Progressive Era.
I. Definition.
A. First comprehensive effort to deal with ills of society.
B. Reform for progess.
II. Buzz words: Stability, Order, Efficiency.
III. Reasons for progressivism
A. In response to changes society.
B. Fear of big business.
C. Fear of social revolution.
IV. Progressives’ areas of action.
A. Bring business under public control
B. Social justice
C. Reinvigorate democracy
V. Who were the Progressives? A Vast coalition.
A. Liberals: Upper class reformers who saw a social duty.
B. Businessmen: Stop social revolution and stop waste.
C. New Middle Class.
1. Educated Middle Managers, experts, engineers
2. Professionals.
3. Women, from social clubs to political activity.
a. Settlement Houses – Hull House: Jane Addams
4. African-Americans, W. E. B. DuBois, 1909, NAACP
D. Old reformers
1. Populists.
2. Socialists.
3. Priests and Ministers.
E. Investigative journalists: Muckrakers
VI. Progressives turned to government.
A. Notion of weak government had to be set aside.
B. Social Darwinism had to be denied.
Progressives took action.
I. Politics: remove corruption, end machines, make more democratic
A. In the cities: New forms of government
B. State actions, tried for more democracy.
1. Direct primaries.
2. Initiative, referendum, recall.
3. Direct election of U.S. Senators, 17th Amendment, 1913.
C. On a national level: women’s suffrage.
1. Women changed tactics: virtue to society
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2. 19th Amendment, 1920
II. Social Justice/Welfare
A. Limit hours for work for women, men and children.
B Conditions of work
1.Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire, 1911
2. New safety codes and building inspections.
C. Workmen’s Compensation
III. Social Order
A. Prostitution
B. Prohibition
1. Women’s Christian Temperance Union, 1873
2. Anti-saloon League, 1893
3. Liquor banned with 18th Amendment, 1920
C. Curb immigration -- Immigration Act of 1917
IV. Federal regulation became more common.
A. Brought consistence to some state laws.
B. Proper area for some actions.
Progressivism and the Presidency.
I. Theodore Roosevelt
A. Background, Vice-President to President with McKinley’s death.
B. Roosevelt’s views: righteousness & decency.
C. Square Deal
II. Roosevelt attacked trusts: Bad trusts vs. good trusts
A. Sherman Anti-Trust Act
B. Northern Securities, 1904
C. Moved to attack other trusts
III. Roosevelt’s “bully pulpit:” publicity
A. Bureau of Corporations.
B. Department of Commerce and Labor
IV. Stood up on behalf of workers
A. Coal Strike of 1902
V. 1904 election, brought Roosevelt’s second term.
VI. More regulation for interstate commerce.
VII. Food and Drug Act, 1906, and Meat Inspection Act
VIII. Conservation to stop waste
A. Timber -- Forest Reserve Act of 1891
1. Gifford Pinchot, national forester, wanted conservation
2. John Muir, Yosemite, preservationist
B. Antiquities Act of 1906 created National Monuments
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1. Devil’s Tower, September 1906
C. Newlands Reclamation Act of 1902
1. Built dams for irrigation
IX. Roosevelt did not run for reelection in 1908.
A. Roosevelt picked William Howard Taft.
William Howard Taft as President
I. Taft pushed anti-trust measures.
II. Taft wanted to lower tariffs
A. Not a good politician
B. Taft came to support higher tariffs
III. Taft had problems in conservation
A. Came into conflict with Pinchot
IV. Progressives wanted a Roosevelt return.
Election of 1912
I. Roosevelt challenged Taft and won primary elections.
II. Taft dominated convention.
III. Roosevelt helped form Progressive Party – Bull Moose
A. Roosevelt campaigned on a “New Nationalism”
B. Regulation of corporations and federal control of social reforms
IV. Democrats nominated Woodrow Wilson.
A. He promised a “New Freedom.”
B. Destruction of special privilege
C. Decentralized government
V. Wilson won
VI. Significance of 1912 election
A. High mark of progressivism.
B. Southerners back in the White House
C. Republican party became a conservative force
D. Democrats became party of social change
Wilson as President
I. Wilson decided to regulate economy
A. Federal Trade Commission to regulate trusts
B. Federal Reserve Act, 1913
II. Wilson lowered tariffs
A. Gained the 16th Amendment in 1913, for an income tax
III. By 1916, Wilson’s progressivism seemed over
IV. As the election of 1916 approached, Wilson pushed new reforms
A. National child labor act, 1916
B. 8 hour day for railroad workers
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C. Supported women’s suffrage
V. Progressivism died with World War I
VI. Legacy of progressivism
A. Expanded government.
B. New meaning of liberalism as Democratic party changed.
Foreign Policy of the Progressive Era.
