Progressives

Those who supported political, social, and economic change in the United

States.

Progressives called for more regulation of business, improved wages for

workers, and regulations over work environments, laws governing morality,

defined standards for education, and stricter regulation of professions like

doctors, teachers, and lawyers.

• White Protestants

• Middle class and native born

• College Educated Professionals

• Social workers

• Scholars

• Politicians

• Preachers

• Teachers

• Writers

Muckrakers Journalists who wrote stories exposing abuse in government, big business, and

expose many other social wrongs.

President Theodore Roosevelt labeled these authors and journalists the

muckrakers because they stirred up and uncovered much of the "muck" in US

society.

Progressive Movement:

Governmental Issues

Lincoln Steffens (1866-1936) An American reformer and journalist who wrote a series of articles that

documented corruption in American cities, asserting that some cities were

run by political bosses who remained in power with the help of powerful

businessmen.

Tammany Hall

Party bosses grew rich through dishonest or questionable ways. One of the

most famous political machines was Tammany Hall in New York City run by

William “Boss” Tweed. For example, they accepted bribes from contractors in

exchange for awarding the contractors with city contracts.

Boss Tweed

Head of Tammany Hall, New York City’s powerful Democratic political

machine between 1869 and 1871, Boss Tweed and a group of corrupt

politicians began defrauding the city.

One scheme, the construction of the New York County Courthouse. The

project cost taxpayers $13 million, while the actual construction cost was $3

million. The difference went into the pockets of Tweed and his followers.

Tweed was convicted of embezzlement and died in prison.

Thomas Nast (1840-1902)

An American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist who is considered to be the

"Father of the American Cartoon."

He was the scourge of Boss Tweed and the Tammany Hall political machine.

“Stop them damn pictures. I don’t care what the papers write about me. My constituents can’t

read. But, damn it, they can see the pictures.

Boss Tweed commenting one Nast’s cartoons about him.

Assassination of James Garfield (1880)

James Garfield was assassinated four months after taking office by Charles

Guiteau because he wouldn't give him a job with the Civil Service.

President Garfield was a very intelligent man. He spoke several languages and would amaze guests at the White House by writing

with both hands at the same time in English and German.

Garfield would occasionally answer his door and greeting guests by barking like his dog.

Assassination of James Garfield Cont.’

The shooting of President Garfield at the Washington D.C. Train Station.

President Garfield survived six weeks after being

shoot and most likely would have survived his

wound had the medical doctors of the time left

him alone. Uneducated about germs and

infection, the doctors repeatedly stuck their

fingers into his wound searching for the bullet. It

was lodged behind the spleen out of harms way

and never found until after the autopsy.

Charles Guiteau

http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/637E1F27-3049-4257-89BB-8F6A1E429C67

Pendleton Service Act (1883)

In 1883 Congress passed the Pendleton Act. This civil service reform act allowed

the president to decide which federal jobs would be filled according to rules set

up by a bipartisan Civil Service Commission. Candidates competed for federal

jobs through examinations. Appointments could be made only from the list of

those who took the exams. Once appointed to a job, a civil service official could

not be removed for political reasons.

George Washington Plunkitt

He became head of Tammany Hall after the fall of Boss Tweed and made most

of his money through land purchases, which he knew would be needed for

public projects. He would buy such parcels, then resell them at an inflated

price. This was "Honest Graft".

Progressive Movement:

Big Business

Florence Kelley

A social and political reformer who served as the first general secretary of

the National Consumers League, which wanted legislation to protect consumers

from being cheated or harmed by big business.

Did You Know? In 1909 Kelley helped create the National

Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Ida Tarbell & History of the Standard Oil Company (1857-1944)

An American author, journalist, and one of the leading "muckrakers" of the

Progressive Era. She is best known for her 1904 book, The History of the

Standard Oil Company, which exposed the monopolistic practices of John D.

Rockefeller and abuses of the Standard Oil trust.

In Standard Oil v. U.S. (1911), the

company was declared a monopoly

and broken up.

Upton Sinclair & “The Jungle”

Sinclair was an American writer and reformer who wrote The Jungle in 1906.

This book exposed the unsanitary working conditions in the stockyards of

Chicago, eventually leading to an investigation of both working conditions and

the conditions of food. It eventually led to the enactment of the Pure Food Act.

