two leading reformers 1. henry george – 1879 – wrote progress and poverty to explain why...
TRANSCRIPT
Two leading reformers1. Henry George – 1879 – wrote
Progress and Poverty to explain why poverty continued in an
advance society Believed that land speculation prevented
others from using land productively Promoted taxing landowners
2. Edward Bellamy – 1888 – Looking Backward A man undergoes hypnosis in 1887 and
awakens in 2000 to a changed America In his year 2000 there is no poverty, harsh
working conditions, and political corruption. Instead, the government owns the big
businesses and everything is based on human need rather than profit!
Led to the development of a socialist movement!
Socialists wanted to distribute wealth more equally
1901 – The Socialist Party of America was formed
Socialists wanted•End of capitalism•Distribution of wealth more equally•Nationalize American industries
Unions focused on1.Reducing hours2.Gaining better wages3.Gaining better working conditions
Unions grew slowly in the 1890sOften courts would issue injunctions or
court orders to prohibit strikes
International Ladies Garment Workers Union formed in 1900
1909 – 20,000 New York women went on strike and won the right to bargain collectively (negotiate contracts) with employers
Reformers hoped to eliminate corruption within cities by getting rid of political bosses
Argued for a civil service system for city (Municipal) jobs rather than by favors
Many wanted cities to have home rule instead of being controlled by the state government
The term referred to journalists for newspapers who wrote articles about wrongdoings in government and business(working conditions and slums).
President Theodore Roosevelt called journalists “muckrakers”
The term comes from a 1678 book Pilgrim’s Progress
a muckrake is used to rake filth
Lincoln Steffens was a New York reporter who exposed political corruption in St. Louis and other major cities
He wrote The Shame of the Cities
Ida Tarbell wrote The History of Standard Oil Company in 1904
One of the first investigative reporting•Focused on the abuses of Rockefeller and his trust
Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle in 1906.Focused on the horrors of the meat packing industry
Led to the creation of a federal meat inspection program
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This era is made up of numerous groups working to bring progress in society. Nativists Prohibitionists Charity reformers Social gospel adherents Settlement house workers muckrakers
They didn’t want to lose a high standard of living
They didn’t want to lose personal liberty
They didn’t want to lose democracy and capitalism
They WANTED to free government of corruption so that workers and the poor can be protected
Progressives wanted government to REGULATE business.
Progressives wanted social welfare programs to help with unemployment, health insurance, and accidents
1. attacked political bosses2. Cities took over public utilities
such as water, gas, and electricity3. public playgrounds4. free kindergartens
1. Direct primaries – election in which voters cast ballots to select nominees for upcoming elections (by 1916, all but 3 states had direct primaries)
2. 17th amendment – 1913 – people in each state were allowed to directly elect Senators (party leaders had previously selected Senators)
3. Initiative – Citizens can propose laws by getting enough signatures on a petition, then placed on a ballot and voted on
4. Referendum – citizens may demand by petition for laws passed by legislatures be “referred” to the people
5. Recall – people have the ability to remove elected officials
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire – 1911 –New York
146 died Exits were locked to prevent theftLed to reforms in safety standards in
businesses
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt intervened in the 1902 United Mine Workers Strike
Because of a coal shortage, Roosevelt decided to arbitrate (allow a third party to settle the dispute)
Both sides had to agreeRoosevelt called this a Square Deal
for both sidesBecame the slogan for his presidency
Under Theodore Roosevelt▪ 1906 – Meat Inspection Act
▪ Required federal inspection of meat passed across state lines
▪ Pure Food and Drug Act▪ Prevented the manufacture, sale, or
transportation of food or medicine containing harmful ingredients.
▪ Also required food and medicine containers to have accurate ingredient labels.
Political Cartoons for Discussion
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By 1909, the government had filed 42 anti-trust actions Beef trust, Standard Oil, and American
Tobacco Company were forced to reorganize
Roosevelt was not anti-business.He felt some trusts were good as long as
they weren’t harmful to the public
Northern Securities Company J.P. Morgan, James Hill, and E.H. Harriman
joined their railroads together to eliminate competition.
TR order the US Attorney to sue the Northern Securities Company for violating the Sherman Anti-trust Act.
Supreme court ruled against the Northern Securities Company
▪ Elkins Act 1903▪ Forbid the railroads from accepting
rebates.▪ Ensured that all rail customers paid the
same rate for shipping▪ Hepburn Act 1906
▪ Strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission giving them power to set maximum railroad rates
▪ Also gave the ICC power to regulate any companies engaged in interstate commerce
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• TR believed that each generation had a duty to protect and conserve national resources for future generations
• Newlands Reclamation Act 1902• Allowed Federal Government to create
irrigation projects to make dry lands productive.
• 1905 TR established the US Forest Service with Gifford Pinchot as Chief
• 1906 Antiquities Act • Created 18 national monuments
• Conservation is TR’s greatest legacy
Roosevelt set aside 200 million acres of land for national forests, mineral reserves, and water projects
1913 – The Department of Labor was added to the Cabinet
16th amendment 1913 – Federal Income Tax
Allowed the government to not totally rely on tariffs
18th amendment – 1919 – illegal to make, sell or import liquor
William Howard Taft
1908 ElectionBeat William Jennings Bryan
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Taft eventually angered the progressives more by not supported environmental concerns and other progressive topics
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Secretary of Interior – Richard Ballinger allowed a private group of business people to obtain several million acres of public lands
Pinchot (head of Forest Service) felt that Ballinger was wrong
Progressive Conservationists were angered
Even though Taft had “busted” more trusts than TR and helped regulate business, he lost support of the progressives
He had supported the Children’s Bureau, the 16th and 17th amendments, and the Mann Elkins Act
Mann Elkins – government could regulate telephone and telegraph rates
Theodore Roosevelt – decided to challenge Taft for President
Roosevelt’s New NationalismThere was no amendment limiting
presidential terms
Taft won the Republican nomination
The progressives formed the Progressive Party and nominated Theodore Roosevelt (He said “I feel as fit as a bull moose”)
Thus the party became known as the Bull Moose Party
Tariff Reduction Women’s suffrage Regulation of business End of child labor
TR -Shot in Milwaukee while giving a speech Continued his speech for an hour and a half “It takes more than this to kill a bull moose” He showed his blood stained shirt
Promised to enforce anti trust laws without threatening free economic competition
1914 – Clayton Anti-Trust law – strengthened the Sherman law by allowing unions and making more rules for business
Federal Trade Commission was developed in 1914
1913 – Federal Reserve System – reorganized federal banking
1916 – Federal Farm Loan Board -
Wilson won a second term promising to keep the country out of the war raging in Europe
End of Progressivism – Beginning of World War I in 1914
Called for as early as 1848 at the Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York
Feminists disagreed after 1870 on how to proceed with the women’s suffrage movement
Many thought that women should have been included in the 15th amendment in 1870
Civil Disobedience – a nonviolent refusal to obey a law in an effort to change the law
Many women attempted to vote even though it was against the lawShe was a part of the National American Woman Suffrage Association
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Anthony was arrested and fined $100 (she refused to pay it) for leading a group of women to the polls in New York
Two methods to get women’s right to vote
Women were divided over whether to pursue a national solution or to get each state to allow women the right to vote
An amendment had been introduced in Congress as early as 1878, but it never made
By 1914, 500,000 women took part in a parade in Washington DC
1914-1918 – World War I saw an increase in women active in society
1918 – Congress formally proposed the 19th amendment
August 24, 1920 – Tennessee became the necessary 36th state to ratify the 19th amendment!!!
LAST MAJOR REFORM FROM THE PROGRESSIVE ERA