Chapter 9 Section 1 notes
The Progressive Movement
The Progressive Spirit
 By early 1900’s Industrialization had transformed United States
 Growth led to unsafe working conditions, crowded cities and
larger gap between rich and poor
 Progressivism grew from Populist reform but centered on
o Urban problems
o Plight of workers
o Poor sanitation
o Corrupt political machines
The Progressives
 Most were native born, college educated, middle and upper class
 Urban middle class had grown from 750,000 in 1870 to 10 million
in 1910
Women and Progressivism
 Joined reform movements because acceptable way to influence
politics and society
 More women were enrolled in college but job opportunities were
limited
 Reform work offered way to use knowledge of medicine,
psychology, sociology and other subjects
 Ella Flagg Young became superintendent of schools in Chicago in
1909—promoted public education by raising salaries of teachers
 Some made careers of reform work while others volunteered
o General Federation of Women’s Clubs and National
Association of Colored Women
 Women participated in Progressive Party Convention of 1912—
platform supported women’s suffrage and abolishment of child
labor
Progressive Issues
Dangerous workplace
 Major concern was way corporate America did business
 In 1910 70% of industrial workers had 54 hour work weeks
o Higher accident rates
 25% of one Pittsburgh steel mill workforce injured or
killed per year from 1907-1910
 Demand limits on corporate power
o Promoted laws to limit monopolies and help small
businesses
o Called for 8 hour work day
o Minimum wage
o Safer work conditions
o Abolishment of child labor
Social Problems
 Wanted people to have greater control over government
 New election reforms and other reforms more responsive to desire
of voters
 Inspired by spirit of social justice
o Believed in power of science and technology to solve social
problems
 John Dewey “education should prepare students to
function in society, not just give them factual
information
Inspiration for Reform
 Popular magazines such as Munsey’s and Everybody’s published
stories about corruption in politics and business as well as social
problems
 McClure’s Magazine founded by S.S. McClure in 1893
 Teddy Roosevelt coined term Muckrakers to describe
investigative journalists
 October 1902 McClure’s publishes Tweed Days in St Louis by
Lincoln Steffens and Claude Wetmore—describes St. Louis’s
political machine and comparison to Boss Tweed of New York
 Ida Tarbell writes series of 19 articles about “History of Standard
Oil”—uncovering details about corrupt practices of John
Rockefeller—published in McClure’s
o Ida never wanted to be associated with muckrakers—her
father’s company had been bought out by Standard Oil
Muckraking Books
 Lincoln Steffens writes Shame of the Cities in 1904—describes
urban political corruption
 Ray Stannard Baker writes Following the Color Line in 1908—
describes plight of African Americans
Writers and Social Problems
 Novelists describe darker side of new industrial society’s effect on
people
 Theodore Dreiser writes Sister Carrie (1900) and The Financier
(1912)—describing workers brutalized by greedy business owners
 Edith Wharton describes how closed-mindedness of elite society
leads heroine to social isolation and despair in The House of Mirth
in 1905
 The Promise of American Life published in 1909 by Herbert Croly
argues that government should use regulatory and taxation power
to promote welfare of its citizens
 Jane Addams Democracy and Social Ethics (1902) urges private
citizens to show more social responsibility
 Although progressives wanted to transform society and its values
they remained committed to Democracy for all citizens