 The
struggle for the right of women to
vote was only one of a series of reform
efforts that transformed American society
in the early 1900’s.
 Progressivism was not a tightly organized
political movement with a specific set of
reforms. Progressives had many different
ideas about how to fix the problems they
believed existed in American society.

Progressives generally
believed that
industrialism and
urbanization had
created many
problems. They
believed the
government should be
more involved in fixing
these problems. Most
were educated, urban
and middle-class.
Progressivism was a partly a reaction against
laissez-faire economics and its emphasis on an
unregulated market. After seeing the major
problems that existed in cities many believed
that the government had to be fixed before the
other problems could be taken care of.
 One constant belief was in the ability of science
and technology to produce change. Several
advancements had taken place because of
technology (lightbulb, telephone, railroads). The
benefits of these advancements made
progressives believe that solutions for society
could be produced by the same methods.

 Among
the first
people to articulate
Progressive ideas
was a group of
crusading journalists
who investigated
social conditions and
political corruption.
 These writers
became known as
muckrakers.


American publishers were competing to see who could
expose the most corruption and scandal. Several magazines
became very popular during this time including-McClure’s,
Collier’s and Munsey’s.
Some important authors and topics included:
Ida Tarbell-business practices of companies like
Standard Oil
Charles Edward Russell-the beef industry
David Graham Phillips-how many influenced
the
senate
Lincoln Steffens-vote stealing and corrupt practices of
urban political machines
Jacob Riis-described the poverty, disease, and crime
that afflicted many immigrant neighborhoods in New
York City
 One
group of progressives focused on
making government more efficient. They
believed many problems could be solved
if government worked properly.
Efficiency progressives took their ideas
from business. These progressives
believed business had become more
efficient by applying the principles of
scientific management.
The ideas of scientific management had been
developed in the late 1800’s and were popularized
by Frederick Taylor’s book The Principles of Scientific
Management. This included breaking tasks down
into small parts, and using standardized tools.
 These progressives believed that the democratic
system had allowed people to be put into positions of
power that were not qualified to run a city. They
instead suggested a commission plan in which a city
would be divided into departments that would have
leaders chosen by a council. These leaders would
be experts in a particular area and would focus all of
their attention to very specific tasks.



Political reform came to the state level when Wisconsin
voters elected Robert La Follette to be governor. He
attacked the way political parties ran their conventions. He
opposed the way party bosses chose convention delegates
which also resulted in bosses chosing who ran for office. He
pushed for a direct primary-in which all party members
could vote for a candidate. These reforms gave Wisconsin
the reputation as the “Laboratory of Democracy”
Other changes in state govenrnment followed including:
• Initiative-allowed a group of citizens to introduce legislation and
required the legislature to vote on it
• Referendum-proposed legislation presented to voters for approval
• Recall-allowed voters to call for a special election to remove an
elected official from office before their term expired.
 The
Constitution directed each state
legislature to elect two senators from each
state. Political machines and trusts often
had a huge impact on electing these
senators and they repaid their supporters
with federal contracts and jobs. Many
muckrakers saw the problems with this
system.
 To counter this corruption, progressives
called for the direct election of senators by
all state voters. In 1912 a direct election
amendment was created. (17th amendment)

In July 1848, Elizabeth
Cady Stanton and
Lucretia Mott organized
the first women’s rights
convention in Seneca
Falls, New York. Their
first priority was getting
women the right to vote.
The movement for
women’s right to vote
became known as the
suffrage movement.



Women’s suffrage became an important issue for
progressives. Although the suffrage movement began well
before progressivism emerged, many progressives joined
the movement in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
The movement got off to a slow start. Women suffragists
were accused of being unfeminine and immoral. Several
were physically attacked. Another problem prior to the
Civil War was that many members were also abolitionist and
focused entirely on ending slavery.
Members of the women’s suffrage movement had hoped that
the laws to ensure voting rights to African Americans after
the war would also include women.
The movement split because of disagreements over
how to approach gaining suffrage. The group lead by
Stanton and Susan B. Anthony-the National Woman
Suffrage Association-wanted to focus on creating a
constitutional amendment. The second group lead
by Lucy Stone and Julia Ward Howe-American
Woman Suffrage Association-wanted to get women
the right to vote in individual states first and the
constitution later.
 The split reduced the movements effectiveness. In
1878 a constitutional amendment granting woman
suffrage was introduced in Congress, but it failed to
pass. Few states granted women the right to voteonly 5 by 1900.

