The Progressive Era of Reform

1
The Progressive Era of Reform

• Government Policy Reform Reactions to Changes
  in Americas Social Economic Conditions

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Rise of the Progressive Era

• Populism
• Common School Movement
• The Woman Question
• Labor Organization
• Socialism
• Social Gospel

• Settlement Houses
• Temperance Movement Purity Crusades
• Patronage Garfields Assassination
• Muckrakers

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a) Populists

• Peoples Party formed by farmers (1891-1908)
• Sought increase money circulation (silver
  standard) graduated income tax national
  ownership of railroads farm credit 8-hr.
  workday anti-trust regulation racial
  integration direct election of senators
• 1896-Populist/Democrat candidate William
  Jennings Bryan (Cross of Gold Speech) lost to
  Republican, W. Mckinley

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b) Common School

• Common School (Public Education) had been
  increasing since 1830s, especially following
  the Civil War. (Tax supported)
• Compulsory Education laws. By 1900, 32 states
  required children, age 8-14, to be in school.
• Higher education also expanded, offering
  opportunities to women and minorities. E.g.,
  Booker T. Washington W.E.B. DuBois

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c) Woman Question

• Increasing debate about the social role of women
  in the private (domestic) vs. public spheres of
  life.
• Womens Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, NY in
  1848abolitionists like Lucretia Mott Elizabeth
  Cady Stanton issued Declaration of Sentiments
• Feminist authors, such as Kate Chopin
• Margaret Sanger, demands for access to birth
  control abortion rights
• Social organization, property rights, protection
  from domestic violence

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d) Labor Organization

• Unions had become increasingly common
• Terence Powderlys Knights of Labor, demanding
  broad reforms (8-hr. day, equal pay for equal
  work, ban child labor)
• Samuel Gompers American Federation of Labor
  (A.F.L.) using strike to demand closed shops,
  collective bargaining rights, and bread
  butter union goals (pay, hours, conditions)

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e) Socialism

• Economic and political philosophy that seeks to
  end capitalism (private ownership and markets)
  and replace it with public (government) ownership
  and central planning of the economy to promote
  economic equality distribution of wealth
• Eugene V. Debs (labor leader) formed Socialist
  Party of America in 1898. Won ½ million votes in
  1908 election and over 1 million in 1912 (6)

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f) Social Gospel Movement

• Urban Churches Synagogues attempting to put the
  Jewish Christian teachings of caring for the
  poor into practice.
• By opening charity collection centers, soup
  kitchens, etc. and supporting the prohibition and
  purity and populist movements

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g) Settlement Houses

• Community Centers run by volunteers and charity
  workers who sought more practical charity than
  that offered by philanthropists
• Child care, job placement, schools, job training,
  health clinics, legal aid, playgrounds, parks,
  cultural events
• Jane Addams Hull House in Chicago
• Lillian D. Walds Henry Street House in NYC
• By 1910, 410 settlement houses existed

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h) Temperance Purity Crusades

• Saw drunkenness vice as cause of crime,
  unemployment, and poverty
• Sought prohibitionban on alcohol e.g., A.A.
  Hopkins support of Prohibition Party, formed in
  1869 later, Womens Christian Temperance Union
  (1874)
• Sought bans on gambling, prostitution, obscene
  materials e.g., Anthony Comstocks push for the
  Comstock Law banning obscene materials in U.S.
  mail

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i) Civil Service Reform

• Patronage corruption under the political
  machines of major cities was fought against after
  the assassination of Pres. James Garfield.
• Chester A. Arthur pushed for the passage of the
  Pendleton Act establishing a civil service to
  give jobs to the most qualified applicants based
  on test scores, rather than political loyalty

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j) Muckrakers

• Authors and Journalists who used their
  publications to bring the publics attention to
  topics of corruption and wrong-doing in
  government big business
• Lincoln Steffenscity govt. corruption in St.
  Louis, MO
• Ida Tarbellpredatory practices of Rockefellers
  Standard Oil trust
• Jacob Riispoverty and slums of immigrants in NYC
  (lack of govt. services, overcrowding)
• Upton SinclairThe Jungle unsanitary product and
  inhumane working condition is meatpacking
  industry in Chicago

