Progressive Era:
1900-1917
Sources: Maier, ch. 22, Tindall, and on Samuel P. Hays’s
Conservation and the Gospel of Efficiency: The Progressive
Conservation Movement, 1890-1920
Who were the Progressives?
• Progressives were diverse in origins and agendas:
– different groups sought everything from…
• stricter regulation of business to prohibition of alcohol to greater social
justice and more efficient government
– Not all agreed on same issues or goals…but all arose as a response to
the complexities of the new urban-industrial environment that existed
Who were the Progressives?
• Had roots in
– Populism of the 1890s
– Mugwumps who sought civil service reform/honest government
– those who wanted to fix problems unique to cities—distribution of
utilities and other services, transportation, etc.
– socialists’ critiques of living and working conditions (seen as left wing
of progressive movement; they did not dominate the movement)
– Muckrakers: TR named them; said they were
“indispensable…but only if they know when to stop raking the
muck”
• Basic philosophy: expose social ills and the ills will be corrected
• Important examples:
– Henry Demarest Lloyd: Wealth Against Commonwealth (1894) –a critique of monopolies like
Standard Oil Company
– Jacob Riis: How the Other Half Lives (1890) – expose on slum/tenement life
– Lincoln Steffens: The Shame of the Cities (1904) –on municipal corruption
Source: Five Cents a Spot; Date: 1890
This photograph, taken by flashlight, is of a small, unauthorized, over-crowded apartment in which a person could rent a
spot for five cents. The photographer, Jacob Riis, had immigrated to the U.S. in 1870 from Denmark. Although his first few
years in the U.S. were marked by poverty and hardship, he was able to secure employment with the New York Tribune in
1877 as a police reporter. As noted in your text, in the 1880s Riis used his position as a reporter and photographer to
illuminate the abject poverty present in New York City immigrant communities. This photograph, along with many others
like it, was first published in Riis' book How the Other Half Lives, which became a critical work in establishing reforms during
the Progressive Era. As you examine this image, consider the effect that such photographs had on government officials and
the broader American public as they sought political solutions to the suffering caused by economic depression. Compare
and contrast this photograph of men crowded in a tenement room with other photos in this collection.
Source: Tenement-house yard
Date: c. 1889
This photograph of a busy tenement-house yard
depicts a dingy slum, with laundry strewn across
the balconies, and a number of people -- some
of whom look listlessly at the camera. The
photographer, Jacob Riis, had immigrated to the
U.S. in 1870 from Denmark. Although his first
few years in the U.S. were marked by poverty
and hardship, he was able to secure
employment with the New York Tribune in 1877
as a police reporter. As noted in your text, in the
1880s Riis used his position as a reporter and
photographer to illuminate the abject poverty
present in New York City immigrant
communities. This photograph, along with many
others like it, was first published in Riis' book
How the Other Half Lives, which became a
critical work in establishing reforms during the
Progressive Era. As you examine this image,
consider the effect that such photographs had
on government officials and the broader
American public, as they sought political
solutions to the suffering caused by economic
depression. Compare and contrast this
photograph of men crowded in a tenement
room with other photos in this collection.