 In
1890 the two groups united to form the
National American Women Suffrage
Association. The movement did not make
significant gains, however, until about
1910. Part of the problem was convincing
women to become politically active.
Many woman wanted to vote to promote
social performs, others wanted the vote
to ensure passage of labor laws
protecting women.


As the suffrage movement
grew members began
lobbying lawmakers,
organizing marches, and
delivering speeches on
streets corners.
By the end of 1912 5 states
had granted women full
voting rights. On March 13,
1913, the day before
President Wilson’s
inauguration, suffragists
marched in Washington
D.C. to draw attention to
their cause.
Alice Paul, a Quaker social worker who headed
NAWSA’s congressional committee, had organized
the Washington march. Paul wanted to use protests
to force President Wilson to take action on suffrage.
Her actions alarmed other members who wanted to
negotiate with Wilson. She left the party and started
the National Woman’s Party. Their members picketed
the White House, blocked sidewalks, chained
themselves to lampposts, and went on hunger strikes
if arrested.
 Eventually the NAWSA gave their support to Wilson
because the Democratic Party supported states
giving women the right to vote.

As more states granted women the right to vote,
Congress began to favor a constitutional amendment.
In 1918 the House of Representatives passed a
woman suffrage amendment. Wilson addressed the
Senate, asking it to vote for the amendment-the
amendment failed to pass by two votes.
 The following year in June 1919, the Senate finally
passed the Nineteenth Amendment by just more than
the two-thirds vote needed. On August 26, 1920, after
three-fourths of the states had voted to ratify it, the
Nineteenth Amendment guaranteeing women the
right to vote went into effect.

 While
some progressives focused on
reforming the political system, others
focused on social problems such as
crime, illiteracy, alcohol abuse, child
labor, and the health and safety of
Americans. They created charities to
help the poor and disadvantaged.



Probably the most emotional Progressive issue was the
campaign against child labor.
In 1900 over 1.7 million children under the age of 16
worked outside the home. Reformers established a
National Child Labor Committee in 1904 to abolish
child labor.
John Spargo’s 1906 book The Bitter Cry of the Children
presented detailed evidence on child labor conditions.
It described 9 and 10 year old workers in coal mines
that would develop curved spines and nerve damage
in their hands from picking slag out of coal 10 hours a
day.
 Reports
like these pushed states to create
minimum age laws for workers as well as laws
on the amount of hours that could be worked.
At this same time compulsory education laws
were being passed throughout the U.S.
 Child labor began to decline once these
education and labor laws were passed and as
more jobs were available to adults. Soon
mothers would replace children in the
factories.
 Many
adult workers also labored in difficult
conditions. Factories, coal mines, and railroads
were particularly dangerous.
 An example was a fire in 1911 at the Triangle
Shirtwaist Company in New York City. Nearly
150 women workers died, trapped by doors
locked from the outside. These deaths caused
New York to pass strict building codes for fire
hazards and machinery.
 During
the early 1900’s, thousands of people
died or were injured on the job, but they and
their families received little compensation.
Progressive union leaders pushed for
compensation laws that helped provide for
injured workers and their families.
 Progressives also favored zoning laws as a
method of protecting the public. These laws
divided a town or city into zones for
commercial, residential, or other development,
thereby regulating how land and buildings
could be used. (required fire escapes)
 Many
progressives believed alcohol was
responsible for many problems in
American life. Settlement house workers
hated the effects of drinking on families.
Scarce wages were spent on alcohol, and
drinking lead to abuse and sickness.
 Employers believed drinking hurt
workers efficiency, while political
reformers viewed the saloon as the
headquarters of political bosses.
 The
temperance movement, which advocated
the moderation of elimination of alcohol,
emerged from these concerns.
 For the most part, women led the temperance
movement. In 1874 a group of women formed
the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.
 When it began the temperance movement
concentrated on reducing alcohol
consumption. Later it pressed for prohibition
laws banning the manufacture, sale, and
consumption of alcohol
 Many
progressives believed that wealth was
concentrated in the hands of too few people.
Many became concerned about trusts and
holding companies.
 Many disagreed about how to deal with
regulating big business. Some believed that
the government should break up big
companies to restore competition. (Sherman
Anti-Trust Act 1890) Other pushed for
regulating agencies to monitor business
(Interstate Commerce Commission)
 What
is Socialism?
 What do they want?
 Who was an important leader?