Era of Progressive Reform

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Era of Progressive Reform

• Section 1 Origins of Progressivism

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Progressivism

• Term for 1890-1920 era of various reform
  movements working to bring progress
• Roots in earlier movements (prohibitionists,
  social gospel movt, charity reformers,
  settlement houses)
• Goals
• Increased govt regulation of businesses
• Not govt takeover, but protection of workers
  rights
• Decreased govt corruption
• Get rid of political machines keep the peoples
  needs a priority
• Increased govt responsibility for welfare of
  American citizens
• Social welfare programs unemployment, health
  insurance, social security
• Moral issues (e.g. Prohibition)

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Problems of Industrialized Cities

• Rapid industrialization led to
• Unemployment
• Unsafe working conditions
• Political corruption (political machines)
• Private efforts werent enough ? pressure on
  government to help

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Muckrakers

• Investigated one area of concern in depth
• Publicized findings through writing (books,
  newspapers, magazines)
• American public would put pressure on legislators
  to make changes
• Ex Upton Sinclairs The Jungle (1906)

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Women as Reformers

• Took on various issues
• Alcohol, workplace conditions, corruption
• Most agreed that suffrage was a priority
• Labor issues ending child labor, limiting
  hours, regulating workplace conditions

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Resistance to Reform

• Usually from the very people Progressives were
  trying to help
• Immigrants
• Impoverished families
• Ex Progressives pushed for child labor laws,
  but many poor families could not survive without
  sending their children to work, so they objected.

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Urban Reforms

• Attacking the bosses
• Political machines were getting criticism from
  reformers
• Took bribes and made businesses pay them fees
• Stole government money for themselves
• Efforts to
• Make govt more efficient
• Cut down on corruption graft
• Sometimes political machines cooperated with
  citizens for improvements
• Registering voters, improving infrastructure

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Urban Reforms

• Utilities
• Electric, water, gas
• Cities try to dislodge monopolies who owned
  utilities
• City control more affordable stable
• Providing Welfare Services
• Public baths, parks, work-relief, lodging houses,
  playground, free kindergarten
• Pingree (Detroit) Tom Johnson (Cleveland)
  pioneering mayors
• What changes did each make? (pg. 310)

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Labor Reforms

• Increased use of unions
• Tools
• Negotiations, strikes, boycotts, lobbying
• Goals
• Shorter hrs, better pay (min. wage equal pay),
  restrictions on child labor, better/safer working
  conditions
• Women were often leaders in labor reform
• Florence Kelley
• Mary Harris Jones
• Alice Stokes Paul
• Frances Perkins

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Labor Reforms

• Frances Perkins
• Served as NY state Industrial Commissioner
• 1st woman to hold a Cabinet post
• Secretary of Labor (in FDRs admin.)
• Fought for min. wage, unemployment, Social
  Security, the right to unionize, and limits on
  working hrs for women children

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Frances Perkins with Eleanor Roosevelt
And with Franklin Roosevelt
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Can you find her?
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Labor Reforms

• Florence Kelley
• investigated labor conditions as a factory
  inspector in Chicago
• Pushed to create Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Worked to restrict child labor
• By 1907, the NCLC (National Child Labor
  Committee) had convinced 30 states to outlaw
  child labor under age 14
• Secretary of the NCL (Natl Consumers League)

For more than 100 years, the National Consumers
League has followed these founding principles
That the working conditions we accept for our
fellow citizens should be reflected by our
purchases, and that consumers should demand
safety and reliability from the goods and
services they buy.
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State Reforms

• More power to voters
• Initiative process by which people could
  propose new laws by petition
• Referendum laws are referred to public they
  have the power to vote on it
• Recall power to remove politicians from office
  BEFORE next election

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State Reforms

• More Power to Voters
• Direct primary public can vote on party
  nominees for govt positions
• Initiated by Minnesota in 1899
• By 1915, about 2/3 of the states used this
• 17th Amendment (1913) voters can elect senators
• Used to be chosen by the State legislature

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T. Roosevelt Progressive President

• Early background
• Wealthy family
• Sickly child (overcame w/ sports)
• Became a well-rounded athlete attended Harvard

