PERIOD 7: 1890–1945
An increasingly pluralistic United States
faced profound domestic and global
challenges, debated the proper degree of
government activism, and sought to
define its international role.
2/23/2015
Period 7
1890 – 1945,
comprises 17% of
the AP exam
Key Concept 7.1:
 Governmental, political, and social
organizations struggled to address the
effects of large-scale industrialization,
economic uncertainty, and related social
changes such as urbanization and mass
migration.
The Progressive Reform Era
Chapter Ch. 21
The Origins of Progressivism
Goals of Progressives
• Improve working conditions
– Wages
– Hours
– Safety
• Improve sanitation
• End corruption of government
“use the government as an agent for human
welfare “
1890 - 1945
 I. The continued growth and
consolidation of large corporations
transformed American society and the
nation’s economy, promoting
urbanization and economic growth,
even as business cycle fluctuations
became increasingly severe.
Industrial Revolution led to:
 Great social changes
– Immigration
– Urbanization
– Government less responsive to ordinary
people
 Foreign policy
– Arrogance
– Jingoism
1890 - 1945
 A. Large corporations came to dominate the U.S. economy
as it increasingly focused on the production of consumer
goods, driven by new technologies and manufacturing
techniques.
 B. The United States continued its transition from a rural,
agricultural society to an urban, industrial one, offering new
economic opportunities for women, internal migrants, and
international migrants who continued to flock to the United
States.
 C. Even as economic growth continued, episodes of credit
and market instability, most critically the Great Depression,
led to calls for the creation of a stronger financial regulatory
system.
The Progressive Era
 ___________________– Little or no
government interference in business
–
–
 The gap between the rich and the poor
widened
 The _________of the population controlled
________of the nation’s wealth
II. Progressive reformers responded
to economic instability, social
inequality, and political corruption
by calling for
 government intervention in the
economy
 expanded democracy
 greater social justice
 conservation of natural resources.
Labor
 Coal miners, textile, steel and railroad
workers were underpaid for dangerous,
difficult work
 Unions met with resistance from state
and local governments, as well as owners
 Wages were below the poverty line
Progressive Reform Organizations
The Labor Movement
– ________________was goal
– organized and used strikes
– owners often able to get
____________ to stop strikes
Anthracite Coal Miner Strike
May 12 – October 23, 1902
Families were evicted from their companyowned housing.
Coal miners and their families
attempted to survive on dandelion soup
and by picking waste coal for heat.
Many did not survive.
__________ – a 3rd party listens to both
sides and makes a decision on a settlement
Owners refused to go to arbitration until
President Roosevelt threatened to
__________ the coal mines if they refused.
The coal miners won improved wages
and hours but the owners refused to
recognize their union.
Coal Miners Salary
1902
 According to the Citizen’s Voice (Wilkes-
Barre) Coal miners earned $500 a year
 Expenses for housing and first aid were deducted
 Varied by location of mine, method of payment,
and company expenses
 Result of strike was10% raise
Popular belief that by helping
the disadvantaged, you hurt
society as a whole.
True Christianity requires a
commitment to social justice
and responsibility for your
fellow man.
A. In the late 1890s and the early
years of the 20th century, journalists
and Progressive reformers — largely
urban and middle class, and often
female — worked to reform existing
social and political institutions at the
local, state, and federal levels by
creating new organizations aimed at
addressing social problems
associated with an industrial society.
What types of people were
“Progressive”?
 Belonged to all political parties, including
Republican, Democrat, and Socialist
 Tended to be:
What types of people were
“Progressive”?
 Middle class “squeeze”
–
–
 Reforms aimed at
–
–
Muckrakers
 Worried about being sued, Muckraking
Magazines like McClure’s spent up to
$3,000 verifying its stories
Muckrakers
 Examples:
– Upton Sinclair – The Jungle
– Ida Tarbell – History of the Standard
Oil Company
– Lincoln Steffens – The Shame of
Cities
“….the form of our government from
one that is representative of the
people to an oligarchy, representative
of special interests.”
Review of economic systems:
Progressive Reform Organizations
 Socialist Party
– formed in 1910
– many people thought only through government
owned industry would workers ever get better
conditions
– ____________most famous member
– not a popular movement then or now
– many of Debs’ positions were adopted by other
parties, such as the minimum wage
– IWW – Labor union of Socialists
Progressive Reform Organizations
 Women’s Movement
– worked for:
– Jane Addams – founder of Hull House in Chicago
– Florence Kelley – state of IL 1st chief factory
inspector (former resident of Hull House)
– Mother Jones – led coal miners on strike in PA
Progressive Legislation
Reforms are often a result of
tragedy
Galveston Hurricane - 1900
Unnamed
hurricane hit
Galveston Island
Sept. 8, 1900
Category 4 winds
and a 15 foot
storm surge
____________
people died
Wind speeds were estimated at
between 131 and 155 mph.
Galveston Hurricane - 1900
 Local government unprepared
 Started a new municipal government
with a city council and business manager
 Model was later picked up throughout
the country
Government Reform
 State reform: initiatives, recalls, and
referendums
 Several states passed laws setting
minimum wages, child labor restrictions,
and fair business practices
 Most of them were found
unconstitutional
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
 Saturday afternoon -
500 workers in the 10
story building.
 Fire began on the 9th
floor - quickly
erupted into an
inferno
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
 Service elevator became an inferno
 Crowded a fire escape, which tore away
from the side of the building and collapsed.
 Went to the roof and found they were
trapped
– A few women were rescued with ladders
from a nearby building
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

