Progressive Era, Part 1:

1. Progressive Era, Part 1: Roots of the Movement: Populist Party Influence Muckrakers, Social Reformers, and early Government Reforms.

2. Progress (history): the idea that the world can become increasingly better in terms of science, technology, modernization, liberty, democracy, quality of life, etc.

3. Roots of the Progressive Movement: • Populist Party demands • Social Gospel Movement • Socialism • Muckrackers • Major Social Reformers • *progressives – were typically educated, middle-class people; who wanted to solve social problems through the power of government

4. The Populist Party: • The People’s Party (called “the Populists”) was a US political party/movement that lasted from 1891-1908. • The populists consisted of economically-distressed farmers, urban industrial workers, and miners who wanted the government to do more to help the “common man”, or low-income people. • Populists felt that rich industrialists and bankers had too much power and influence, and they wanted the government to take a larger role, ending oppression, injustice, and poverty. • In 1892, they proposed a list of reforms as part of their national agenda.

5. The Populist Party Platform of 1892: • unlimited coinage of silver – to raise farm prices and make loan payments easier • direct election of Senators – instead of them being voted-on by state legislatures • secret ballots – to prevent voter intimidation • government ownership - of railroads, telegraphs, and telephones (essential services) • immigration restrictions – to protect native workers, and/or for racial and cultural reasons • graduated income tax – to tax wealthier people at a higher rate (the more you make, the more you pay) • shorter work day – 8 hours

6. Presidential Election of 1896: • In 1892, the Populist Party had elected 5 Senators, but failed to elect a President. • In 1896, William Jennings Bryan(left) was nominated by the Democratic Party, but he was also nominated by the Populist Party for his support of virtually all their views. • Bryan narrowly lost the election to Republican William McKinley(right), who was pro-business, and wanted to maintain the gold standard for US currency.

7. The Social Gospel Movement: • In the late-1800s, Protestant clergymen began preaching to church-goers and crowds about the ills of the lower-class. The primary leader of the social gospel movement was Josiah Strong. • This “social gospel movement” advocated reforms such as the abolition of child labor, and safer working conditions; and opposed the harshness of laissez-faire enterprise. • Groups like the Salvation Army (originally formed in London, but spread to the US in 1880)emphasized the Christian duty to help those who were less fortunate. “Each man is his brother’s keeper.”

8. Socialism: • The poor conditions related to abuses by large banks and corporations led some critics to demand an end to the free enterprise system, also known as capitalism. • Socialists – believed that government should take control of certain key industries (like transportation and gas lines), and generally provide more welfare. • Communists – believed workers should seize control by force, and abolish all private property. • Eugene Debs – was one of the founders of the Industrial Workers of the World (labor union), and he also ran as the Presidential candidate for the Socialist Party several times.

9. Review - The Roots of Progress: • Populist Party and William Jennings Bryan – farmers, factory workers, and miners organized politically and proposed many ideas for reform (mostly for their own interests). • Social Gospel Movement – Protestant preachers began promoting “Christian duty” to help the lower class, and end bad conditions. • Socialism– political ideology that opposed laissez faire capitalism, and favored more government control over the economy; it became more popular during this time period. (late-1800s)

10. The Muckrakers: • muckrakers: group of U.S. writers identified with pre-World War I reform and exposé literature • As cities expanded, newspapers and magazines reached larger audiences. Investigative reporters began to expose the abuses and poor conditions of industrial society in the late-1800s, and making them public knowledge. • They became known as “muckrakers” because they raked-up the “muck” or dirt of American life. • Famous Muckrackers: • Jacob Riis: How the Other Half Lives • Ida Tarbell: History of the Standard Oil Company • Upton Sinclair: The Jungle

11. Jacob Riis: • Jacob Riis was a reporter and photographer for the New York Tribune in New York City. • He spent much of his career reporting on the urban poor, and the bad conditions of New York slums. • His book, How the Other Half Lives: Studies among the Tenements of New York (1890), contained renders of his photographs; and created a public demand for reform to help the poor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EACoIbokOcc

12. Ida Tarbell: • Ida Tarbell was an American teacher, author and journalist. She was one of the leading "muckrakers" of the progressive era. • In 1904, she published her book, The History of the Standard Oil Company; which exposed John D. Rockefeller’s ruthless business practices. • Tarbell’s criticism of the Standard Oil Company helped increase public opposition of corporate trusts.