Upton Sinclair

In 1906 the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act

were passed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyH7D9DF0Mc

Plot Summary

All of the family members who work in the

slaughterhouses see the unbelievable filth in the

factories where the meat is processed and the

sickening secrets of meatpacking. Diseased cattle

and hogs are processed for consumption, as well

as pregnant cows and their fetuses. The sausages

are made of a random mixture of animal parts,

as well as the dirt, rat carcasses and poison

scooped up off the floor. The corruption within

the plants runs thick, with bosses demanding

"gifts" of money from their workers, and

grafting off those in the hierarchy of

management.

After a series of tragedies, including a stint in

jail for Jurgis, the death of his wife Ona and

baby son Antanas, Jurgis flees to the

countryside, leaving the rest of the family

behind. Once he's away from Chicago, he

becomes a transient.

Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle”

Pure Food and Drug Act gave consumers protection from dangerous and

impure foods by prohibiting the manufacture, sale, or shipment of impure or

falsely labeled food and drugs. All products must be clearly labeled.

Meat Inspection Act was passed as a strong response to Sinclair's book

describing the conditions of food as well as wartime scandals in 1898

concerning spoiled canned meats. It provisioned for federal inspection of meat

sold to consumers and set strict standards of cleanliness and sanitary

requirements in meatpacking plants.

Products could now be seized and condemned, and the offending persons

could be fined and jailed. The USDA ordered a recall of 143 million pounds

of beef in 2008 alone.

Government Regulations of Food and Drugs

John Spargo & The Bitter Cry of the Children

Journalist and novelist, he wrote of the unfair treatment of children used as

child labor. Stressed better education, better schools and teachers. A

muckraker novel.

John Spargo and his novel helped to end child labor and increased enrollment in schooling.

Child Labor Laws • Limited the number of hours children could work.

• Age limits Laws that set limits on how young employees could be (ages

ranged from 12 to 16).

• Restricted from certain jobs (safety issues)

Progressive Movement:

Social Issues

Helen Hunt Jackson & “A Century of Dishonor”

A muckraker whose book exposed the unjust manner in which the U.S.

government had treated the Indians. Protested the Dawes Severalty Act.

Progressive Movement:

Urban Issues

Jacob Riis and “How the Other Half Lives”

A journalist and photographer who publicized the plight of immigrants in the

New York City slum tenements. His photographs and articles focused on the

squalid living conditions of the city's poor and spurred legislation to improve

those conditions.

As a result of Jacob Riis, New York City passed

building codes which made building owners

responsible for the safety and health of its

residents.

https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=kchN8ZiFGyE

Tenements Built by a landlord, tenements were small housing units that were extremely

overcrowded, poorly built, and that contained filth. There was a lack of fresh

air and light in these housing units, and in addition, they were inhabited

mainly by new immigrants. The worst tenements became known as slums.

Shared Bathrooms

with Other Families

Community Laundry

Crowded

Living Spaces

Jane Addams and Hull House

The settlement house movement was promoted by reformers who felt it was

their Christian duty to improve the living conditions of the poor. Jane

Addams set up settlement houses in poor neighborhoods. Addams opened Hull

House in 1889 and inspired many others, including Lillian Wald’s Henry

Street settlement house in New York City. Medical care, recreation programs,

and English classes were provided at settlement houses.

Settlement Houses Houses established in poor neighborhoods where social activists would live and from

which they would offer assistance to immigrants and underprivileged citizens.

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in

New York City. Many of the exit doors to the factory were locked to prevent

employees from stealing. The fire killed 146 people and led to increased

demands for safer working conditions. Dramatized the poor working

conditions and led to federal regulations to protect workers.

Triangle Waist Shirt Factory Fire: What Went Wrong?

FIRE HAZARDS

01 Locked door to the stair well

02 Rusty fire escape that collapsed

03 Cluttered work spaces

04 Short ladders only reached 6th floor

05 Not enough water pressure

06 Long wooden tables became obstacles

07 Wicker baskets full of scraps

08 Oily floors spread the fire quickly

09 Fire nets failed to catch jumpers

10 No sprinkler system, only pails of water

11 Flammable barrel of oil

12 Boxes crowding the exit

13 Lack of a required third staircase

How did a 'fireproof' building become a fire trap? This model represents problems that existed

before and during the fire that caused so many people to lose their lives on the 9th floor.

Triangle Waistshirt Fire [Story of US]

Progressive Movement:

Temperance

Temperance Movement

A movement that originally wanted to limit, and eventually eliminate alcohol.

