Progressive Reforms
Mr. Bach
Hudson High School
Accelerated U.S. History
Roots of Progressivism
• Reaction to:
– Social Problems of
Industrial Age
– Laissez-Faire
Policies and
Attitudes
• Who were the
Progressives?
• What was their
solution?
Exposing the Problems
Lincoln
Steffens
Jacob Riis
Ida Tarbell
Motivating the Progressives
• A Belief System  The
Social Gospel
• A Community Institution
 The Settlement
House
• A Social “Saint”  Jane
Addams
Urban Reforms
Problem
Reform
Poor Living
Conditions
New York State
Tenement House Act
of 1901
Expensive Utilities
Government
Regulation
Rampant Disease
Garbage Collection,
Sewer Systems
Government Reforms
Reform
Government Commission
Description
Direct Primary
Legislative/Executive
functions combined in a
council
People choose candidates
Initiative
Citizens can propose law
Referendum
Citizens can reject laws
Recall
Citizens can remove public
officials
Direct election of
Senators
17th Amendment
Workplace Reforms
Problem
Reform
Children are abused in
factory labor
Florence Kelley 
National Child Labor
Committee
Cycle of Poverty
Public Education (High
Schools)
Long Working Hours for
Low Pay
10-Hour Workday and
Minimum Wage Law
Industrial Accidents
Workers’ Compensation
Laws