The Progressive Era, 1901-1918
1. Origins of Progressivism
a. Began in 1890, grew in 1901 when Wilson was elected. Lasted from 1890 to 1917, when US joined WWI.
b. Attitudes and Motives
i. America changing b/c of growing diversity, economy, etc.
ii. Who were the Progressives?
1. Mostly middle-class residents of cities
a. Doctors, lawyers, ministers, and storekeepers, office workers, etc.
b. Concerned about what might ahen to American democracy from conditions of unrest among poor, excess of the rich, corrupt gov’t, decline in morality.
2. Missionary spirit helped inspire
a. Social Gospel by Walter Rauschenbusch
3. Needed leaders to prosper: Theodore Rosevelt, Robert La Follette
iii. What was the Progressives’ philosophy?
1. Democratic values and honest gov’t, just laws
2. Charles Darwin- Origin of Species
3. William James and John Dewey- leading advocates of pragmatism
a. Rejected laissez-faire
iv. Scientific management
1. Studies of Frederick W. Taylor
a. Used stopwatch to time output of factory workrs.
b. Scientific management system
i. Gov’t could use this, objected to corruption of political bosses (antidemocratic/inefficient)
c. The Muckrakers
i. Journalists and writers who wrote about the schemes and corruption in politics were called “muckrakers” by Pres. Theodore Roosevelt.
ii. Origins
1. Herny Demarest Llloyd of Chicago, 1893
a. McClure’s Magazine
2. Lincoln Steffens
a. Tweed Days in St. Louis, 1902
3. McClure’s, Collier’s, Cosmopolitan
iii. Books
1. Jacob Riis
a. How the Other Half Lives (1890)
2. Lincoln Steffen
a. The Shame of the Cities (1904)
3. Theodore Dreiser’
a. The Financier
b. The Titan
4. Frank Noriss
a. The Octopus
b. The pit
iv. Decline of muckraking
1. Declined after 1910
a. Writers was hard to top sensationalism of the last story, publishers expanding, told to tone down treatment of business. By 1910 corp’s aware of public image, new field: public relations
b. Exposed inequities, educated public about corruption in high places, prepared the way for corrective action
2. Political Reforms in Cities and States
a. Cornerstone of Progressive idealogy: democracy
i. Majority of voters will choose honest officials instead of corrupt ones picked by boss-dominated political machines
b. Voter Participation
i. Australian, or secret ballot
1. Political parties able to manipulate/intimidate voters by printing lists and watching them at the ballot box.
2. 1888- MA adopts the system of a secret ballot
3. 1910-All states used secret ballot
ii. Direct primaries
1. Robert La Follette introduced system of directly candidates in 1903 (as opposed to party bosses choice)
2. 1915- All states at least had some form of direct voting
a. Power over political machines limited
b. Politicians devised plans to confuse voters, split antimachine vote
c. Some southern states used primary system to exclude Af. Ams.
iii. Direct election of U.S. senators
1. Before: senators chosen by majority vote of the state legistlatures
a. Reason why it was a “millionaires’ club”
2. 1899- NV 1st state to get people to vote on senators
a. 1912- 30 states adopted reform
b. 1917- 17th amendment required all US senators be elected by popular vote
iv. Initiative, referendum, and recall
1. If politicians did not want to follow will of the people, Progressives suggested these amendments:
a. Initiative- a method by which voters could compel the legislature to consider a bill
b. Referendum- a method that allowed citizens to vote on proposed laws printed on their ballots
c. Recall- enabled voters to remove a corrupt or unsatisfactory politician from office by majority vote before that official’s term had expired
d. B/w 1889 when SD adopted the initiative and referendum, and 1918, 20 states offered initiative and referendum, 11 offered recall
i. Most west of Mississippi
v. Social welfare
1. Settlement house workers and civic-minded volunteers helped social injustice movement- needed political support in legislatures for meeting needs of immigrants and working class.
2. Jane Addams, Frances Kelly, others.
3. Schools, juvenile courts, liberalized divorce laws, safety regulations for tenements and factories, system of parole, separate reformatories for juveniles, limits on death penalty
c. Municipal Reform
i. City bosses first target for Progressive leaders
ii. Controlling public utilities
1. Take power from city bosses, take utilities out of the hands of private companies.
2. By 1915- 2/3 of nation’s cities owned their own water system
3. Cities came to own/operate gas lines, electric power plants, urban transportation systems
iii. Commissions and city managers
1. Commission plan of gov’t: voters elected the heads of city departments (fire, police, sanitation), not just the mayor.
