Chapter 17
The Era of Progressive Reform
1890-1920
Reform, Reform, Reform
Big themes:
Socialism
Progressivism
Helping Women
The Drive for Reform
Origins of Progressivism
Main Idea: The Progressive Movement was started to fight for a variety of political, social, and
religious problems.
Muckrakers Reveal the Need for Reform
Main Idea: Journalists called muckrakers and fiction writers brought social problems to the public’s
attention.
Progressives Reform Society
Main Idea: As Progressives gained support, they achieved reforms for the poor and children and
improved the education system and working conditions for industrial workers.
Reforming Government
Main Idea: Progressives made changes to local governments and reformed election rules to give
citizens more power. Progressive leaders were elected into offices in many states, making it easier
for reforms to occur.
NOTE TAKING
Reading Skill: Identify Details
MUCKRAKERS
Coined by Teddy!
Journalists that uncovered corruption or
wrong doing in government and business.
Brought legislative change!
The Progressive movement used these stories
to bring about “progress” in society.
1890-1920 – progressive movement
Important MUCKRAKERS
Lincoln Steffens
He exposed political
corruption in St. Louis
and other cities.
His work in exposing
police corruption in New
York helped to defeat
the Tammany machine's
candidate for mayor in
1894
Ida Tarbell
Uncovered scandal of
the power trust of the
Standard Oil Co.
through 18 installments
in McClure’s Magazine
Caused Congress to
investigate
Supreme Court ruled
that the trust (really
monopoly) must be
broken up.
She influenced many
other progressives to
make a difference with
their writings.
Upton Sinclair
Wrote The Jungle,
published in 1906,
described the horrors of
the meatpacking
industry.
Publication of the book
led to the creation of a
federal meat inspection
program.
Pure Food and Drug Act
and the Meat Inspection
Act passed in 1906!
Goals of Progressivism
Prevent businesses from treating competing
companies unfairly
Improve safety and working conditions for
workers
Outlaw child labor
Create programs to help the sick,
unemployed, and elderly
Reduce government corruption
Give women the right to vote
CHART
Children Enrolled in Public Schools and Employed, 1870-1930
Women Make Progress
Progressive Women Expand Reforms
Main Idea: During the Progressive Movement many
women took steps to gain reform for working
conditions and family life.
Women Fight for the Right to Vote
Main Idea: Carrie Chapman Catt and Alice Paul were
two Progressive leaders who helped reenergize the
national suffrage movement. Eventually, they were
successful when Congress approved the Nineteenth
Amendment in 1920.
NOTE TAKING
Reading Skill: Identify Main Ideas
Women’s Suffrage
American women activists first formally
demanded the right to vote in 1848 at a
meeting in Seneca Falls, New York.
The leaders were Susan B. Anthony, Cady
Stanton, and Lucy Stone.
Ratified in August 1920, the 19th
Amendment gave American women the
right to vote just in time for the 1920
presidential election.
Millions of new women voters helped elect
Warren Harding.
TRANSPARENCY
Political Cartoons: Women’s Suffrage
GRAPH
Passages of Women’s Suffrage
The Struggle Against Discrimination
Progressivism Presents Contradictions
Main Idea: Although many reforms occurred during the Progressive Era, many nonwhites and immigrants also suffered as Protestants tried to force Americanization on
them. Racism was prevalent even among Progressives, and segregation became the
norm in many areas of the country.
African Americans Demand Reforms
Main Idea: African American leaders organized to gain reforms. Their efforts led to
the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) and the Urban League.
Reducing Prejudice and Protecting Rights
Main Idea: Jews, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Mexican Americans
formed groups to help fight for their rights in the early 1900’s.
NOTE TAKING
Reading Skill: Main Idea and Details
COMPARING
VIEWPOINTS
How should we respond to discrimination?
Deeper look…
What’s going on in the South?
Jim Crow Laws, discrimination, KKK, etc.
What is the federal gov’t doing?
Plessey v. Ferguson
• Ruled separate but equal was constitutional
Progressive Legislation
She was arrested in
1872 for civil
disobedience. She
was convicted and
fined $100. (she
never paid it!)
Tons of legislation
during this time.
Know:
• Sherman Anti-Trust
Act
• Pure Food and Drug
• Amendments 16-19
CHART
Progressive Era Legislation and Constitutional Amendments
Presidents thus far…
1-10?
11 – Polk
12 – Taylor
13 – Fillmore
14 – Pierce
15 – Buchanan
16 – Lincoln
17 – Johnson
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Grant
Hayes
Garfield
Arthur
Cleveland
Harrison
Cleveland
McKinley
Roosevelt
Roosevelt’s Square Deal
Roosevelt Shapes the Modern Presidency
Main Idea: When Theodore Roosevelt became President in 1901, he expanded the powers
of the President and shaped the modern presidency. He fought for reform proposals that
would keep the wealthy and powerful from taking advantage of the poor.
