The Progressive Era

1. Reform shifts from the farm to the city and climbs the ladder of government from the local to the state and then to the national level. The Progressive Era

2. Life at the Turn of the Century • The average life expectancy was 47 • only 14% of the homes had a bathtub • only 8% of the homes had a telephone. A 3 minute call from Denver to NYC cost $11.00 • Maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 m.ph. • Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tenn. were more heavily populated than California

3. Life at the Turn of the Century • The average wage in the U.S. was .22 cents an hour • the average worker made b/w $200 and $400 per year • More than 95% of all births in the U.S. took place at home • sugar cost .04 cents a pound; eggs cost .14 cents a dozen • Most

4. Life at the Turn of the Century • Drive by shootings - in which teenage boys galloped down the street on horses and started randomly shooting at houses, etc. - were an ongoing problem • the population of Las Vegas, NV was 30 • Scotch tape, crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn’t been invented • There was no mother’s or Father’s day

5. Life at the Turn of the Century • One in ten U.S. adults couldn’t read or write. Only 6% of all Americans had graduated high school • Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were available over the counter at corner drugstores. One pharmacist said, “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health”

6. I. The Problems of the 1890’s • Huge Gap between rich and poor • Tremendous economic and political power of the rich • Wealthy were insensitively flaunting their wealth before a poorer public

7. I. Problems of the 1890’s • Industrial workers hideously poor, living in squalor and working in dangerous conditions • Jacob Riis’ How the Other Half Lives (1890) • Little concern for Black America

8. Progressivism WHEN?“Progressive Reform Era” WHO?“Progressives” • urban middle-class:managers & professionals; women WHY?Address the problems arising from: • industrialization (big business, labor strife) • urbanization (slums, political machines, corruption) • immigration (ethnic diversity) • inequality & social injustice (women & racism) 1890s 1901 1917 1920s

9. Progressivism WHAT are their goals? • Democracy – government accountable to the people • Regulation of corporations & monopolies • Social justice – workers, poor, minorities • Environmental protection HOW? • Government (laws, regulations, programs) • Efficiency • value experts, use of scientific study to determine the best solution • Pragmatism – William James, John Dewey ( Darwinism) • (Cf. scientific management/Taylor) HOW MUCH?????

10. “Muckrakers” Jacob Riis – How the Other Half Lives (1890) Ida Tarbell – “TheHistory of the Standard Oil Co.”(1902) Lincoln Steffens – The Shame of the Cities (1904) Origins of Progressivism Ida Tarbell Lincoln Steffens

11. II. Progressive Reformers

12. A. Streams of Reform • The “Social Gospel” movement --Walter Rauschenbusch: Christianity and the Social Crisis (1907) • Settlement House Workers --Jane Addams, Hull House in Chicago (1889) • Americans of “Old Wealth”

13. A. Streams of Reform • Young, socially-conscious lawyers • Investigative Journalists -- “Muckrakers” --Lincoln Steffens, Ida Tarbell, and Upton Sinclair • Small businessmen

14. B. Features of Progressive Reform • Desire to remedy problems through government initiative • Reliance on “experts” -- Robert Lafollette’s “Wisconsin Idea” • Wanted reform not revolution • Stressed the importance of efficiency in reform --Frederick W. Taylor

15. B. Features of Progressive Reform (cont.) Want to bring order out of chaos --Creation of NCAA in 1906 Desire to make politics more democratic Desire to make businessmen more responsible for problems

16. B. Features of Progressive Reform • Desire to make society more moral and more just • Desire to distribute income more equitably • Desire to broaden opportunities for individual advancement • Women were active in progressivism --Suffragettes like Susan B. Anthony

17. B. Features of Progressive Reform • Infiltrated both political parties -- Republican “insurgents” • Middle-class reform movement • Operated on all three levels of government

18. III. Sample Progressive Reforms

19. A. Political Reforms • Tried to put more power into the hands of the people • Innovative changes in city government --city managers and commission model • The Direct Primary • Initiative, Referendum and Recall • The Secret Ballot • Direct Election of Senators and the Vote for Women

20. B. Social Reforms • Child labor laws • Ten-hour work days --The “Brandeis brief” --Muller v. Oregon (1908) --Bunting v. Oregon (1917) • Prohibition initiatives • Moral Purity campaigns --Mann Act (1910)

22. B. Social Reforms • Minimum safety standards on the job • Minimum standards for housing codes • “City Beautification” movement • Immigration Restriction • Eugenics --Buck v. Bell (1927) • Little Help for Blacks --NAACP (1909) -- “Birth of a Nation”

23. IV. Progressive Amendments to the Constitution • Progressive reliance on the law • 16th Amendment (1913)—federal income tax • 17th Amendment (1913)—direct election of senators • 18th Amendment (1919)—prohibition • 19th Amendment (1920)—vote for women

24. V. Presidential Progressivism: Theodore Roosevelt • Great drive, energy and exciting personality • TR’s interests and early years • NYC police commissioner • Spanish-American War experience -- “Rough Riders” • Political Rise from NY Governor to Vice-President

25. A. First Term as President (1901-1904) • McKinley’s assassination • Offered energetic national leadership • Cast every issue in moral and patriotic terms --The “Bully Pulpit” • Master Politician • Modest goals for his “accidental” presidency

26. B. “Trust-Buster”? • TR’s attitude toward Big Business • Wants to regulate in order to get businesses to act right • The “Square Deal” (1902) • Making an example of the Northern Securities Co. • The Elkins Act (1903) and the Bureau of Corporations

27. C. Second Term as President (1905-1909) • More vigorous progressivism • Hepburn Act (1906) • Federal Meat Inspection Act (1906) • Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) • Conservation Policy --Preservation vs. Conservation

28. VI. “A Tough Act to Follow”: The Presidency of William Howard Taft (1909-1913) • The Election of 1908 • Taft’s political experience • Taft’s weight • Not a dynamic politician • Never completely comfortable as President

29. VI. Presidency of Taft • Controversy over the Tariff • More conservative than TR, but also more trust suits • The “Ballinger-Pinchot” Affair • Growing tension with Teddy Roosevelt

30. VII. The Election of 1912 • Growing split within the Republican Party • Creation of the “Bull Moose” Party • Progressive Party Platform: “New Nationalism” • Democrats drafted Woodrow Wilson • Results of the Election

31. VIII. Democratic Progressivism: The Presidency of Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) • Wilson’s early life and political career • True progressive and dynamic speaker • Sympathetic to small businessmen • Could be a stubborn, moral crusader and ideologue

32. A. “New Freedom” • Wilson’s brand of progressivism • Wants to recreate the “golden age” of small American businesses • Wilson wants to open channels for free and fair competition • Historic Jeffersonian approach to federal power

33. B. Key Wilsonian Legislation • Underwood Tariff Act (1913) • Federal Reserve Act (1913) • Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914) • Federal Trade Commission (1914)

34. C. Congressional Progressivism After 1914 • Wilson was not a strong progressive when it came to social reform • Congress takes over the progressive agenda • Appointment of Brandeis to Supreme Court • Examples of congressional progressive legislation after 1914 --Federal Highways Act (1916)

35. IX. The Waning of the Progressive Movement • Progressive movement peaks by 1917 • Success of the movement led to its decline • Advent of World War I also hurt progressive activism • Progressives themselves began to weary of their reform zeal—as did the nation as a whole • Ironically, voter participation has steadily declined since the election of 1912