I. Roosevelt treated the Caribbean as an American Lake.
A. Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.
B. Helped foment revolution in Panama.
II. Roosevelt expanded navy.
III. Roosevelt won Nobel Peace Prize, Russo-Japanese War, 1905.
IV. Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy.
V. Wilson preached a new morality in foreign affairs.
A. Wilson believed America had the best system.
B. Intervened in other countries.
VI. Wilson sent troops into Mexico.
A. Wilson wanted to help pick a legitimate leader.
B. Pancho Villa snubbed, Villa attacked Americans in 1916.
C. Wilson sent troops into Mexico to punish Villa.
World War I
I. War broke out in Europe in 1914.
II. Wilson announced neutrality.
III. Not all Americans could easily remain neutral.
A. Some had Central power connections.
B. American traditions tended toward allies.
IV. Warring powers did not like American neutrality.
A. Britain blockaded Europe.
B. Germany undertook submarine warfare.
V. Wilson responded to shipping problems.
A. Kept shipping to England.
B. Warned Germans.
VI. America angry over Lusitania in May 1915.
VII. Wilson tried to end war with negotiations.
A. Germany limited sinkings.
B. Wilson talked of “peace without victory.”
VIII. Germany declared unlimited submarine warfare in early 1917.
IX. The United States entered war in April 1917.
A. Submarine warfare.
B. Zimmermann Note.
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C. Progressive ideals.
X. War as a struggle of nations.
A. War Industries Board.
B. National War Labor Board.
C. Food Administration -- Herbert Hoover.
D. Committee on Public Information -- Americanism.
E. Espionage & Sedition Acts: “clear and present danger.”
F. Society changed.
1. Great Migration of African-Americans.
2. Hispanics moved north.
3. More women entered industrial jobs.
XI. United States military entered war.
A. Hoped the British and French could win.
B. General Pershing saw the poor condition of the allies.
C. Problems worsened in late 1917.
D. American action limited.
XII. Armistice on November 11, 1918.
The peace treaty fight.
I. Germany surrendered hoping for a fair peace.
II. Wilson promoted idea of Fourteen Points.
A. Establish international freedoms.
B. Self-determination for new nations.
C. No harsh peace, no reparations.
D. League of Nations.
III. Allies did not want an easy peace.
IV. Wilson had problems with United States Senate and League of Nations.
V. Wilson compromised.
VI. Senate would not agree.
VII. Wilson collapsed on tour, peace never passed.
VIII. Europe signed Treaty of Versailles, June 28, 1919.
After World War I: Demobilization.
I. Began without a plan.
II. Post-war instability.
A. Race riots.
B. Strikes, including Boston Police strike.
C. Red Scare.
1. A. Mitchell Palmer, Attorney General.
2. 100% Americanism would rule the 1920s.
The 1920s: The New Era.
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New Era Economics
I. Second industrial Revolution
A. New efficiency
B. Consumer goods
II. Big business less of a concern
III. Oligarchies
IV. Automobiles
A. Biggest contributor to 1920s economic development
V. New industries
A. Radio
B. Air travel
VI. Organized labor
A. American Plan
B. Welfare capitalism
The New Era reflected the new values and morals of the time.
