Unit 4 Domestic Politics

1. Unit 4 Domestic Politics The Progressive Era Main Idea: Analyze the Progressive Movement and how it changed America

2. Main Idea • Progressives focused on three areas of reform • easing the suffering of the urban poor, • improving unfair and dangerous working conditions, and • reforming government at the national, state and local levels.

3. What was Progressivism? • A movement that began in the late 1800s • Progressivismarose to address many of the social problems that industrialization created. • The reformers were called Progressives • Sought to improve living conditions for the urban poor • Questioned the power and practices of big business • Called for government to be more honest and responsive to people’s needs

4. Reform-minded writers were the first to expose the social ills • Popular magazines printed 1st hand account of injustices • Muckrakers they “raked up” or exposed the filth of society • insurance and stock manipulation, business and political corruption, the exploitation of child labor, slum conditions, and racial discrimination • Ida Tarbell • Condemned the business practices of Standard Oil • Lincoln Steffens • Exposed the corruption of city governments • Frank Norris • Power of the monopolistic railroad

5. Reforming the workplace • Progressive took up the cause of working women and children • Florence Kelly • Helped persuade Illinois to prohibit child labor and to limit the number of hours women were forced to work • National Child Labor Committee – mission was to persuade state legislatures to ban child labor • State by state campaigns to limit women’s workdays • Oregon = workday in laundries to 10 hours • Utah = 8 hour workdays in some occupations

6. The Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire • A gruesome disaster in New York in 1911 • About 500 young women worked at the high-rise factory • At the end of their 6 day work week • A fire erupted • Within moments, the 8th floor was ablaze • Escape was nearly impossible • Many doors were locked to prevent theft • The fire escape broke under the weight of the panic-stricken people • Dozens of workers leapt from the windows • More than 140 women and men died in the disaster • This led to the passing of the toughest fire-safety laws in the country

7. Unions • The Progressive Era, energetic new labor unions joined the fight for better working conditions • International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) • Organized unskilled workers • “Uprising of the 20,000” • Won shorter work weeks and higher wages • Attracted thousands to the union • International Workers of the World (IWW) • Wobblies unskilled workers ignored by skilled unions • textile workers in Massachusetts

8. Reforming Government • City government reforms • Progressives promoted new government structures as a means to improve efficiency. • Galveston, Texas • State Legislature set up a 5 member commission to govern the city. • Council-manager model • Began in Stanton, Virginia • The city council appointed a professional politician to run the city. • The reform inspired cities nationwide to follow suit.

9. State government reforms • Robert M. La Follette progressive governor of Wisconsin • Pushed through an agenda of reforms known as the Wisconsin Idea • Limit campaign spending • Created state commissions to regulate business (railroads and utilities) • Created commissions to oversee transportation, civil service, and taxation

10. Election Reforms • Progressives wanted to reform elections to make them fairer and to make politicians more accountable to voters. • They pushed for the direct primary • An election in which voters choose candidates to run in a general election • Progressives backed the 17th Amendment • Gave voters, rather than state legislatures, the power to directly elect their U.S. Senators. • Progressives believed that direct elections would undermine the influence of party bosses. • Progressives also fought for the use of the secret ballot

11. Finally, progressives urged states to adopt 3 additional reform measures • Initiative – allows voters to put proposed law on the ballot for public approval. • Referendum – allows citizens to place a recently passed law on the ballot, allowing voters to approve or reject the measure. • Recall – enables citizens to remove an elected official from office by calling for a special election. • Each measure was designed to make politicians more accountable to voters.

12. Assignment – Wednesday, April 20th • What was progressivism? • What were some of the areas of reform that the Progressives targeted? • Why was the Triangle Shirtwaist fire important? • What are the differences between an initiative, a referendum, and a recall? • Which of the election reforms do you think had the greatest impact on American voters? Explain. • Create a concept map and record the effect of the work the Progressives in three broad categories: society, workplace, and government.