a. First used inTX 1900
2. More effective system where an expert manager was hired by an elected city council to direct the work of the various departments of city gov’t
a. By 1923- more than 300 cities adopted manager-council plan
b. First used in OH
d. State Reform
i. The people had more power
ii. Temperance and prohibition
1. Reformists were divided in decision to prohibit alcohol
2. Saloons were headquarters of political machines, but no sympathy for Temperance movement (urban)
3. Rural: thought they could clean up morals and politics by abolishing liquor. Called “drys.” Were determined, well organized.
a. By 1915- persuaded legislatures of 2/3 of the states to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages
3. Political Reform in the Nation
a. Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal
i. “Square Deal” for labor
1. Granted 10% wage increase and a nine hour day to miners
ii. Trust-busting
1. Roosevelt wanted to bust a combo or RxRs know as Northern Securities Company.
a. Broke up in 1904
2. Also Standard Oil and 40 other large companies
3. Difference w/ bad and good trusts
iii. Railroad regulation
1. Strengthened powers of Interstate Commerce Commission.
2. Elkins Act (1903) the ICC had greater authority to stop RxR from granting rebates to favored costumers.
3. Hepburn Acct (1906) the commission could fixt “just and reasonable” rates for RxR
iv. Costumer protection
1. The Jungle-bood by Upton Sinclair
a. Described conditions in the Chicago stockyards and meatpacking industry
2. Caused Congress to pass these laws in 1906:
a. The Pure Food and Drug Act: forbade the manufacture, sale, and transportation of adulterated or mislabeled foods and drugs
b. The Meat Inspection Act provided that federal inspectors visit meatpacking plants to ensure that they met minimum standards of sanitation
3. Conservation
a. Forest Reserve Act of 1891
b. Newlands Reclamation Act
c. National Conservation Commission
b. Taft’s Presidency
i. More trust-busting and conservation
1. Busted twice as much trusts than Roosevelt, including US Steel- Roosevelt angry
2. Mann-Elkins Act of 1910- ICC power to suspend new RxR and oversee telephone, telegraph, and cable companies
3. 16th amendment- authorized gov’t to collect an income tax
ii. Split in the Republican Party
1. Payne-Aldrich Tariff
2. Pinchot-Ballinger Controversy
3. House Speaker Joe Cannon
4. Midterm elections
c. Rise of the Socialist Party
i. Eugene V. Debs
1. One of the founders. Candidate for pres. in 5 elections.
ii. Influence
1. Mild reforms, public ownership of utilities, eight hour work day, pensions for employees
2. Joined progressives sometimes, too mild for them though
d. The Election of 1912
i. Candidates
1. Taft, Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Eugene V. Debs
ii. Campaign
1. Between Roosevelt and Wilson.
2. R: new nationalism, more gov’t regulation
3. W: new freedom, limit big business and gov’t, reform by ending corruption, revive competition by supporting small businesses
iii. Results
1. Wilson won easily b/c of Republican split
2. Democrats gained control of Congress
e. Woodrow Wilson’s Progressive Program
i. Tariff Reduction
1. Underwood Tariff of 1913- lowered tariffs
a. Income tax to make up for it
i. Graduated from 1%-6%
ii. Banking reform
1. Federal Reserve Board (1914)
a. Used dollar bills
iii. Business regulation
1. Clayton Antitrust Act
a. Strengthened Sherman Antitrust Act
2. Federal Trade Commission
iv. Other reforms
1. Federal Farm Loan Act
a. Provide farm loans at low interest rates
2. Child Labor Act
a. Prohibited shipmen in interstate commerce of products manufactured by children under 14.
i. Declared unconstitutional in Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918)
4. African Americans in the Progressive Era
a. Two Approaches: Washington and Du Bois
i. Washington’s stress on economics
ii. Du Bois’ stress on civil rights
b. Urban Migration
i. Migration began increasing b/w 1910 and 1930
1. From south to north
ii. Motivations:
1. Deteriorating race relations
2. Destruction of cotton crops by the boll weevil
3. Job opportunities in northern factories when white workers were drafted in WWI
iii. B/w 1940 and 1970, 4 million went north
c. Civil Rights and Organizations
i. Niagra Movement (1905)
ii. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
iii. National Urban League (1911)
5. Women, Suffrage, and the Progressive Movement
a. The Campaign for Women’s Suffrage
i. Militant suffragists
1. Mass pickets, parades, hunger strikes
2. Alice Paul of NJ- leader, broke from NAWSA
a. Focused on winning support of Congress and president for an amendment to the constitution
ii. Nineteenth Amendment
1. 1920- Granted women’s right to vote
b. Other issues
i. Securing educational equality, liberalizing marraiage and divorce laws, discrimination in business and professions, right to own property
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