The Progressive Era
1900-1920
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Progressivism
• Industrial Revolution led to prolonged problems in the country
which aroused a spirit of reform known as progressivism
• Who were the Progressives?
• People from all walks of life participated in the Progressive
movement
• Majority were native born, middle or upper class, and college
educated
• Progressive journalists helped spread reform message
• Investigative journalists known as muckrakers were
responsible for exposing society’s wrongs
• Photographers and journalists who used vivid images and
descriptions of society’s problems to shock society into action
• Given their name based on speech by Teddy Roosevelt in 1906
•
A muckrake was instrument used to rake up muck, dirt, and filth
Successful Reforms
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• Progressivism was NOT a unified movement with a single
set of principles
• Sometimes principles even contradicted one another
• Ex: White Southern Progressives vs. African Americans
• Three themes behind Progressivism
1.
2.
3.
Anger over excess of industrial capitalism and urban
growth
Emphasized community action, opposed social Darwinism
Believed in need for citizens to intervene politically and
morally to improve social conditions
• Sources of inspiration
1.
2.
Evangelical Protestantism/social gospel movement
Natural and social scientists who developed rational
measures for improving human condition
Problems Progressives Had…
Alliance between big business and government
•
“Shame of the Cities” by Lincoln Steffens
Ida Tarbell published devastatingly factual expose of the Standard Oil Company
•
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Her father had been ruined by the company
David G. Phillips wrote series in Cosmopolitan titled “The Treason of the Senate”
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Charged that 75 of the 90 Senators did not represent the people at all but the railroads and
trusts
Fearing legal reprisals from powerful companies, muckraking magazines went to
great pain and expense to check and verify their material
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•
Paid as much as $3,000 to verify a single Tarbell article
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Malpractices of life-insurance companies and tariff lobbies
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Roasted trusts and the corrupt massing of American fortunes
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Social evils including “white slave” traffic in women, the slums, appalling
number of industrial accidents, subjugation of 9 million Blacks, abuses of
child labor, vendors of potent patent medicine (often heavily spiked with
alcohol)
What are political machines and
why are they bad?
•
Political machines are organizations that manage, sometimes illegally, the administration of local
and state governments.
•
Favoritism, sketchy deals, and nepotism (giving positions to friends) are all features of the political
machine
•
They often work together with municipal (local) governments and have often come to dominate the
city in which they operate
•
Most machines are corrupt financially and politically
•
In return for performing favors for residents, especially new immigrants, the recipient was expected
to be politically loyal to the machine
•
The most famous machine was “Boss Tweed’s Ring” which dominated NYC’s government during and
after the Civil War
As boss of Tammany Hall, the nickname of New York’s political machine, the Tweed Ring essentially ran the
city and stole millions of dollars from it in the process
The famous cartoonist Thomas Nast, who introduced the elephant and the donkey as symbols for the
Republicans and the Democrats, exposed the corruption and abuses of the Tweed machine in a series of
startling political cartoons
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Tweed eventually went to prison
Progressives felt that political machines prevented changes from occurring in all areas of American
society and so the first thing on their agenda was to curb the power of these machines
Progressivism in the Cities and
States
• Attempts were made to ban child labor
• Minimum wage and maximum hour laws to protect
women workers were established
• Workers’ compensation was set up to protect workers
against on-the-job accidents
• Pensions were provided for widows and children when
the husband/father was killed on the job
• Building codes and state inspections acts were passed.
Designed to protect workers against hazardous working
conditions (catalyst for this was the Triangle Shirtwaist
Factory Fire)
• Businesses such as railroads and insurance companies
and the food industry were regulated.
City Reforms
• Progressive reform began at the local or city level because it
was easier to implement than at the vast state or national
level. Urban corruption from political machines was a major
focus, resulting in the reorganization of local government
using the commissioner-and city-manager-styles of
management.
City
Commissioner Plan
Cities hired experts in different
fields to run a single aspect of
city government. For example,
the sanitation commissioner
would be in charge of garbage
and sewage removal.
City Manager
Plan
A professional city manager is
hired to run each department of
the city and report directly to
the city council.
State Reforms
•
Reform governors such as Theodore Roosevelt of New York, Robert M.
LaFollete of Wisconsin, and Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey, all helped get
reforms passed in their respective states. In addition, reforms first proposed
by the Populist Party were enacted in order to make state governments more
responsive to the needs of the people.
Secret Ballot
Privacy at the ballot box ensures
that citizens can cast votes without
party bosses knowing how they
voted
Initiative
Allows voters to petition state
legislatures in order to consider a bill
desired by citizens.
Referendum
Allows voters to decide if a bill or
proposed amendment should be
passed.
Recall
Allows voters to petition to have an
elected representative removed from
office.
Direct
Primary
Ensures that voters select candidates
to run for office, rather than party
bosses.
Federal Reforms
•
During the Progressive Era, the Federal Government passed an enormous
amount of legislation designed to conserve the environment, tighten past
economic regulations, preserve the health and safety of American citizens,
and generally provide needed capitalist reforms.
Newlands Reclamation Act
(1902)
Encouraged conservation by
allowing the building of dams
and irrigations systems using
money from the sale of public
lands.
Elkins Act
(1903)
Outlawed the use of rebates
by railroad officials or shippers
Pure Food and Drug Act
(1906/1911)
Required that companies
accurately label the
ingredients contained in
processed food items.
Meat Inspection Act
(1906)
In direct response to Upton
Sinclair's The Jungle, this law
required that meat processing
plants be inspected to ensure
the use of good meat and
health-minded procedures.
Federal Reforms Continued…
Hepburn Act
(1906)
Strengthened the Interstate
Commerce Commission, allowing
it to set maximum railroad rates.
Federal Reserve Act
(1913)
Created 12 district Federal
Reserve Banks, each able to issue
new currency and loan member
banks funds at the prime interest
rate, as established by the Federal
Reserve Board.
Clayton Antitrust Act
(1914)
Strengthened the Sherman
Antitrust Act by outlawing the
creation of a monopoly through any
means, and stated that unions were
not subject to antitrust legislation.
Federal Trade Act
(1914)
Established the Federal Trade
Commission, charged with
investigating unfair business
practices including monopolistic
activity and inaccurate product
labeling.
New Amendments to the
Constitution
•
To provide a stable base of income for the Federal Government while
providing graduated taxation, the 16th Amendment was passed.
Political machines were weakened by the passage of the 17th
Amendment which allowed state citizens to directly elect
representatives to the U.S. Senate, instead of allowing partycontrolled state legislatures to do so. In addition, the Temperance
Movement and the Women's Suffrage Movement finally paid off with
the passage of the 17th Amendment and the 18th Amendment.
16th (1913)
Graduated income tax
17th (1913)
Provided for the direct election
of U.S. Senators.
18th (1919)
Prohibited making, selling, or
transporting alcohol.
19th (1920)
Provided women suffrage
(voting).