Chapter 17
The Progressive Era
1890 - 1920
1. The Drive For Reform
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Reformers crossed social, economic, political
lines
Beliefs:
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Industrialization and urbanization had created
troubling social and political problems
Wanted society and government to help people
Use logic & reason to solve problems
End corrupt government
Similar to populism but more middle class
Drive for Reform cont.
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Some sought political reform
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Vote for women
End political machines that allowed some to
prosper while others lived in dangerous
conditions
Big business – break up the trusts
Social – stop the growing gap between
rich and poor, child labor, conditions, etc.
Reform cont.
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Muckrakers – journalists and writers who
exposed the “muck” – ugliest side of life
Lincoln Steffens – The Shame of the Cities
Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives,
photographer who turned his camera on the
urban poor
Ida Tarbell, The History of Standard Oil, about
Rockefeller’s ruthless tactics
Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, about the horrors of
the meatpacking industry
Reform of Society
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Social Gospel – follow the Bible’s teachings about
charity and justice to help society
Settlement houses – provided social services to the
poor
 Jane Addams – Hull House
Child labor laws, more educational opportunities
John Dewey urges students to think not memorize
facts
Help industrial workers
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, 1911 leads to
reforms in industry (killed 146 – mostly young
women)
Reforming Government
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Cities switch to city commission form of local
government after the hurricane of 1900 (worst natural
disaster in American History – 8,000 killed)
Direct primary – people voted in local elections directly
to put officials on upcoming ballots
Initiative – people could put law on ballots by getting
signatures on a petition
Referendum – could approve or reject laws passed by
local legislatures
Recall – voters could remove corrupt officials from office
17th Amendment – direct election of senators
Progressive governors – Bob LaFollette (WI), Teddy
Roosevelt (NY), Woodrow Wilson (NJ)
2. Women Make Progress
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WCTU – Temperance movement picks up
Margaret Sanger – birth control, fewer children,
better quality of life
Florence Kelley – Nat’l Consumer League – safer
products for the home
Ida B. Wells – rights for African American
women (had also protested lynching)
Carrie Chapman Catt – NAWSA – lobbied for
women’s suffrage
Alice Paul
19th Amendment – suffrage (right to vote)
3. Struggle Against Discrimination
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Americanization – tried to make immigrants
more “American”
Disturbed by alcohol use; customary in many
countries
Plessy v. Ferguson – “Separate but Equal” is ok
Washington & DuBois want reform (different
strategies)
Niagara Movement demanded immediate
change (DuBois)
NAACP forms after riots in Springfield, IL (after
attempted lynching)
Discrimination cont.
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Urban League – focused on poor workers;
provided clothes, books, helped find jobs
Anti-Defamation League – to defend Jews
Mexican, Native, and Asian Americans also
form groups to fight prejudice and
discrimination
4. Roosevelt’s Square Deal
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President after McKinley’s assassination;
youngest; Secretary of Navy
Square Deal – keep wealthy and powerful from
taking advantage of poor, but not that
government should take care of the lazy
Trustbusting – enforces Sherman Antitrust Act
Meat Inspection Act – processing plants
Pure Food and Drug Act – today enforced by the
FDA
Roosevelt cont.
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Conservationist – w/John Muir;
outdoorsman
Reserve land for public use – Yosemite
National Park
Water Reclamation Act – govt. would
regulate water, manage dams, reservoirs
New Nationalism – restore govt.
trustbusting powers
Progressive Party – “Bull Moose”
5. Wilson’s New Freedom
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1912 – Democratic Woodrow Wilson
New Freedom Plan – control corporations
Lowered tariffs so American workers could
buy foreign if U.S. products got too high
16th Amendment – Income Tax 
Federal Reserve Act – holds reserve funds
for banks, sets interest rates, supervises
banks
Wilson cont.
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Federal Trade Commission – Monitored
business practices that might lead to
monopoly (FTC)
Clayton Antitrust Act – specified activities
that businesses could not engage in,
protected labor unions
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Enforces the Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Legacy of Progressivism
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More government protection of people’s
lives
More control over people’s lives
Helped children, natural resources, public
health, working conditions, regulated
businesses