 The NYFD did not have the equipment to
rescue the women
 In desperation, many jumped to their deaths
Justice?
Eight months after the fire, a
jury acquitted Blanck and
Harris, the factory owners, of
any wrong doing. The task of
the jurors had been to
determine whether the
owners knew that the doors
were locked at the time of the
fire.
Justice?
Instead of enacting building
regulations, many cities
responded by passing
legislation restricting work
for women in the garment
industry
B. Progressives promoted
federal legislation to regulate
abuses of the economy and
the environment, and many
sought to expand democracy.
Required terms: Clayton Antitrust Act
Florence Kelley
Federal Reserve Bank
Theodore Roosevelt
 Gave a ‘____________’ to miners in 1902
 Became his campaign slogan in 1904
 3 “C’s” – ____________________________
Accomplishments:
– Trust buster
• Believed trusts made production more efficient and
were here to stay
• Broke up ___________that used collusion to gain
market shares
Theodore Roosevelt
– Railroad regulations
• Elkins Act 1903 & Hepburn Act of 1906
• Ended rebates and set min. & max. rates
– 1906 Pure Food & Drug Act
• Inspections of meat
• Prevention of mislabeled pharmaceuticals
– Department of Labor established
– Added 200 million acres to our national parks ands
forests
Muller v. Oregon - 1908

Upheld Oregon law limiting work hours based on
the frailty of women

Law limiting hours previously ruled
unconstitutional in Lochner V. New York, which
applied to men

Helped women by limiting work hours to 10 per
day

Hurt them by reinforcing the stereotype that
women were inferior
*Lobbied for by Florence Kelley & argued for by Louis
Brandeis at the Supreme Court
Government Reform
 Federal reforms:
Taft’s Presidency
Mistakes:
– Did not use the justice department to
enforce environmental laws
Taft’s Presidency
Tariffs
– Ran on a platform of lowering tariffs
Taft’s Presidency
 Ballinger- Pinchot Affair
– Pinchot
• Head of
• Major Conservationist at the time
– Ballinger
• Secretary of the Interior
• Allowed Businesses to acquire several
million acres of land in
Taft’s Presidency
 Pinchot
– Protested against Ballinger to Taft
 Taft
Republican Party
 Midterm Elections
– Roosevelt
• Returns from safari
– Begins to campaign for the Progressives
» Business regulations
» Welfare laws
» Workplace protection
» Voting reform
NEW
» Income and inheritance taxes
NATIONALISM
 Progressive Republicans elected
 “Old Guard” less political power
The Elections of 1912
 Taft wins the Republican nomination
 Progressive Republicans leave, vowing to
create their own party.
 August 1912, The Progressive Party
nominates Roosevelt
– Nickname the
The Election of 1912
– Platform
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tariff Reduction
Women’s Suffrage
Regulation of Business
Child Labor Ban
8-hour work day
Workman’s Compensation
Direct Election of Senators
The Election of 1912
 Taft
– Followed many
Progressive Reforms
– Still very unpopular
with Progressive
Republicans
 Wilson
– Democrat
– Ran on a Reform
platform
– Criticized both Big
Business and Big
Government
*4 “Progressives” running against each other
Popular Vote:
1912 Election
Taft – 3,500,000
Roosevelt – 4,100,000
Wilson – 6,200,000
Other – 1,100,000
Wilson Presidency
Southern Democrat
Academic, scholar
Advocated small business and small
government
Opinionated and not given to compromise
Appealed directly to the public when
Congress failed to support his initiatives
Won re-election in 1916 with the promise to
keep Americans out of World War I.
Wilson Presidency
Tariffs and Taxes
– Underwood Tariff Act of 1913
– 16th Amendment
• Progressive tax
• Income tax legislation signed in 1913
• Replaced ________ as main source of revenue for
national government
Wilson’s Presidency
 Federal Reserve System
– Federal Reserve Act of 1913
• Divided the country into 12 Districts of Banking
• Member banks could borrow money from the
FRB to meet short term demands
• Chairperson “The Fed”
• Authorized to issue paper money and
increase/decrease circulation
• Clearinghouse for checks
Wilson Presidency
• Investigate unfair/illegal business
practices
• Ability to order firms to cease and
desist unfair business tactics
Wilson Presidency
___________________
–
–
–
–
Strengthened Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Outlined specific actions that were illegal
Unions were not illegal trusts
Legalized strikes and peaceful picketing
Wilson Presidency
Workingmen’s Compensation Act of 1916
– Gave federal Civil Service employees worker’s
compensation benefits
 Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916
– Gave farmers low-interest loans
Wilson’s Presidency
 Louis D. Brandeis
– Appointed to the Supreme Court
• Many thought Brandeis was too radical
• First Jewish person on Supreme Court
• Upheld many progressive laws
– By 1917 upheld state laws limiting hours for both men
and women
Limits of Progressivism
 Limited to certain sectors of society
– __________
• Did little to aid tenant and migrant farmers and
nonunion workers
• Many Progressives supported
Limits to Progressivism
 Social Justice
– Separated races in federal offices
– Wilson initially opposed women’s suffrage
– African Americans ignored
 End of Progressivism