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Progressivism

• Progressivesreformers in the early 20th century
  who sought government regulation and legal
  actions to solve problems of poverty, inequality
  corruption.
• Opposed extreme change, such as that advocated by
  the Socialists, but adopted many ideas from the
  populists, labor, prohibitionists, suffragettes,
  muckrakers

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Reforms in State Governments

• Progressive GovernorsCharles Evans Hughes (NY)
  Hiram Johnson (CA) Robert LaFollete (WI) Albert
  Cummins (IA)
• LaFolletes Wisconsin Idea Direct Primaries
  (taking candidate nominations out of the hands of
  political bosses and placing it in the hands of
  voters) graduated income tax regulation of
  railroad rates appointing commissions of experts
  to form policies.

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State Governments (continued)

• Oregon passed a number of election reforms to
  expand direct democracy
• Secret Ballot voting
• Initiative Referendum (allowing citizens to
  propose and/or vote on laws or state
  constitutional amendments)
• Recall (petitioning to hold a vote on whether or
  not to remove and elected official)
• Direct Primary Elections

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Municipal Reforms

• Combating political reforms, cities wanted and
  end to patronage and the ability to place to
  power of their governments into the hands of the
  citys people.
• Civil Service reform, like that adopted by the
  federal government
• Home Rule chartersgrants from the state capitol
  to allow cities to manage their own budgets
• Social Welfare programs (pensions, unemployment
  insurance, etc.)

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Municipal Reforms (continued)

• Public ownership of utilities (gas, electric,
  etc.)
• City Commission City Council/City Manager style
  governmentsplacing the budget and operation into
  the hands of a commission or city manager hired
  by the elected city council.

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Woman Suffrage

• 1848, Womens Rights Convention in Seneca Falls,
  NYabolitionists wrote Declaration of Sentiments
  outlining their view of rights of women along
  with their push to end slavery (Lucretia Mott
  Elizabeth Cady Stanton)
• Minor v. Happersett (1875)-Virginia Minor sued
  the St. Louis registrar for violating her 14th
  Amendment right to equal protection as a US
  citizen for refusing to register her to vote.
  The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Missouri.
  Women are citizens, but citizenship alone doesnt
  guarantee the right to vote.

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Woman Suffrage (continued)

• Susan B. Anthony continued to lead protests by
  having women continue to try to vote and then
  bring lawsuits when they were denied in 10
  different states
• 1890-a younger generation organized the National
  American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Led
  by Carrie Chapman Catt, it systematized its
  efforts in voter precincts and pushed for state
  level reforms.

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Woman Suffrage (continued)

• By 1918, 15 states (all in west, except MI NY)
  had equal suffrage for women, 14 others had
  partial suffrage. Leaving 19 with no suffrage
  for woman.
• 1913, Alice Paul split with NAWSA formed the
  Congressional Union (CU) to push for an Amendment
  to the US Constitution for equal suffrage
  nationwide
• 1919, This (19th) amendment was passed by
  Congress ratified by the states in 1920 (72
  years after the Seneca Falls Convention)

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Progressivism at the Federal Level

• After William Mckinley was assassinated in 1900,
  VP Theodore Roosevelt (TR) succeeded to the
  presidency
• Roosevelt was a Republican progressive who
  advocated his Square Deal program
• Trustbuster Arbitration for Worker-Employer
  conflicts Consumer protection Conservation of
  natural resources

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Square Deal

• Enacted over 40 lawsuits against corporations
  using the Sherman Antitrust Act (Beef, Oil,
  Tobacco industries, others)
• 1902 Coal Miners Strikethreatened to operate the
  mines with federal troops this forced the mine
  owners to negotiate with the United Coal Workers
  union
• Government Regulation of Business
• Elkins Act (1903)-gave ICC authority to prosecute
  both railroads and companies for creating
  shipping rebate contracts

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Square Deal (continued)

• 1906-Hepburn ActICC had authority to fix maximum
  railroad rates federal commission appointed to
  investigate the claims made in Upton Sinclairs
  book, The Jungle Meat Inspection Act is passed
  Pure Food Drug Actforced companies to list
  ingredients or contents of their products on
  labels and to use truth in advertisement
• 148 million acres of land was placed under
  federal ownership and protected from sale