13. What is a Corporate Trust? • In common terms, a corporate trust is when businesses agree to work for each-other’s interests. • When large corporations agreed to a trust, it sometimes ending-up creating a monopoly – where one business, or a group of businesses, controlled the majority of an industry. • John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company used corporate trusts and horizontal integration to eliminate competition with other oil businesses. • During this time period, the Standard Oil Company controlled nearly 80% of all oil production in the United States.

14. Upton Sinclair: • Upton Sinclair was an author, and also the founder of California’s chapter of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). • Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, was a novel published in 1906 that described the unsanitary practices of the meat-packing industry. The novel was based on his undercover investigations of meat-packing plants in Chicago. • The book caused a public uproar that helped push for the passing of the Pure Food and Drug Act, and the Meat Inspection Act – both in 1906 under Pres. Teddy Roosevelt.

15. Making Better Products: • Upton Sinclair’s conversations with President Theodore Roosevelt about the unsanitary conditions of meat-packing industries was a major influence on Teddy’s decision to pass the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act; as part of his “Square Deal” program (we’ll talk about later). • Meat Inspection Act (1906)- gave federal inspectors the right to prevent poor-quality meat from being sold. It also established national standards for meat-packing plants. • Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)- government could place fines on companies for mislabeling food or medicine. Companies had to be truthful about what they were putting in their products. (no selling rat meat and calling it beef jerky)

16. Social Reformers: • A social reformer, as the name implies, is somebody who works to better society. Social reformers often do charity work, or press for government action to help those less fortunate. 4 Major Social Reformers of this Time Period: • W.E.B. DuBois • Ida B. Wells • Jane Adams • Susan B. Anthony

17. W.E.B. DuBois: • William Edward BurghardtDuBois was an African-American sociologist, historian, and civil-rights activist. • He published “Souls of Black Folk” in 1903, which was a historical study of race relations in the US. In the book, he advocated the right for African Americans to vote, get a good education, and have equal justice under law. • He was one of the founders of the NAACP(National Association for the Advancement of Colored People); which was a black civil rights organization. He was also the editor of the NAACP monthly magazine: The Crisis.

18. Susan B. Anthony: • In 1872, progressive journalist and author Susan B. Anthony argued that she had the right to vote, according to the Fourteenth Amendment – which granted citizens equal protection of the laws. • However, in 1874, the Supreme Court ruled that although women were citizens, they could not vote. (suffrage = the right to vote) • In 1890, Susan B. Anthony formed and led the National American Woman Suffrage Association. • In 1920, The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote - by making it illegal for states to deny suffrage based on gender.

19. Ida B. Wells: • Ida B. Wells was an African-American journalist, newspaper editor, and supporter of the women’s suffrage movement. • In March of 1892, three of her African-American friends: Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell, and Henry Stewart were lynched in Memphis Tennessee after they had tried to defend their grocery store from white mob. • In response, Wells organized a national anti-lynching campaign; and began doing investigative journalism to expose lynching cases around the country. Her articles were often published in the New York Age newspaper; and she also gave public speeches at black civil rights events in New York.

20. Jane Adams: • Jane Adams was a progressive activist, an author, and a supporter of the women’s suffrage movement. • In 1889, She founded and operated Hull House in Chicago Illinois, which was the first and most famous settlement house in the United States. • Settlement houses were all-purpose community centers aimed at helping the poor to rise above their social status . They provided food, child care, and English lessons for native poor people, and poor immigrants who needed to adapt to society in America.

21. Review – Muckrakers and Reformers: • Jacob Riis: photographer and journalist, documented NY poverty, wrote How the Other Half Lives. • Ida Tarbell: author and journalist, wrote History of the Standard Oil Company, and created outrage against corporate trusts. • Upton Sinclair: author, investigated corrupt practices of meat-packing plants in Chicago, wrote The Jungle. Influenced Teddy Roosevelt to pass the Meat Inspection Act, and the Pure Food and Drug Act. • W.E.B. DuBois: historian and author, NAACP co-founder, editor of their monthly magazine The Crisis. • Susan B. Anthony: author and journalist who fought for women's’ suffrage, she led the National American Woman Suffrage Association. • Ida B. Wells: journalist and newspaper editor, started a national anti-lynching campaign, and documented cases of lynching in the New York Age newspaper. • Jane Adams: progressive activist, founded Hull House in Chicago which was a settlement house.

22. Modern-Day Muckraking: • Super Size Me: a 2004 American documentary film directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. Spurlock's film follows a 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 2003 during which he ate only McDonald's food. The film documents this lifestyle's drastic effect on Spurlock's physical and psychological well-being, and explores the fast food industry's corporate influence, including how it encourages poor nutrition for its own profit.