early twentieth-century reform movement that pushed the government to resolve problems created by...
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Early twentieth-century reform movement that pushed the government to resolve problems created by urban industrialism
problems like poverty, racism, child labor, vice, and exploitation of labor.
PROGRESSIVISM
HOW DID IT GET STARTED?
At the grassroots level, in the cities, in reaction to the Gilded Age excesses.
An example of Grassroots Progressivism
College-educated women, i.e. Jane Addams wanted to “civilize the city”
supported labor unionssupported woman’s suffrage
Settlement House Movement
EXAMPLES OF GRASSROOTS PROGRESSIVISM
A strike held against New York’s garment industry in 1909 was supported by women workers and middle class women
20,000 workers went on strikeThey won some concessionsLabels sewn into garments made by union workers
ALLIANCES BETWEEN MIDDLE AND LOWER CLASS WOMEN
146 died, many jumping nine stories to their deaths.
proved that the factories were not safe for workers.
TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST COMPANY FIRE
TRIANGLE FIRE
Social Darwinism came out of the Gilded Age and held that human progress came out of “survival of the fittest” and that reform movements were a waste of time.
Reform Darwinism was a social theory that said if humans changed the social environment, it could improve the lot of humans faster
Reform Darwinism vs. Social Darwinism
1. A belief that environment, not heredity alone, determines human potential
2. A sense of optimism that conditions can be corrected without radically changing economy or institutions
3. A profound trust in “experts” and scientific data
4. A willingness to take action
CHARACTERISTICS OF PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT
THE JUNGLE
The book was instrumental in exposing the meat packing industry
“muckraking” (The Jungle is an example)
Passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act 1906
“I aimed at the public’s heart, but I hit them in the stomach.”
SOME SUCCESSES OF THE PROGRESSIVE ERA
Hull House and other settlement houses
Muller v. Oregon, 1908, limited workday for women to 10 hours
Upton Sinclair’s novel of 1906, The Jungle
Conservation of 150 million acres of natural landscape
W.E.B. DUBOIS
Authored “Souls of Black Folk” 1903
Founded the Niagara Movement, precursor to the NAACP
Lifelong radical, later investigated by the FBI
PROGRESSIVISM FINDS A PRESIDENT
Anti-Trust, filed suit to enforce the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 which was being ignored. He won.
Labor negotiator, United Mine Workers“square deal”
ConservationistWhen Roosevelt took office, 45 million acres of land as government reserves; when he left, it was 150 million acres
THEODORE ROOSEVELT DOMESTIC POLICY
A newspaper editor wrote,
“Wall Street is paralyzed at the thought that a President of the United States would sink so low as to try to enforce the law.”
The Square Deal Campaign slogan from Roosevelt’s election in 1904 Came from his enforcement of the Sherman Antitrust Act
Roosevelt the Reformer Used the moral and political authority of the presidency
Roosevelt and Conservation National Parks Conservation Hetch Hetchy?
“TEDDY” ROOSEVELT
“Speak softly but carry a big stick”Roosevelt believed that “civilized nations” should police the world and hold “backward” countries in line. . . . he relied on military strength and diplomacy
ROOSEVELT FOREIGN POLICY
Monroe Doctrine
A declaration by President James Monroe in 1823 that the Western Hemisphere was closed to any further colonization or interference by European powers. In exchange, Monroe declared that the US would not get involved in European conflicts.
Roosevelt Corollary
A declaration in 1904 that the US would not intervene in Latin America as long as nations there conducted their affairs with “decency.” It made the US the policeman of the Western Hemisphere and allowed it to enforce repayment of European debts.
MONROE AND ROOSEVELT
US offered Columbia $10 million and an annual rent of $250,000
Columbia refusedAt the prompting of some investors in New
York, Panamanians staged an uprising, 1903
Within 24 hours, Roosevelt government recognized the new Panama, and the new country accepted the $10 million and the canal was begun.
PANAMA CANAL
Enforcement of Monroe Doctrine
Formulating the Roosevelt Corollary
Endorsing the uprising in Panama
HOW DID THEODORE ROOSEVELT’S FOREIGN POLICY MOVE THE UNITED STATES ONTO THE WORLD
STAGE?
TAFT PRESIDENCY
Taft sided more often with big business
Progressive Party nominated Roosevelt
Nicknamed the “Bull Moose Party”Nominated former President Theodore RooseveltPlatform:
PROGRESSIVE PARTY 1912
•Presidential primaries•Conservation of natural resources •An end to child labor•Minimum wages for women•Workers’ compensation•Social security•Federal income tax
WOODROW WILSON
Democrat Wilson wins election of 1912
He turns out to be “progressive”Federal Reserve Act, 1913
Federal Trade Commission
RADICAL PROGRESSIVES
MARGARET SANGER
EUGENE DEBSSOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY
(SOCIALIST)
advocated cooperation over competition and urged people to shake free from private ownership