Anti-Saloon League

During and after the American Civil War the laws regulating many

aspects of saloons were either reduced or eliminated. As a result, many

people united in this league in their fight against saloons. By 1916 they

enacted anti-saloon laws in 23 states.

Carrie Nation (1846-1901)

A prohibitionist. She believed that bars and other liquor-related businesses should be

destroyed, and was known for attacking saloons herself with a hatchet.

A saloon in Kansas after Carry Nation

destroyed its bottles of liquor

Carry Nation would enter

saloons with a hatchet and

destroy all the bottles of

liquor. She occasionally

greeted bartenders with a

cheery, “Good Morning,

destroyer of men’s souls.”

Eighteenth Amendment (1919)

The government prohibited the making, selling, or transporting of alcoholic

beverages. Commonly referred to as "Prohibition."

Progressive Movement:

Suffrage

Suffrage

The right to vote.

Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote on the same terms as men.

Women’s Voting Rights Per State Prior to the 19th Amendment.

Susan B. Anthony

A supporter of both the temperance and abolitionist movements, Susan B.

Anthony is best known for joining with Elizabeth Cady Stanton to fight for

women's rights. She continued to be a leader in the women's suffrage movement

until her death in 1906.

In 1980 Congress approved

the Susan B. Anthony dollar

coin to be minted in her

honor.

Alice Paul

Alice Stokes Paul was an American suffragist and activist. She led a successful

campaign for women's suffrage that resulted in the passage of the Nineteenth

Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920.

Carrie Chapman Catt

A women's suffrage leader who served as president of the National American

Woman Suffrage Association and was the founder of the League of Women

Voters and the International Alliance of Women.

Nineteenth Amendment (1920)

Gave women the right to vote.

Progressive Movement:

Civil Rights

Jim Crow Laws

Jim Crow was the name of the racial caste system which operated primarily,

but not exclusively in southern and border states, between 1877 and the mid-

1960s. Jim Crow was more than a series of rigid anti-black laws.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

"Separate But Equal" Supreme Court ruled that segregated facilities for whites and blacks were legal

as long as the facilities were of equal quality.

Niagara Movement

At a meeting in Niagara Falls, Ont., in 1905, W.E.B. DuBois and other black

leaders who shared his views founded the Niagara Movement. Members of the

Niagara group joined with concerned liberal and radical whites to organize the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909.

W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963)

Did You Know: W.E.B. DuBois was the African-American

Ph.D. graduate from Harvard University.

An African-American editor, historian, and sociologist who was a leader of

the civil rights movement in the United States. He helped found the National

Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

W.E.B. Du Bois believed that African Americans had to demand their rights,

especially voting rights, to gain full equality.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored

People (NAACP)

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights

organization. The organization is devoted itself to the progress of the

African-American community.

The Crisis

The Crisis was the official magazine of the NAACP. It generally reflected the

views of the blacks and whites who headed the NAACP.

Booker T. Washington & Tuskegee Institute

An educator who urged blacks to better themselves through education and

economic advancement, rather than by trying to attain equal rights. In

1881 he founded the first formal school for blacks, the Tuskegee Institute.

Alberta Virginia Scott, Class of

1898, the first African American

graduate of Radcliffe College.

Booker T. Washington

An African-American classroom prior to

desegregation. Notice the portrait of Booker T.

Washington on the back wall.

George Washington Carver (1860-1943)

A black chemist and director of agriculture at the Tuskegee Institute, where

he invented many new uses for peanuts. He believed that education was the

key to improving the social status of blacks.

Peanut Oil

Peanut Butter

Carver is credited with inventing

about 300 uses for the peanut. He

issued bulletins to farmers and

housewives explaining how to use

peanuts to make soap, face creams,

axle grease, insecticides, glue,

medicines and charcoal. For all his

research and accomplishments,

Carver patented only three of his

peanut inventions and was not

interested in fame or fortune. His

inventiveness with peanuts, however,

led to it becoming one of the six most

produced crops in the U.S. by the

1940s.

Ida B. Wells An African American from Tennessee began a crusade against lynching. She

wrote newspaper articles and a book denouncing lynching and mob violence

against African Americans.

Her book, “A Red Record” in 1895 provided statistics on the lynching of

African-Americans, especially in the South. The result was that the NAACP

joined the fight for Federal anti-lynching legislation.

