1 / 45

The Era of Progressive Reform

The Era of Progressive Reform. Chapter 13. I. The Origins of Progressivism. Problems in the late 1800s: unemployment, unsafe working conditions, political corruption, etc. Progressive Movement – the movement to solve these and other social problems. I. The Origins of Progressivism.

stavros
Download Presentation

The Era of Progressive Reform

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. The Era of Progressive Reform Chapter 13

  2. I. The Origins of Progressivism • Problems in the late 1800s: unemployment, unsafe working conditions, political corruption, etc. • Progressive Movement – the movement to solve these and other social problems

  3. I. The Origins of Progressivism • Many Americans believed in socialism – economic and political philosophy favoring public or gov’t control of property and income -Goals: 1) end the capitalist system 2) distribute wealth more equally 3) nationalize American industries (gov’t owned)

  4. I. The Origins of Progressivism • Labor Movement: unions focused on reducing hours, higher wages, and better working conditions

  5. I. The Origins of Progressivism • Muckrakers: journalists who wrote about corruption in politics and business – nicknamed by Teddy Roosevelt – EX: -Lincoln Steffens – exposed political corruption in the cities -Ida Tarbell – exposed the practices of Standard Oil -Upton Sinclair – wrote The Jungle (1906)- described the meatpacking industry

  6. In spite of the phenomenal success of The Jungle, Upton Sinclair lamented what he considered to be its failure when he made his often-quoted assessment: “I aimed at the public’s heart and by accident I hit it in the stomach.”

  7. I. The Origins of Progressivism • State Reforms: introduced by governors – most famous was Robert “Battling Bob” LaFollette from Wisconsin • Direct primary – election where party members select a candidate to run in the general election • 17th Amendment – allowed voters, rather than state legislators, to choose their U.S. Senator

  8. I. The Origins of Progressivism • Intiative – allowed citizens to propose new laws by obtaining a certain % of voters’ signatures on a petition -the proposed law is then placed on the ballot in the next election • Referendum – process in which citizens may demand, by petition, that a law passed by the legislature be “referred” to voters for approval or rejection

  9. I. The Origins of Progressivism • Recall – gave voters the ability to remove public officials from office before the next election

  10. I. The Origins of Progressivism • Federal Reforms: led by the Presidents – esp. Teddy Roosevelt with his “Square Deal” programs • Sherman Anti-Trust Act – outlawed monopolies • Hepburn Act – required railroads to get permission from the U.S. gov’t before raising rates

  11. I. The Origins of Progressivism • Pure Food and Drug Act – passed in response to The Jungle – created the Pure Food and Drug Adm. to protect consumers • Meat Inspection Act – required federal inspection of meatpacking companies • 16th Amendment – created a federal income tax

  12. I. The Origins of Progressivism • National Park Service – protected and ran the national parks • 18th Amendment – prohibited the making, selling, and transportation of alcohol

  13. II. Progressive Presidents • Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) • William Howard Taft (1909-1913) • Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)

  14. II. Progressive Presidents • William Howard Taft (Rep.) -handpicked by Roosevelt to run in the 1908 election -defeated William Jennings Bryan (Dem.) who lost for the 3rd time -never gained full support of the progressives

  15. II. Progressive Presidents • Election of 1912: -Taft defeated Roosevelt in the Rep. convention -Roosevelt and many progressives formed a third party and called it the Progressive Party (“Bull Moose Party”) -the split in the Rep. party allowed a Dem., Woodrow Wilson, to win the election

  16. III. Women’s Suffrage • By 1900 only WY, ID, UT, and CO had granted voting rights to women • National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) used protest to force Pres. Wilson to take action on woman suffrage -the group picketed the White House and went on hunger strikes if arrested

  17. III. Women’s Suffrage • 19th Amendment (1920) – guarantees women the right to vote

  18. STOP

  19. The Origins of Progressivism: • Progressive Era: the era in American history from about 1890-1920 • Progressivism – a collection of different ideas and activities about how to fix the problems within American society • All Progressives agreed that the gov’t should take a more active role in solving society’s problems caused by urbanization and industrialization

  20. The Origins of Progressivism: • Progressives believed that first the gov’t needed to be fixed and made more responsible to people before other problems could be addressed • Muckrakers – a group of journalists who investigated social conditions and political corruption -their articles put pressure on gov’ts to introduce reforms

  21. The Origins of Progressivism: • Examples of muckrakers: -Ida Tarbell – exposed the practices of the Standard Oil Company -Lincoln Steffens – attacked political machines (buying votes, etc.) -Jacob Riis – How the Other Half Lives – poverty, disease, crime -Upton Sinclair – The Jungle – exposed the meat-packing industry

  22. The Origins of Progressivism: • Many types of progressivism – often took opposing sides on issues and how to solve the problems • One group believed that problems in society could be solved if government was efficient -wanted to replace the existing system with a commission plan – board of commissioners with expertise in city services would select and hire specialists to run city departments (fire, police, etc.)