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Square Deal (continued)

• In addition to the federal lands under the Bureau
  of Land Management, US Forest Service, Fish
  Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs,
• TR also established over 50 wildlife
  sanctuaries, 5 national parks and 18 national
  monuments-National Park Service
• Today, the federal government has jurisdiction
  (through the Dept. of Interior Dept. of
  Agriculture) over 760-million acres in 11 western
  states more in AK

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The Taft Presidency

• William H. Taft (Rep.) elected in 1908
• Progressive actions also a trustbuster (broke up
  over 80 trusts) passage of Mann-Elkins Act
  (1910)placing telephone telegraph rates under
  the regulation of the ICC in office during
  ratification of the 16th Amendmentinstituting a
  national income tax
• But, overall, Taft is more conservative, than his
  progressive republican predecessor

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Progressives Complaints of Taft

• Progressives oppose tariffs Taft not only failed
  to reduce tariffs he raised one.
• Ballinger-Pinchot AffairSec. of Interior,
  Richard Ballinger, allowed a company to mine coal
  on several million acres of Alaskan federal
  lands. Gifford Pinchot, head of U.S. Forest
  Service, testified against Ballinger at a
  Congressional hearing. Taft fired Pinchot,
  angering conservationists.

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1912 Election

• TR decided to seek election for a 3rd time in
  order to restore progressive momentum
• Republican party nominated Taft (incumbent
  president) as their candidate
• TR formed the Progressive Party (known as the
  Bull Moose Party)and ran on a platform of New
  Nationalism direct primaries, progressive
  (graduated) income taxes, social welfare
  programs, initiative, referendum, recall,
  conservation

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1912 Election (continued)

• Because progressive republicans supported TRs
  progressive party conservative republicans
  supported Taft, the republican vote was split.
• This allowed the Democratic candidate, Woodrow
  Wilson, to win the election.
• Wilson ran on a platform of New Freedom
  balancing free market competition with antitrust
  government regulation of business

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Wilsons Progressivism

• Reduced tariffs
• Established the Federal Reserve to allow
  government to regulate banking industry and avoid
  financial crises caused by corrupt or failing
  banks (like in 1907)it is a private bank under
  federal control
• Established Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to
  regulate interstate commerce
• Passed Clayton Antitrust Actstrengthened
  further defined illegal trust practices

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Wilsons Progressivism

• Federal Farm Loan Boardsubsidized farm credit
• 17th AmendmentDirect election of Senators
• 18th Amendmentnational prohibition on the
  manufacture, shipment, sale of alcohol
• 19th Amendmentsee above

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Civil RightsWeakness of the Progressive Era

• Progressive reforms did not concentrate on the
  rights of racial minorities like African
  Americans or upon rights of new immigrants faced
  with nativist, closed immigration policies.
• African Americans continued to face black codes
  in the south, creating legal segregation and
  public discrimination.

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African Americans (continued)

• Plessy v. Ferguson1896, Sup.Crt. separate, but
  equal ruling on legal segregation
• Sundown towns lynchings remained common (51
  in 1914 alone 382 between 1914-1920). Wilson
  failed to support anti-lynching legislation,
  which would have made it a federal crime
• Wilson resegregated the White House and Federal
  government in 1912

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African Americans (continued)

• Blacks were eliminated from pro-athletics (ML
  Baseball in 1889 KY Derby, 1911)
• KKK membership hit gt1 million in 1915
• President Warren G. Harding (1918-1922) was
  inducted into the KKK on White House lawn
• Race riots in Chicago, 1919 Tulsa, 1921
• Literacy tests poll taxes used to keep poor
  blacks from voting

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Advances in Civil Rights Effort

• While little was done by state and federal
  government to protect the civil rights of
  African-Americans, minorities gained more
  opportunities through increases in higher
  education e.g., Booker T. Washington established
  Tuskegee Institute in AL for blacks
• W.E.B. Dubois helped found the National
  Association for the Advancement of Colored
  Persons (NAACP) in 1909.