I. Victorianism meant self-control.
II. Some Americans wanted a freer society.
III. What brought the change in morals and values.
A. War experiences.
B. Women had a larger role.
C. New notions existed such as Freud on sexuality.
D. More leisure time.
E. Mobility with automobile.
F. Influence of movies.
IV. Not all liked the new society.
A. Authors: Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald.
B. The Jazz Age.
V. Some Americans sought traditional values.
A. Read about rugged individuals.
B. Celebrated heroes that appeared to be common men.
C. Voted for conservatives.
D. Had a fear of foreigners -- Xenophobia.
1. Immigration Act of 1924.
2. The conviction of Sacco and Vanzetti.
E. Ku Klux Klan saw itself as protecting American values.
F. Growth in Fundamentalism.
1. Revivalists spread.
2. Scopes/Monkey Trial, 1925.
VI. African-American society changed.
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A. Great Migration.
B. Blacks were a larger presence in northern cities.
C. Jazz and the Harlem Renaissance.
D. Marcus Garvey and the rise of Black nationalism.
Why Progressivism as a movement ended.
I. Enough legislation had been enacted.
II. Business not seen as all bad.
III. Disillusionment with war and with big government.
IV. Some Progressives continued to work.
A. Agriculture supports.
B. Power generation -- Water Power Act of 1920.
V. Conservative politics would set the tone.
1920 Politics.
I. Less active government.
II. Era of Republican Presidents.
III. Election of 1920.
A. Wilson wanted a referendum on League of Nations.
B. Republicans picked Warren G. Harding in “smoke filled room.”
C. Harding elected promising normalcy.
IV. Harding’s administration.
A. Harding selected the “Best of Minds” and the “Worst of Minds.”
B. Andrew Mellon in Treasury reduced government expenditures and
cut taxes with more going to the wealthy: prosperity.
C. Herbert Hoover, Secretary of Commerce.
D. “Ohio Gang” involved in some questionable practices.
E. Teapot Dome, Harry Sinclair bribed Albert Fall for oil contract.
F. Fall convicted of a felony.
G. Harding died before stories of crimes broke.
V. Calvin Coolidge replaced Harding.
A. Continued to support business.
B. Distanced himself from scandals.
VI. Election of 1924.
A. Democrats broke down into rural and urban wings.
B. Progressive Party entered politics again.
C. Coolidge carried election.
VII. Coolidge in his second term.
A. Left no strong legacy.
B. Vacationed in the Black Hills in 1927.
C. Decided not to run for reelection in 1928.
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VIII. Election of 1928.
A. Herbert Hoover gained Republican nomination.
B. Democrats selected a candidate from urban wing -- Al Smith.
1. Pro-liquor, pro-immigrant.
2. Catholic.
C. Hoover elected, well suited for the job.
IX. Hoover as President.
A. Formed associations and held conferences to improve America.
B. Reduced taxes.
C. Stock market disaster struck six months after inauguration.
The Great Depression.
I. Stock Market downturn caused a financial Panic.
A. Great Bull market, time of high priced stocks, came to end.
B. Caution spread among people.
C. Stock bought on margin called in.
D. Banks faltered.
II. Economic Depression spread through society as weaknesses exposed.
A. Farming had suffered through the decade.
B. Sick industries existed: coal and textiles.
C. Workers’ wages had not kept pace with price of goods.
D. Surplus products existed.
E. Europe went broke: a world wide depression.
III. Manifestations.
A. Unemployment rose up to 25%.
B. Banks failed and businesses closed.
C. Minorities suffered the most.
D. Hoover blamed.
IV. Nation’s response.
A. Private charities.
B. City and state governments primary welfare agencies.
C. Hoover tried publicity and volunteerism.
D. Federal actions necessary.
1. Aid for farmers/unemployment relief.
2. Hawley Smoot Tariff, 1930
3. Reconstruction Finance Corporation, 1932.
E. Some Americans protested.
1. Farm Holiday Association.
2. Bonus Army March, 1932.
American Culture during the 1930s
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I. Most wanted entertainment to divert attention from Depression
II. Radio
A. Comedy
B. Public events
III. Movies
A. Gangster Movies
B. Comedy – Marx Brothers
C. Musicals – Jeanette MacDonald
D. Animation – Snow White, 1937
E. The Wizard of Oz, 1939
IV. Books
A. The Grapes of Wrath, 1939
The Great Depression.
V. Election of 1932.
A. Republicans selected Hoover.
B. Democrats selected New York Governor, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1. FDR promised experimentation.