  23. The Origins of Progressivism: • Many progressives wanted more democracy in society • Robert La Follette – Wisconsin governor – criticized how political parties ran their conventions -introduced the direct primary – a party election in which all party members vote for a candidate to run in the general election

  24. The Origins of Progressivism: • Other reforms: -initiative – allowed a group of citizens to introduce legislation and required the 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

  25. The Origins of Progressivism: -17th Amendment (1913) – provided for the direct election of U.S. Senators (rather than being selected by state legislatures) • The movement for women’s voting rights was known as the suffrage movement -many progressives joined the movement

  26. The Origins of Progressivism: • After the Civil War, the Republicans in Congress introduced the 14th and 15th Amendments, which protected the voting rights of African Americans -the woman suffrage movement had wanted these amendments to apply to women as well -Republicans refused

  27. The Origins of Progressivism: • By 1900 only WY, ID, UT, and CO had granted voting rights to women • National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) used protest to force Pres. Wilson to take action on woman suffrage -the group picketed the White House and went on hunger strikes if arrested

  28. The Origins of Progressivism: • 19th Amendment (1920) – guarantees women the right to vote • Social welfare progressives created charities to help the poor and disadvantaged, and pushed for laws to help fix social problems

  29. The Origins of Progressivism: • 1900: over 1.7 million under the age of 16 worked outside the home • The National Child Labor Committee worked to end child labor • Many adult workers labored in difficult and dangerous conditions -building codes, workers’ compensation, zoning laws, and health codes made the work environment safer

  30. The Origins of Progressivism: • The temperance movement called for the moderation or elimination of alcohol • Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was formed in 1874 -worked to reduce alcohol consumption, but later pushed for prohibition

  31. The Origins of Progressivism: • A group of progressives focused on regulating big business, but they disagreed on the solutions -one side wanted to break up big companies to restore competition -the other wanted the creation of gov’t agencies to regulate big companies

  32. The Origins of Progressivism: • Socialism – the idea that the gov’t should own and operate industry for the community as a whole -an idea shared by only a small minority of progressives • Eugene Debs – led the American Socialist Party – ran for Pres. in 1912 • Most Americans and most progressives believed in the American system of free-enterprise (capitalism)

  33. The Origins of Progressivism: • During his second term, Theodore Roosevelt’s reform program was known as “Square Deal” -felt gov’t should try to balance the needs of all the groups in American society -believed the U.S. needed progressive reforms to remain an efficient society and compete with other nations

  34. By 1905: consumer protection became a national issue -patent medicines and food consumption became serious threats to Americas, forcing new legislation

  35. 1906: Upton Sinclair’sThe Jungle described his observations of Chicago slaughterhouses -as a result, federal legislation was passed -Meat Inspection Act – required federal inspection of meat sold and set standards of cleanliness in meatpacking plants

  36. State Reforms:

  37. State Reforms: • Initiative – allowed citizens to propose new laws by obtaining a certain percentage of voters’ signatures on a petition – the proposed law is then placed on the ballot in the next election for approval or rejection • Referendum – process in which citizens may demand, by petition, that a law passed by the legislature be “referred” to voters for their approval or rejection

  38. State Reforms: • Recall – gave voters the ability to remove public officials from office before the next election

  39. Federal Reforms: • Introduced by the Presidents – esp. Theodore Roosevelt with his “square deal” programs – federal reforms included: • Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890) – outlawed any combination of companies that attempted to create a monopoly • Hepburn Act (1906) – required railroads to get permission from the U.S. gov’t before raising rates

  40. Federal Reforms: • Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) – passed in response to The Jungle – created the Pure Food and Drug Adm. to protect consumers • Meat Inspection Act (1906) – required federal inspection of meatpacking companies • 16th Amendment (1913) – created the federal income tax • National Park Service (1916) – protected and ran the national parks

  41. Federal Reforms: • 18th Amendment (1919) – prohibited the making and selling of alcohol

  42. Progressive Presidents: • Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) • William Howard Taft (1909-1913) • Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) • William Howard Taft (Rep.) – handpicked by Roosevelt to run in the 1908 election – defeated William Jennings Bryan (Dem.) who lost for the 3rd time – never gain the full support of the progressive republicans

  43. Progressive Presidents: • Election of 1912 – Taft defeated Roosevelt in the Rep. convention – Roosevelt and many progressives decided to form a 3rd party and called it the Progressive Party (nicknamed the “Bull Moose” Party) – the split in the Republican Party allowed a Democrat, Woodrow Wilson, to win the election

  44. Women’s Suffrage: • Suffrage – the right to vote • 19th Amendment (1920) – granted women suffrage

More Related