Trustbusting and Regulating Industry
Main Idea: During Roosevelt’s presidency, the government enacted many reforms
involving labor unions, control of shipping costs, antitrusts, and the food and drug
industries.
The Government Manages the Environment
Main Idea: Following the advice of naturalists, Roosevelt closed off land and pushed for
laws that would conserve water.
Roosevelt and Taft Differ
Main Idea: When Taft was elected President, he changed many of Roosevelt’s policies,
including relaxing control of trusts. His policies encouraged Roosevelt to seek another
term in office.
NOTE TAKING
Reading Skill: Identify Main Ideas
NOTE TAKING
Reading Skill: Compare and Contrast
Wilson’s New Freedom
Wilson and the Democrats Prevail
Main Idea: In the 1912 presidential election, the Republican Party was divided
between Taft and Roosevelt, leading the way for Woodrow Wilson to be elected.
Once in office, Wilson developed a Progressive plan that placed strong
government control on corporations.
Wilson Regulates the Economy
Main Idea: Wilson worked to give the government more control of the economy.
Some of the laws passed during his term included lowering tariffs, reforming the
banking system, strengthening antitrust regulation, and supporting labor unions
and workers’ rights.
Progressivism Leaves a Lasting Legacy
Main Idea: Changes in the American economy and the government’s role in
managing natural resources still have an impact on society today.
Continued...
Election of 1912 – Wilson wins!
45
Democrat
Republican
Progressive
Socialist
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Wilson
Taft
Roosevelt
Debs
Under Presidents Taft
and Wilson, progressive
reforms continued until
1916.
The Progressive party,
led by TR, at times was
called the “Bull Moose”
party. (TR at one time
said he felt as strong as
a bull moose!)
TRANSPARENCY
The Election of 1912
CHART
Presidential Election of 1912
Woodrow Wilson – 28th President
1913-1921
Federal Reserve System
Prohibition
The Birth of a Nation
Women’s Suffrage
World War I
“Eight Men Out” –
gambling scandal on
the World Series!
NOTE TAKING
Reading Skill: Identify Main Ideas
Events during Wilson’s terms
Federal Reserve System – Reorganized
the federal banking system in 1913.
Created 8-12 regional Federal Reserve
Banks
Supervised by a Federal Reserve Board
Each Regional bank allowed other banks to
borrow from them; hope to end bank runs
Created a new national currency, known as
Federal Reserve notes – still in use today!
Prohibition
• By the time the 18th Amendment was ratified
in January 1919, most southern and western
states already had prohibition laws.
• In Oct, 1919, Congress passed a nation law
(over Wilson’s veto) to enforce the 18th
Amendment.
• The Prohibition Enforcement, or Volstead Act
est. specific penalties for the manufacture,
transportation, and sale of alcohol, beginning
Jan. 1920.
• It would be repealed in 1933 with the 21st
amendment!
The Birth of a Nation
This was the first feature film ever shown at
the White House.
It was a “Reconstruction” saga that
premiered in 1915.
D.W. Griffith’s film told a story that
dramatically portrayed the threat he believed
black men posed to white womanhood.
This film sparked the rise of the second KKK.
The domestic melodrama/epic
originally premiered with the title
The Clansman in January, 1915 in
California, but three months later
was retitled with the present title at
its world premiere in New York, to
emphasize the birthing process of
the US.
The film was based on former
North Carolina Baptist minister
Rev. Thomas Dixon Jr.'s antiblack, 1905 bigoted play, The
Clansman.
KKK – 2nd Time Around
•A second distinct group using the same name was
started near Atlanta in 1915 by William Simmons.
•This second group existed as a money-making fraternal
organization and fought to maintain the ways of the past
against increasing numbers of Roman Catholics, Jews,
blacks and immigrants into the United States.
•This group, although preaching racism, was a
mainstream organization with 4 million members at its
peak in the 1920s.
Members of the second Ku Klux Klan at a rally during the 1920s.
KKK parade in Washington
Demonstrating their political power, Klansmen triumphantly parade down Pennsylvania
Avenue in Washington, D.C., on September 13, 1926, in full regalia.
(Courtesy of Library of Congress)
Its collapse thereafter was largely due to state
laws that forbade masks and eliminated the secret
element, to the bad publicity the organization
received through its thugs and swindlers, and
apparently from the declining interest of the
members.
With the depression of the 1930s, dues-paying
membership of the Klan shrank to almost nothing.
Meanwhile, many of its leaders had done
extremely well financially from the dues and the
sale of Klan paraphernalia.
Eight Men Out!
Eight Chicago White Sox players receive
payments from gamblers to throw the
World Series in 1919. Those banished
from baseball for life as a result of the
Black Sox scandal include “Shoeless”
Joe Jackson!
World War I
We will fight this war in Chapter 20!!!!!