Elements of Progressivism
• democracy
• efficiency (and its related element,
conservation)
• regulation
• social justice
• prohibition
Elements of Progressivism
• Democracy
– Direct primary (nomination of candidates by direct votes of party
members)
– Initiative: voters can petition to have measures put on the ballot
– Referendum: voters can vote initiatives up or down, directly enacting
laws
– Recall: voters can recall politicians (all of these things were recently at
work in CA)
– Direct election of senators (17th amendment) (rather than state
legislators electing them)
Elements of Progressivism
• Efficiency
– “gospel of efficiency”
• The “use of ‘foresight and restraint in the exploitation of the physical sources of wealth
as necessary for the perpetuity of civilization, and the welfare of present and future
generations’” (Hays 123)
• applied to natural resources, but they also thought it could be applied to
social, moral, government, and economic affairs 123
– Business: reduce waste through careful analysis of
labor process
– Gov’t:
• eliminate redundant agencies
• professionalize gov’t:
– Gov. Robert M. La Follette (WI) established a Legislative
Reference Bureau to provide research, advice and help in the
drafting of legislation—widely copied
Elements of Progressivism
•
•
Efficiency, con’t
TR, 1908: “…Let us remember that the conservation of natural resources…is yet but part
of another and greater problem…the problem of national efficiency, the patriotic duty of
insuring the safety and continuance of the nation” (Hays 125)
• civil service, competitive exams
• anti trust action might impair increased production; no problem with
bigness per se
• “Conservationists strove to encourage the greatest possible production of
material goods at the lowest cost. Just as planning must replace
competition so that manufacturers could produce with less waste, so
regulation must prevent financial freebooters from destroying industrial
efficiency” (Hays 126)
• unions interfere w/ max efficiency; so do lousy working conditions and
low wages
– ergo: decent wages and conditions for sake of efficiency 126
• greatest good for greatest number, beauty of Niagara or archeological
treasures be damned 127
Elements of Progressivism
• Regulation
– Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890) more symbolic than effective
– 4 options:
• laissez-faire: let business figure things out for themselves
• allow big business for the benefits of economies of scale, but regulate to
prevent abuse
• trust-bust to restore more vigorous competition
• public ownership –a form of socialism
– mainly option 2 was used, to limited effect; industries sometimes
ended up having a lot of influence over the agencies put in place to
regulate them
Source: Will She?
Date: 30 May 1906
This cartoon of Lady Liberty posed with a
broom outside of Packingtown appeared on
the editorial page of The World, a leading New
York City newspaper, on June 7, 1906. This
cartoon is important for the sheer symbolism
depicted in the skulls piled up behind her and
her determined pose. Historians closely
examine cartoons because they both express
and help create a symbolic language shared by
a wide public. The simple, powerful
expressions of political issues are well
illustrated in the visual imagery the cartoonists
use, rather than just language. People with
varying levels of literacy and facility with the
English language can thus understand them.
This fact was not lost on the newspaper
publishers in America's largest cities, whose
surging immigrant populations had become a
commercial and political force. This cartoon
satirized the very personal and individual
results of the meatpacking scandal in its final,
legislative stage. As you examine this image,
consider how cartoons such as this one might
have shaped the meatpacking act of 1906.
Elements of Progressivism
• Social Justice
– General acknowledgement that gov’t involvement was needed to
enact justice—not just private programs like the settlement house
movement
– Labor legislation
• National Child Labor Committee (1904) organized to ban child labor (1216 yrs old, depending on the state)
• Regulation of the hours of women and conditions in which women and
children could work (failure to enforce these new state laws meant the
advances sometimes had little effect)
• Mixed record at the Supreme Court:
– Lochner v. New York (1905): struck down 10 hr/day law—violated workers’
“liberty of contract”
– Muller v. Oregon (1908): upheld 10 hr/day for women
– Bunting v. Ohio (1917): upheld 10 hr/day for men and women
– Resists minimum wage laws until the late 1920s
• Safety laws, particularly following Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911
Elements of Progressivism
• Prohibition
– Some connection in the minds of many b/t saloons (where much
politicking went on) and the negative aspects of “bossism,” special
interests
– Movement had started in late 19th century; anti-drink party had even
run for president
– Local efforts to curb drink very successful; almost 3/4 of US pop had
no access by the time the federal amendment was passed (1919)
• As we’ll see, this is not, ultimately, a successful effort.
Election of 1900
Democrats
Republicans
• Views:
• Views:
– Pro-silver: inflate the currency, aid
debtors in S. and West
– Lower tariffs: aid consumers
– Critical of big business; pro-tough
anti-trust laws
– Pro-inheritance tax; pro-federal
income tax
• Party:
– Strong in S. (blacks
disenfranchised); supported by
some urban ethnic workers in N.
