THE ROOTS OF PROGRESSIVISMSection 1

PROGRESSIVE ERA 1890-1920 Progressivism-collection of different ideas

and activities Was not a tightly organized political

movement with specific reforms Many different views on how to fix problems Generally believed that industrialism and

urbanization created social problems Government should take a more active role

in solving society’s problems

BEGINNINGS OF PROGRESSIVISM Reaction to laissez-faire economics Reformers didn’t believe free market had ability to

fix problems especially after seeing poverty of working class and filth and crime in urban areas

Reformers didn’t believe government could fix problems either

Government had to be fixed before it could fix other problems

Strong faith in science and technology Light bulb Telephone Sky scrappers

Believed using scientific principals could produce solutions for society

MUCKRAKERS Muckrakers- group of crusading journalists who

investigated social conditions and political corruption

Competed against each other to see who could expose the most corruption

Concentrated on exposing what they considered to be unfair practices of large American corporations Ida Tarbell- published a series of articles critical of the

Standard Oil Company Others targeted government

Graham Philips- described how money influenced the Senate

Lincoln Steffens- reported on vote stealing and other corrupt practices of urban political machines

CONT. Others concentrated on social problems

Jacob Riis- wrote an influential book called How the Other Half Lives

Described the poverty, disease, and crime that existed in many immigrant neighborhoods

These articles led to a general public debate on social and economic problems and put pressure on politicians to introduce reforms

MAKING GOVERNMENT EFFICIENT Many types of progressivism One group focused on making government more

efficient Believed problems with society would be fixed if

government worked properly Progressives believed business had become

more efficient by applying the principles of scientific management

Frederick Taylor’s book, The Principles of Scientific Management, described how a company could become more efficient by managing time, breaking tasks down into small parts, and using standardized tools

CONT. Didn’t want more democracy in government Believed that led to more compromise and

corruption When it came to managing a modern city it

required experts, not politicians Most American cities the mayor or city

council chose the heads of city department Commission plan- city’s government would

be divided into several departments, which would each be placed under the control of an expert commissioner.

Many cities bought in to the plan

LABORATORY OF DEMOCRACY Robert La Follette- Wisconsin governor who used

his office to attack the way political parties ran their conventions

Party bosses controlled the selection of convention delegates and the candidates who were chosen for office

Direct primary- all party members could vote for a candidate to run in the general election

Progressives from other states pushed for similar electoral changes Initiative- allowed a group of citizens to introduce

legislation and required legislature to vote on it Referendum- allowed proposed legislation to be

submitted to the voters for approval Recall- allowed voters to demand a special election

to remove an elected official from office before his/her term expired

THE SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT 1848 Elizabeth Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized

first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, NY First priority should be getting women the right to

vote, this movement became known as the suffrage movement

Suffrage- right to vote Suffrage movement got off to a slow start Split into 2 groups National Woman Suffrage Association- focus on

passing a constitutional amendment allowing women suffrage

American Woman Suffrage Association- strategy was to convince state governments to give women right to vote before trying to amend the Constitution

CONT. The split reduced the movement’s

effectiveness 1878 a constitutional amendment was

introduced to Congress granting women right to vote but it failed

1900 Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado were the only states allowing women full voting rights

BUILDING SUPPORT 1890 the two groups joined together to form

National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)

Didn’t make gains until around 1910 Problem was women were not politically

active Progressive movement got more women

active Needed to vote to promote social reforms they

favored Needed to vote to ensure passage of labor laws

protecting women Women began lobbying lawmakers,

organizing marches, and delivering speeches

CONT. March 3, 1913, the day before President

Wilson’s inauguration, women marched to Washington to draw attention to their cause

Alice Paul- organized the march and wanted to force President Wilson to take action on suffrage

NAWSA was upset with Paul for her actions NAWSA wanted to negotiate with Wilson Paul left NAWSA and formed National

Woman’s Party Supporters picketed the White House,

blocked sidewalks, chained themselves to lampposts, and went on hunger strikes if arrested

CONT. Carrie Chapman Catt- new leader of NAWSA Mobilize the suffrage movement nation-wide

in a final push to gain voting rights NAWSA supported Wilson in the 1916

election Wilson didn’t endorse a woman suffrage

amendment but he did support the Democratic Party’s call for states to give women the vote

19TH AMENDMENT August 26, 1920 the 19th Amendment

guaranteeing women the right to vote went into effect

THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST CHILD LABOR 1900 over 1.7 million children under the age

of 16 worked outside the home 1904 the National Child Labor Committee

abolished child labor Minimum age for employment was passed in

law Maximum hours for children were established At the same time state began requiring

children to go to school instead of work The women or wives now had to go to work

since the children were not working

PROHIBITION MOVEMENT Many progressives blamed alcohol for many

problems Temperance movement- advocated the

moderation or elimination of alcohol Women led the temperance movement for

the most part Women’s Christian Temperance Union

(WCTU) Prohibition- laws banning the manufacture,

sale, and consumption of alcohol