Transcript The Progressive Era— Part III NOTES VI. At the same time workers were fighting for better treatment, America’s farmers were also trying to work together. Farmers.

The Progressive Era—
Part III
NOTES
VI. At the same time workers were
fighting for better treatment,
America’s farmers were also
trying to work together.
Farmers felt victimized by big
business, specifically by the
banking industry and the
railroads.
A. One of these organizations was
called the National Grange of
the Order of Patrons of
Husbandry, or the Grange for
short. It was a group that
sought to help farmers work
together for better treatment,
like better railroad rates, etc.
B. A political party grew out of
concerns for the farmers. It was
called the People’s Party and is
more commonly referred to as the
Populist Party. Formed by
farmers angry with big business
and the railroads, the Populist
Party fought for government
policies to benefit farmers.
VII. Progressive Reformers
A. Muckrakers were journalists
and authors who sought to
expose the ills of postindustrial life in the United
States.
1. Frank Norris was a
naturalist novelist. His
writing brought
attention to many
problems with big
business, particularly
against the railroads.
2. Ida Tarbell was a journalist who
wrote The History of the Standard
Oil Company, a book that exposed
the business practices of Standard
Oil and John D. Rockefeller. After
making the public aware of these
practices, the book did much to
lead the passing and enforcement
of anti-trust laws.
3. Lincoln Steffens wrote The Shame
of the Cities, a book that detailed
the suffering and corruption in
American cities, which was
particularly being felt by the
country’s immigrant population.
It also led the passing of laws to
curb the problems.
4. Jacob Riis also focused on the
overcrowded and unsanitary
conditions in American cities. He
wrote How the Other Half Lives,
which featured his photographs of
the conditions in the tenements
in New York City. His work also
prompted laws to improve life in
cities.
5.
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, detailed
the horrific conditions and practices
in Chicago’s meat packing plants. The
book caused a public uproar, and
even President Teddy Roosevelt
demanded laws be passed to fix
these problems. Specifically, the
federal government passed the Meat
Inspection and Pure Food and Drug
Acts in response to the Jungle.
VIII. Immigration
A. Reasons for immigration
were varied. Some people
had to escape a problem in
their home country. Others
came to America because it
offered the opportunity for a
better life.
B. Most immigrants settled in the
major cities when emigrating,
such as New York, Boston,
Chicago, San Francisco and Los
Angeles. After establishing
themselves in the U. S., people
moved to other areas of the
country and new immigrants took
their place.
C. Many difficulties faced
immigrants. They took the low
paying jobs in factories and were
often viewed as a threat. Groups
that are considered “white” today
were not viewed that way when
large numbers were emigrating
(Germans, Irish, Italians, etc.).
D. Most immigrants found
assimilation the best way to
get accepted intro
American society. Some
stopped speaking their
native languages or
practicing their native
customs.
E. Reactions against immigration were
often fierce in economic hard times.
1. The Know Nothing Party (1850’s)
was formed as a nativist—
meaning anti-immigration—
political party seeking to stop the
country from being overrun with
immigrants. Only Protestant
males over 21 were allowed to
join. The party had little success.
2. Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) was passed
to stop immigration of Chinese. Chinese
began coming to the United States during
the California Gold Rush. More came to
build the railroads. When hard times hit,
the Chinese immigrants were often target
in hate crimes. The government reacted
to this by passing laws that discriminated
against the Chinese, including this act. It
is the biggest limit on immigration in U. S.
History, not being repealed until 1943.
3. The “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1907) was
an informal deal between the United
States and Japan, where the U. S. agreed
to not pass laws limiting Japanese
immigration if Japan promised to limited
Japanese emigration. If Japan did this,
the United States promised to accept
Japanese that had already emigrated.
This agreement was made because racism
and violence against Japanese in
California was widespread.
4. Literacy Tests (1917) were
made mandatory for
immigration into the United
States. This disallowed the
entry of people who did not
speak English, which were
most any groups seeking to
come to the United States.
5.
Emergency Quota Act (1921) severely
limited the number immigrants. In
addition, it set limits on how many
people could come from what
countries. Only a 3% increase for any
racial group in the United States were
allowed entry into the country. This
act was designed to keep the status
quo in regards to the racial make-up
of America.
6. National Origins Act (1924)
limited the percent from the
Emergency Quota Act to 2%.
This act, like its predecessor,
limited the immigration of “undesirable” groups from
Southern Europe, for instance.
IX. The Progressive Era was a time
of great change in American
history.
A. Many of the Progressive
reforms dealt with
problems in the American
economy.
1. Labor issues that threatened to
rip society apart were
alleviated by the rise of labor
unions pushing for government
intervention by creating limits
on the work day and work
week, establishing minimum
wages and requiring safety
standards.
2. Unfair business
practices, such as
monopolies, were
outlawed and the
influence of big business
was curbed.
B. The American political system was
also changed by the Progressive
Era.
1. The role of the American
government in the economy
was forever changed as
government moved away from
lassiez fair to increasing
regulation of business and the
economy.
2. But government's role
was also expanded into
social welfare, as
government addressed
the problems of
America's growing cities.
3.
Politics was also changed by several
Progressive Era Constitutional
amendments: the Sixteenth
Amendment--which created federal
income tax, the Seventeenth
Amendment which called for the
direct election of Senators, and
women being granted the vote by the
Nineteenth Amendment.
4.
Finally, American politics was
impacted as the role of the American
President was changed with the
emergence of strong Presidents-William McKinley, Theodore
Roosevelt, William Taft and Woodrow
Wilson--during the Progressive Era.
Through those administrations, the
Presidency was strengthened and
became a focal point for national
politics.
C. American society was also changed.
1. Compulsory education, the ultimate
success of the Temperance
Movement in securing the passage
of Prohibition (Eighteenth
Amendment), the impact of
Muckrakers in exposing the ills of
modern, industrial society, the
development of modern medicine
and immigration all made lasting
impacts on America.
2. All in all, the Progressive Era was able to
address, to varying degrees, the myriad
of problems facing America at the turn of
the century. It was a remarkable era of
change. While problems still existed at
its conclusion, the era at least gave the
hope that America was able to reinvent
itself. The Progressive Era would help
lead to the "Roaring 20's," which began
as a sort of golden age, but would end in
disaster.