– Candidate:
• P: William Jennings Bryan
– Pro-gold standard: protects
creditors and property owners
– Pro-tariffs: protect industry
and jobs
– Pro-business
• Party:
– Dominate nationally
– Much better financed
– Candidate:
• P: William McKinley
• VP: Theodore Roosevelt (gov
of New York)
Election of 1900
Roosevelt: characteristics
• (McKinley assassinated less than 6 mo. After
inaugural)
• Theodore Roosevelt:
– Eastern aristocrat, but also western outdoorsman (promasculine virtues)
– Youngest to serve as president (42)
– Man of action and an intellectual (well-read, author)
– Sees self as steward of nation’s destiny, an activist
conservative
• State has role to play in protecting society
• Middle of the road: skeptical about working class and social
revolution, but anti-corporate greed
• Presidency affords him a “bully pulpit” from which he can
influence people and events
• Wants US to be a great power; strengthens army and navy
Roosevelt: first term
• “Trust-buster”
– Northern Securities Company v. U.S. (1904):
• Justice Dept. uses Sherman Anti-Trust Act to break up
Northern Securities Company
– A “holding company”: held the stock of companies that
actually operated the businesses
» Controlled nearly all long-distance rail traffic b/t Chicago
and west coast
• b/c the company was involved in interstate
commerce, Sherman Anti-Trust applied
Roosevelt: first term
• “Trust-buster”
– Elkins Act (1904)
• Prohibited railroads from giving rebates to large shippers
– (Elkins was actually supported by RRs, who didn’t WANT to have
to give kickbacks)
– Creates Department of Commerce, which includes:
• Bureau of Corporations: has (limited) power to investigate
companies engaged in interstate commerce
– Note:
• support for the above strengthened by publication of
muckraker Ida Tarbell’s damning History of the Standard Oil
Company
Source: Joyous Trusts
Date: 1902
"An Alphabet of Joyous Trusts" was Fredrick
Opper's subject in a 1902 series of cartoons.
Predictably, "B" stood for the Beef Trusts. The
same Trust figure is back (compare it with the one
in Opper's Roosevelt Cartoon), although here
Opper plays on the monopolist's traditional
control over market prices rather than on the
unsanitary practices of the meat packing industry.
The simple, powerful expressions of political
issues are often well illustrated in cartoons as the
cartoonist relies on visual imagery rather than
language. People with varying levels of literacy
and facility with the English language can thus
understand them. This fact was not lost on the
newspaper publishers in America's largest cities,
whose surging immigrant populations had
become a commercial and political force. This
cartoon satirizes the overwhelming power of the
Trusts. As you examine this image, consider how
cartoons such as this one might have shaped the
ways in which the government dealt with the
Trusts.
No lack of big game.
Roosevelt: first term
• TR intervenes in anthracite coal miners strike
– Miners get better wages and working conditions
• Still no recognition of their union
• Significance: suggests fed gov’t moving toward more
even-handed stance on labor and business disputes
Roosevelt: first term
• Conservation:
– Newlands Reclamation Act
• Favors agricultural development;
• Provides funds from sale of public lands to promote
irrigation and reclamation projects
– Creates national parks and monuments
• E.g., Grand Canyon
– Creates U.S. Forest Service
• Run by Gifford Pinchot
• Controls US’s forest reserves; manages and protects
undeveloped forests
Election of 1904
Democrats
• For Pres: Alton B. Parker
– Repudiated pro-silver stance
– Cozied up w/ Northeastern
business wing of Democratic
Party
•
Republicans
• For Pres: Teddy Roosevelt
– Able to win control of
Republican party, despite
Progressive insurgents
(Robert La Follette, WI;
George W. Norris, Nebraska)
and probusiness
conservatives
– Calls for “Square Deal” for the
American people (few details)
– Landslide victory
Also running:
• Socialist Party: Eugene V. Debs (3% of popular vote)
• Populist Party (>1% of popular vote)
Election of 1904
Roosevelt’s Progressivism
– Roosevelt’s “Square Deal”: enforce anti-trust laws on the books and tighten
controls on big business
• With help of courts, breaks up RR monopoly
• Brings miners, owners to table after 1902 coal strike in PA; threatens to take over
the mines using the military—forced owners hands and brought partial victory for
miners
• Breaks up beef trust in Swift and Company v. United States (1905):
– SC crafts “stream-of-commerce” doctrine:
» b/c livestock and meat products move in the stream of interstate commerce,
federal gov’t can regulate them
Roosevelt: 2nd term
• Key issue: power of big businesses
– Progressive reformers (e.g. La Follette) had strong
voice in Senate
• Want regulation of trusts, esp. railroads
• Anti-tariff, which is protecting monopolies
– TR takes a middle road (see next)
Source: Will She?