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• Political history other positions
• Age 26 served in NY state legislature
• 1884 left politics, went out west bought a
  ranch started a hunting club (became interested
  in conservation)
• Returned to work in Civil Service Commission
• NYC police commissioner
• Asst. Secretary of the Navy (quit so he could
  fight in the Spanish-American War 1898)
• Gov. of NY
• Rise to Presidency
• Served as McKinleys VP
• Became President when McKinley
• was assassinated in 1901

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William H. Taft

• T. Roosevelts Secretary of War
• Easily won election of 1908 (Rep.)
• Progressive, not aggressive
• Continued some of T.R.s reform efforts
• Trustbusting, child labor laws, 17th Amend.
• More cautious than T.R.
• Unpopular issues
• Did not lower tariffs (Payne-Aldrich Tariff)
• Ballinger-Pinchot Affair (1910)
• Ballinger, Sec. of Interior, put 1 mil. acres of
  govt-protected land back into the public domain,
  open for private investors
• Pinchot (head of Forest Service) protested Taft
  sided w/ Ballinger fired Pinchot

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• Split in the Republican Party
• Progressives vs. Conservatives (old guard)
• Lost control of the House in 1910
• 1910 Roosevelt returned to politics
• Announced plan of new nationalism (fed. govt
  would be more active in exerting power for the
  public good)
• 1912 Rep. Convention
• Many Republicans wanted T.R. as their nominee,
  but Taft was the incumbent
• Progressives split off, formed their own party,
  nominated Roosevelt
• I feel fit as a bull moose! ? The Bull Moose
  Party

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The Progressive Party

• Platform
• Increased voter rights
• Womens suffrage
• Labor reforms (workers comp., min. wage, 8-hr
  day, FED. child labor law)
• Reg. of business
• Roosevelt was a likeable, energetic candidate
• Was shot during a campaign speech in
  Milwaukeeand finished the speech
• Won the support of Progressives and women

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Election of 1912

• The line-up
• Republican William Taft (conservative)
• Progressive Theodore Roosevelt
• Socialist Eugene Debs
• Democrat Woodrow Wilson
• The competition
• Turned ugly Roosevelt Taft resorted to
  name-calling
• T.R., Debs Wilson all offered reform, but diff.
  forms
• The winner Woodrow Wilson
• Former Gov. of NJ (put several reforms in place)
• Ran for Pres. on platform of New Freedom
• Supported bank reform, trustbusting, and lower
  tariffs

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Woodrow Wilson

• Regulating business
• Clayton Antitrust Act (1914)
• Prohibited monopolies from forming
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
• Watchdog agency to monitor corporations
• Economics
• Lowered tariffs
• 16th Amendment federal income tax
• Federal Reserve System
• Created a system of 12 regional fed. reserve
  banks
• These banks could issue paper money transfer
  funds to banks in their regions

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Minorities Social Reform

• Main groups impacted
• African Americans, Native Americans
• Immigrants from Mexico Asian countries
• Common issues
• Discrimination prejudice
• Violence
• Segregation
• Damaging legislation
• Solutions
• Band together
• Fight cases in court
• Protest/demonstrate

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Minorities Social Reform

• African Americans
• Jim Crow laws segregation
• Violence
• Discrimination unequal treatment (housing, pay,
  etc.)
• Lacked support from several Presidents
  (Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson)
• Reformers
• Booker T. Washington patient, gradual harmony
• W.E.B. Du Bois actively fight discrimination
• NAACP (National Association for the Advancement
  of Colored People)
• Black white leaders goal to ensure the
  rights equality of all U.S. citizens
• Black institutions (banks, colleges, companies,
  churches)

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Minorities Social Reform

• Mexican Americans
• Lived mostly in the SW W agricultural jobs
• Paid less than white workers
• Created barrios (ethnic communities)
  mutualistas (mutual aid groups)
• Asian Americans
• Agricultural work West coast Hawaii
• Chinese Exclusion Act
• Gentlemens Agreement
• Segregation (schools,
• communities)

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Minorities Social Reform

• Native Americans
• Dawes Act (1887) divided reservations into family
  plots
• Land was unsuitable many N. Americans sold it
• Society of American Indians
• Goal social justice, education about Native
  life
• Problem it encouraged Natives to assimilate to
  American life
• Ended in 1925
• Overall, not very Progressive in this area as a
  country
• Small groups private organizations had to work
  to fight discrimination and get justice or fair
  treatment