2. Promised something to everyone.
C. Roosevelt elected with Democratic Congress.
D. The Interregnum left the country to drift.
E. FDR gave famous inaugural speech.
Roosevelt as President, the New Deal.
I. Roosevelt initiated the “Hundred Days” of the First New Deal.
A. Relief/Recovery/Reform.
B. Banking legislation.
1. Declared Bank Holiday.
2. Emergency Banking Act allowed banks to reopen.
3. Gave first Fireside chat to reassure Americans.
4. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) established.
5. Securities and Exchange Commission.
C. Business and Industry: National Industrial Recovery Act.
1. Cooperation mandated.
2. Destructive competition to be eliminated.
3. Attempt at planned economy.
4. Business did not recover.
5. Labor benefited with guarantees of reasonable work week
and the right to organize and bargain collectively.
D. Agriculture: Agricultural Adjustment Act.
1. Restricted production to produce artificial scarcity.
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2. Prices increased, but probably came from Dust Bowl.
E. Work Relief.
1. Federal Emergency Relief Administration.
2. Civilian Conservation Corps.
F. Tennessee Valley Authority.
1. Build dams and power plants along the Tennessee River.
2. An experiment in social planning.
G. Result of First Hundred Days.
1. Failed to end Depression.
2. Most Americans supported the effort.
II. Reaction to the New Deal came from the left and the right.
A. Some Democrats and businessmen complained of growing federal
government.
B. Francis Townsend wanted old-age pension funds.
C. Father Charles Coughlin spoke of monetary reform.
D. Huey Long talked of “Share Our Wealth.”
III. The Supreme Court found several New Deal items unconstitutional.
IV. Roosevelt started Second New Deal in 1935.
A. More reform, more social justice.
B. Wagner Act gave labor the right to organize.
1. Congress of Industrial Organizations formed, John L. Lewis.
2. Autos and steel unionized.
C. New farm legislation.
1. Resettlement Administration.
2. Rural Electrification Administration.
D. New relief program: Works Progress Administration, WPA.
1. Major construction projects.
2. Employed writers and artists.
E. Social Security Act of 1935.
1. Unemployment insurance.
2. Old age insurance plan.
V. Election of 1936.
A. FDR swept in with a mandate to continue.
B. New Democratic coalition formed.
VI. Roosevelt moved against the Supreme Court in early 1937.
A. Court threatened Second New Deal.
B. FDR wanted to place extra judges in the court.
C. Resistance developed to “court packing.”
D. FDR lost the battle but the court changed directions.
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VII. Economic improvement came in 1937.
A. Government cut federal expenditures.
B. Economic slump resulted in late 1937, the “Roosevelt recession.”
VIII. The economic downturn brought the Third New Deal.
A. More advanced progressive legislation.
B. Fair Labor Standards Act.
C. Keynesian economics accepted.
IX. Legacy of the New Deal.
A. Saved capitalist system.
B. Established framework of welfare state.
C. Government enlarged.
X. New Deal ended as World War II began.
Foreign Relations after World War I.
I. The development of American isolationism.
A. No entanglements after World War I.
B. Merchants of death.
C. Xenophobia.
D. Great Depression hardened the stand.
II. The United States still had to be involved in the world.
A. International trade.
B. A world power.
III. United States entered into talks to reduce tensions, disarm nations.
A. Washington Conference, 1921: Five Power Naval Treaty.
B. Kellogg-Briand Treaty of 1928, outlawed war.
IV. Attempted to improve Latin America relations.
A. Harding paid Columbia.
B. Hoover renounced Roosevelt Corollary.
C. Good Neighbor Policy in place.
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History 152: Second Examination Essay Questions.
Of the following three essay questions, two will appear on the examination. You must
answer both. You are encouraged to prepare before the exam, but you are not allowed to bring
anything to class to assist you with your answer. Each is worth 15 points for a possible 30 points.
1. Discuss how the Presidents from 1901 to 1917 dealt with Progressive issues, and explain what
actions they took.
2. Explain the New Era. What about it is new? And why? What about it is old? And why?
3. Discuss how Franklin Delano Roosevelt dealt with the Great Depression during the first two
years of his presidency. What aspects of the economy and society did he try to help? What
legislation was passed? How successful was he at ending the Great Depression?
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