Date: 30 May 1906
This cartoon of Lady Liberty posed with a
broom outside of Packingtown appeared on
the editorial page of The World, a leading New
York City newspaper, on June 7, 1906. This
cartoon is important for the sheer symbolism
depicted in the skulls piled up behind her and
her determined pose. Historians closely
examine cartoons because they both express
and help create a symbolic language shared by
a wide public. The simple, powerful
expressions of political issues are well
illustrated in the visual imagery the cartoonists
use, rather than just language. People with
varying levels of literacy and facility with the
English language can thus understand them.
This fact was not lost on the newspaper
publishers in America's largest cities, whose
surging immigrant populations had become a
commercial and political force. This cartoon
satirized the very personal and individual
results of the meatpacking scandal in its final,
legislative stage. As you examine this image,
consider how cartoons such as this one might
have shaped the meatpacking act of 1906.
Source: Muck-Raking!
Date: 6 May 1906
This cartoon of Theodore Roosevelt racking up
scandalous affairs appeared on the editorial
page of The World, a leading New York City
newspaper, on May 6, 1906. Historians closely
examine cartoons because they both express
and help create a symbolic language shared by a
wide public. American political cartooning
assumed its modern form through the work of
Thomas Nast during the Civil War. After the war,
he turned his art to political reform, defining
through his caricatures the popular perception
of politicians such as Boss Tweed and his
infamous political machine, Tammany Hall. By
the time of the meatpacking scandal, editorial
cartoons were prominent features of the
periodicals of the day. Simple, powerful
expressions of political issues, cartoons rely on
visual imagery rather than language. People with
varying levels of literacy and facility with the
English language can thus understand them. This
fact was not lost on the newspaper publishers in
America's largest cities, whose surging
immigrant populations had become a
commercial and political force. This cartoon
satirized the presidential aspect of the
meatpacking scandal as it entered its final,
legislative stage. As you examine it, consider
how cartoons such as this one might have
shaped the meatpacking act of 1906.
Roosevelt: 2nd term
Roosevelt as pro-big
business
• Saw big business as
inevitable,
desirable in that it
creates efficiencies
• Action: no support
for new, sweeping
antitrust legislation
(which La Follette
supported)
Roosevelt as “trust-buster”
• Power of big business unacceptable
• Action:
– allow Justice Dept. to use Sherman Antitrust
Act to prosecute worst abusers
– Support Hepburn Act (1906)
• Railroads must adopt uniform bookkeeping
practices
• Interstate Commerce Commission gets to set
max freight rates
– Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)
• Creates FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to
test and certify drugs
– Meat Inspection Act (1906)
• Allows Dept. of Ag to inspect and label meat
– Note: Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (1906)
helped overwhelm conservative opposition to
the last two acts mentioned above
Roosevelt: 2nd term
• Limits of Progressive reform
– Conservative Republicans in Congress block
additional reform on matters such as
•
•
•
•
•
Stronger antitrust legislation
Child labor protections
Protection for injured workers
Lowering tariffs
Taxes on the wealthy
– Conservative Supreme Court continues to protect
business, works to slow reform
Election of 1908
Republicans
• For Pres: Wm. Howard Taft
– Handpicked by TR; was TR’s
Sec. of War
– Personal views:
• Antilabor, but also “leery of
big business” (Maier 650)
– Platform:
• Supported by progressive
Republicans, but platform
largely probusiness
•
Also running:
• Socialist Party: Eugene V. Debs
Democrats
• For Pres: Wm. Jennings
Bryan
– Motto: “Shall the people
rule?”
– Platform: progressive, prolabor
•
•
•
•
Lower tariffs
Strong regulations on bus.
8 hr day for gov’t workers
Limit injunctions against
unions
Election of 1908
Taft: a moderate, buffeted by reform
• Reform movement gains momentum in both parties
– Pushing for
•
•
•
•
•
•
Women’s suffrage
Prohibition
Immigration restriction
Labor protections
Regulation of business
Direct election of senate
• Taft: strike balance b/t reformers and conservatives
• Congress and Taft’s accomplishments:
– Robust antitrust action—breaks up Standard Oil and American Tobacco
Company
– