Progressivism and Democracy in Early 20th-Century America

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Progressivism and Democracy in Early 20th-Century
America
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Who, What, and Why of Progressivism

• Americans confront changes produced by
  industrialization
• improve conditions of life
• create social stability and order
• Not a single coherent movement
• a mass response to various problems
• issue driven effort

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Origins of Progressivism
Homestead

• Crisis of 1890s
• discredited traditional ideas of role of
  government class conflict party politics
• city govt unable to cope
• By 1900, economy revived but many did not forget
  the earlier crises

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Progressive Ideology Ethos

• Accepted industrial capitalism
• Faith in progress optimism
• Belief in use of govt to reform society
• changed definition of liberalism
• Drew Upon Evangelical Protestantism
• Social gospel infused morality
• Faith in New Ideas and Science
• Power of experts

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Urban America

• Changed political power structure
• Recall, initiative, citywide election
• New forms of urban govt
• Commission city manager
• Municipal Ownership
• City Beautiful

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Class, Corporate America, and Defining Democracy
in the Progressive Era
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Labor, Capital, and TR

• Radical labor and politics
• Debs and Socialism
• Teddy Roosevelt and the corporations
• Govt as counterbalance
• Trustbusting
• Regulating Corporations
• Meat Inspection Act
• Pure Food and Drug Act

Debs
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Election of 1912

• Progressive Party
• TRs New Nationalism
• Federal govt regulation of big business in
  publics interest
• Wilsons New Freedom
• Federal govt regulate competition by breaking up
  trusts

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Wilson and Progressivism

• New Freedom at work?
• Tariffs
• Federal Trade Commission
• Regulate competition a la TRs New Nationalism
• Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914
• Politics and social reformers

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Legacy of Progressivism

• Accepted corporation as basic unit of commercial
  life
• Regulation not laissez faire or trust-busting
  keystone of govt-business relations / Rejected
  19th century ideas
• Federal govt increasingly committed to protect
  unfortunate
• Progressivism as father of New Deal

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New Voices of Democracy in the Progressive Era
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Women and Public Life

• Separate spheres
• 19th century gender norms
• Hull House and Jane Addams
• Entering the public sphere
• middle-class womens clubs
• Katherine Edson as example

Jane Addams
Hull House
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Votes For Women

• Women and the West
• Inherent rights argument
• Rights as citizens
• Municipal housekeeping argument
• To save the family and children
• Women best suited / character traits
• National Womans Party
• 19th Amendment

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Gender and the Purification of Society

• Prostitution and Prohibition
• Imposing middle class culture
• Women on the radical fringe
• Emma Goldman
• Margaret Singer

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Race and Democracy in Progressive America

• Great Migration
• New dreams and new realities
• Competing African American Voices
• Booker T. Washington
• Atlanta Compromise Speech
• WEB DuBois and NAACP
• CA Progressivism and Alien Land Laws

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Web Sites

• Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
• 1912 Election