The Progressive Age 1876-1920

1
The Progressive Age1876-1920
Who were the Progressives?

• We should probably have called them activists
  They argued that social evils will not remedy
  themselves.

The Progressives felt it was wrong to sit by and
wait for time to take care of their problems.
The Progressives believed in ACTION!
2
What was life like at the time?

• Life was changing quickly, all the new inventions
  and as well as city life was creating many new
  opportunities but also many problems.

Some people were living better then ever. They
werent rich or poor, they were the new middle
class.
This new class enjoyed-Mass Produced
goods-Factory made clothes-AppliancesMost
importantly some people now had leisure time, or
free time instead of working all the time.
3
But what about the others?

• As youve learned, life wasnt as easy for the
  new immigrants in the slums and tenement
  buildings.

The living conditions were awful, but the
Progressives wanted to do something about it!
4

• The Progressives would work their best to remedy
  some of the problems caused by industrialization
  and urbanization.

Many writers were Progressives, they wrote about
what they saw in the cities which shocked many in
the middle class. They were called Muckrakers.
Upton Sinclair, a muckraker, wrote about the
horrors of the meat packing industry. Once people
read his book, they demanded that the government
make sure their food was safe.
5

• Jacob Riis, another muckraker showed the reality
  of urban poverty.

His book How the Other Half Lives made many
middle class readers want to help the cause, and
become Progressives, working to better city
living conditions.
6
Fixing many of the problems were very hard
though. The powerful people who were responsible
for many social, economic, and political problems
wanted things to stay the way they were.
Why didnt they want to help others?
They didnt want to help because they were
profiting from the cheap labor, and didnt want
new groups like immigrants and women to have a
say in how things should be run. They would lose
their power.

7

• In the cities, political bosses would run almost
  everything. In NYC, Boss Tweed ran government
  dishonestly. He took bribes and stole money from
  the people. He was hated by many Progressives
  because of his actions.

8

• Boss Tweed became infamous because he was
  constantly being featured in political cartoons
  which were popular at the time. Even if an
  immigrant couldnt read, they could understand
  the cartoon.
• Why were political cartoons so important?

9

• Progressives didnt just want honest government,
  they wanted fair business leaders too. They felt
  that the trusts and monopolies were taking
  advantage of people. Once again we can see this
  in political cartoons of the era.

10
(No Transcript)
11
(No Transcript)
12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14

• Many Progressives were women. They fought for
  many issues that women were faced with. They
  fought child labor, sweatshop conditions, and
  most importantly they fought for SUFFRAGE.
• -Suffrage means winning the right to vote.

CATT STANTON MOTT
15

• Womens Suffrage groups used many tactics to get
  their message across.

16
With the 19th Amendment, women would win the
right to vote!
17
The progressive movement would shape the country
and change many attitudes that people held. Even
the 26th President of the United States embraced
the spirit of the Progressive movement!
18
(No Transcript)
19
(No Transcript)
20
(No Transcript)