Ida B. Wells

Did You Know? Ida Wells was born in

Mississippi in 1862, the daughter of enslaved

African Americans. She was educated in a

Freedmen’s Bureau school. At the young age of

fourteen, Wells began to teach in a rural school.

In 1884 she moved to Memphis, Tennessee,

where she continued teaching as well as

attended Fisk University. In 1891 she lost her

teaching position because she had refused to

give up a seat in a “whites only” railroad car.

This led to a profession in journalism in which

she began a campaign against lynching.

Strange Fruit

"Strange Fruit" began as a poem written by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish

schoolteacher from the Bronx, about the lynching of two black men.

Meeropol wrote "Strange Fruit" to express his horror at lynchings after

seeing Lawrence Beitler's photograph of the lynching of Thomas Shipp and

Abram Smith in Marion, Indiana. He published the poem in 1937 in The New

York Teacher, a union magazine.

The photograph that was cited by the songwriter as the inspiration

for the song: Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, August 7, 1930. Abel Meeropol

The "strange fruit" referred to in the song are the bodies of African

American men hanged during a lynching. In 1939, the legendary blues

singer Billie Holiday performed the song as a daring criticism of the

commonplace practice of the lynching of African-Americans. The lyrics

were so chilling that Holiday later said "The first time I sang it, I thought it

was a mistake. There wasn't even a patter of applause when I finished.

Then a lone person began to clap nervously. Then suddenly everyone was

clapping and cheering."

Strange Fruit (Cont.’)

Most blacks were lynched for

outspokenness, in the aftermath of race

riots, and for other presumed offenses

against whites. State and local

governments in the South did nothing to

curtail this vigilante violence; various laws

against mob violence were seldom

enforced.

Billie Holiday

Progressive Movement:

Turn of the Century

Governmental Issues

People's Party

The popular name of the "People's Party," formed in 1891 as a coalition of

Midwest farm groups, socialists, and labor organizations, such as the American

Federation of Labor.

It attacked monopolies, and wanted other reforms, such as bimetallism,

transportation regulation, the 8-hour work day, and income tax.

Bi-Metalism

Bimetallism is the use of both silver and gold as the basis of an economy as

opposed to the use of one or the other or none. During the gold and free

silver campaigns of the early 1900s, the Republicans believed in a money

system based on the single gold standard, while the Democrats believed in

bimetallism. A proposed plan for bimetalism was for a standard of 16 to 1,

with gold worth 16 times as much as silver.

Gold Standard Act (1900)

Signed by McKinley, it stated that all paper money would be backed only by

gold. This meant that the government had to hold gold in reserve in case people

decided they wanted to trade in their money.

Eliminated silver coins, but allowed paper Silver Certificates issued under the

Bland-Allison Act to continue to circulate.

Williams Jenning Bryan

Three-time candidate for president for the Democratic Party, nominated

because of support from the Populist Party. He never won, but was the most

important Populist in American history.

Cross of Gold Speech

Given by Bryan on June 18, 1896. He said people must not be "crucified on

a cross of gold," referring to the Republican proposal to eliminate silver

coinage and adopt a strict gold standard.

Robert M. LaFollette (1855-1925)

A great debater and political leader who believed in libertarian reforms, he

was a major leader of the Progressive movement in Wisconsin.

Sixteenth Amendment (1913)

Congress now had the power to collect taxes on the incomes of businesses

and individuals.

This amendment increased the federal government's revenue and

eliminated the need to tax according to the proportion of state populations.

Seventeenth Amendment

Established that US senators would be elected directly by the people, rather

than by state legislatures.

Initiative

Allowed citizens of a state to force a vote on a certain issue without having to wait for

public officials to bring it up.

Recall

Gave citizens the power to hold special elections to remove corrupt officials

from office before their terms were up.

Referendum

Meant that public officials would be elected by popular vote, rather than by

party bosses or state legislatures.

Progressive Movement:

Conservation

Gifford Pinchot President Theodore Roosevelt urged Americans to conserve natural resources.

In 1902 Roosevelt supported the passage of the Newlands Reclamation Act,

which authorized the use of federal funds from public land sales to pay for

irrigation and land development projects.

Roosevelt appointed Gifford Pinchot to head the United States Forest Service to

carefully manage the timber resources in the West. Pinchot and his department

created regulations controlling lumbering on federal lands.

Gifford Pinchot