the 2 nd largest navy in the World

B. The US and the Far East

 Russia went after Manchuria  Was Against Open-Door Policy  Japan fought them because  of their interest in that area.

 Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) — armed conflict between Russia and Japan over Manchuria

C. Roosevelt’s Role

 Wanted to keep a balance of power between the two countries (so that US influence could be maintained)  TR offered arbitration

D. Root-Takahira Agreement (Treaty of Portmouth)

 Ended the Russo-Japanese War with the following conditions:  Russia had to withdraw troops from Manchuria  Japan had to follow Open-Door Policy in Manchuria  Japanese dominance in Korea  US dominance in the Philippines  TR won Nobel Peace Prize

E. The Panama Canal

 US wanted to buy Panama from Columbia —we could move our navy from one ocean to another  US made an offer, but Columbia wanted more.

Panama Canal (continued)

 A Revolution broke out in Columbia (some historians say we started it)   Insurgents prevailed New “independent” republic of Panama leased the Canal to the US for 99 years.

Building the Canal

 Work began in 1904, but stopped because of yellow fever.

 Dr. Gorgas —destroyed breeding grounds  Cost of building the canal: $50 mill and $25 mill in reparations to Panama.

F. Roosevelt Corollary

 Addendum to the Monroe Doctrine  Us would intervene in Latin America if there was any chronic wrong doings.

G. Foreign Affairs Under Taft

 Dollar Diplomacy —using US forces and US ambassadors to promote business overseas  Urged Americans to invest abroad to build American Influence  Our government would protect US investors.

H. Wilson’s Moral Foreign Policy

 First test came in Mexico  Huerta —Overthrew the Mexican Government  President de Facto-Foreign governments recognize someone in control without it being legal.

 US refused to recognize Huerta

Wilson (continued)

 Wilson asked Congress to assist the Mexican government by sending in troops  US intercepted arms sent to Huerta and fighting ensued.

 Huerta stepped down to a provisional government.

I. Chasing Pancho Villa

 Villa —bandit that began a new revolt in Mexico.

 He burned Columbus, NM and many US citizens were killed.

 Gen. John Pershing —sent by Wilson (along with 15,000 troops) to bring Pancho Villa back Dead or Alive.

 US gave up with the threats of WWI.