Recap
• What were some of the problems with cities in at the turn of
the century?
• Who was Jacob Riis, what was the name of his book, and
what was it about?
• What were political machines and what was their
relationship to the “New” Immigrants?
• What was the most infamous political machine?
• What were settlement houses?
• What was the name of the most famous settlement house
and who was the woman who ran it?
The Progressives
Part 1
Problem #1a
Problem 1b
How would you fix these problems?
Problem #2
Problem #2
How would you solve problem #2?
Problems in U.S. circa 1900
Issues surrounding the “new Immigrants”
1. Working (and Living)Conditions of Industrial Workers
a. Low pay
b. Poor working conditions
c. Long hours
d. Child Labor
2. Big Business (the Trusts)
a. No competition = fixed prices & harder to self-make
3. Political Corruption
a. Corrupt political machines
b. Seem to do more for big business than for “the people.”
Who were the Progressives?
• They were middle class reformers.
• They wanted to fix the ills of the modern
industrialized society.
• Mainly in the cities.
Why did they Care?
• 1. Some were humanitarians.
• 2. Others feared that if problems in
society weren’t fixed, that the poor would
rebel and there would be either
communism/socialism or anarchy.
• 3. They also felt threatened by the power
of the trusts (big business).
The Cause of the Problems
from Above
• Big Business (the trusts).
• Trusts were able to get what
they wanted from
government by bribing them.
• They were too big. They
prevented individuals from
“self making” —Achieving
success through hard work.
The Problem From Below
• Disillusioned workers—their living
and working conditions were so
bad, they might turn to revolution.
• Examples: a. The Industrial
Workers of the World (IWW)—
Known as the “Wobblies,” this
was the most radical labor union.
It’s leader was William “Big Bill”
Haywood.
– B. Many people were turning to
socialism—the public ownership of
factories, utilities, railroads, and
communications.
The Progressive Solution
• 1. Ending corruption in government.
• 2. Once governments were fixed, making
laws that would:
• A. Limit the power of big business.
• B. Deal with the social problems of the industrial
age.
Religious Reformers
• Christians who felt that they had a duty to improve life
here on earth rather than just worry about getting people
to heaven later.
• Believed that what turned people to crime, drugs, and
alcohol was their environment (not that they were bad
people).
• Therefore, they felt the need to fix the environment of the
poor.
• This religious Progressive thinking was known as the
“Social Gospel.”
• Leading figure was Walter Rauschenbusch.
Review
• What were the 3 major problems the
progressives wanted to fix?
• Who were the Progressives?
• What did they want to do and why?
• Explain the “Social Gospel” and say who was
its leading proponent.
• Quien es tu papa?
The “New Immigrants”
• Need help assimilating.
A = Settlement Houses
• Some Progs., however,feel
will bring down America
because they are inferior
and have different customs.
• A = Immigration Laws.
Recap
• What were some of the problems with cities in at the turn of
the century?
• Who was Jacob Riis, what was the name of his book, and
what was it about?
• What were political machines and what was their
relationship to the “New” Immigrants?
• What was the most infamous political machine?
• What were settlement houses?
• What was the name of the most famous settlement house
and who was the woman who ran it?
More Review
• What were the 3 problems with American
society at the turn of the century?
• Who were the Progressives and what did
they want?
• What was the “Social Gospel” and who
was its leading voice?
Why did the Progressives think that
this could be a problem?
Why did Progressives think that
this was a problem?
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
The Muckrakers
• Name refers to writers who exposed the
problems in society.
• Name was first given by Teddy Roosevelt and
was supposed to be negative but became a
badge of honor.
• Things they wrote about included:
•
•
•
•
child labor
corruption in politics
bad working and living conditions of the poor
unsanitary conditions in food preparation, etc.
Famous Muckrakers
• Ida Tarbell —She
wrote about the rise
of Standard Oil Co.
and the ruthless
methods used by
John D. Rockefeller.
Jane Addams
• Wants to help urban
immigrants.
• Settlement Houses —
provide educational
and social services
for immigrants.
• Hull House (Chicago)
Upton Sinclair
• Upton Sinclair —author
of The Jungle which
dealt with the poor living
and working condition of
the “new “ immigrants
as well as the
unsanitary conditions in
which food was
processed.
“The Jungle”
• Book had a huge
impact.
• Led to passage of
the Meat
Inspection Act of
1906
Lincoln Steffens
• Lincoln Steffens —
Wrote about political
corruption. He wrote
many magazine
articles and a famous
book, Shame of the
Cities.
Ida B. Wells
• Wrote about bad conditions for African
Americans.
• Lynching
Looking to Experts
• The Progressives thought that educated experts could
solve societies problems through scientific methods.
• This was the beginning of the “social sciences.”
• Experts would gather and analyze data and then fix the
problems.
• Leading figure was Lester Ward.
– He argued against social Darwinism that said that it was natural
for some to prosper while other suffered. Instead, he claimed
that it was natural for people to control and change their
environment.
Review
• What were settlement houses?
• What was the “Social Gospel” and who
was its leading voice?
• Who were the “Muckrakers”?