The Progressives

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The Progressives

• Good Politics or Meddlesome Control?

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Origins of the Progressives

• Problems associated with industrialization,
  immigration and urbanization
• Belief that these problems can be addressed and
  solved
• Belief that government is the agency to address
  these ills
• Increased use of scientific theory, formal
  education, expertise, and use of data

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Who were progressives?

• Middle Class
• Civic Involvement, , and Time
• Sympathy for the lower classes but not among them
• Educated
• Across geopolitical boundaries
• Across political parties
• Grassroots oriented
• Exposure of issues needing reform

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Muckrakers

• Magazines
• McClures
• Colliers
• Newspapers
• Books (Newspaper series collected into Books)

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Muckrakers

• Ida Tarbell (Standard Oil)
• Lincoln Steffens, The Shame of Cities
• Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives
• Thorstein Veblen, (Conspicuous Consumption
• Upton Sinclair (The Jungle)
• "I aimed at the publics heart and by accident
  hit its stomach."
• emotive, empathetic, short on policy

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Prominent Local Progressives

• Hazen Pingree, Mayor of Detroit
• Hiram Johnson, Governor of California
• Woodrow Wilson, Governor of New Jersey
• Robert LaFollette, Governor of Wisconsin
• Laboratory of Democracy
• The Wisconsin Idea

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Political Progressive Reforms

• City Managers
• Use of university think tanks/ braintrusts
• Direct Election of Senators
• Initiative
• Referendum (Binding vs. Non-Binding)
• Recall
• Australian Ballot/ Secret Ballot
• Womens Suffrage

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Social Progressive Reforms

• Local codes, state regulations
• Temperance (eventually national WCTU)
• Poverty, Disease
• Prostitution

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Economic Progressive Reforms

• Increased regulation of big business
• Stronger Anti-Trust Legislation
• Maximum Hours and Minimum Wage
• Workers Compensation (Job Injury)
• Worker Safety
• SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY
• Food, drugs, city streets, playgrounds,
• Emergence of more modern notion of childhood

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Progressivism Goes National

• Cross Political Parties
• TR (Republican)
• Taft (Republican)
• Wilson (Democrat)

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TR and the Square Deal

• Consumers
• Meat Inspection Act
• Pure Food and Drug Act
• Aldrich-Vreeland Act

• Labor
• Anthracite Coal Miner Strike

• Big Business
• Elkins and Heburn Acts
• Northern Securities
• Good Trust/Bad Trust

• Environment
• National Park Land
• MURM
• Hetch Hetchy Valley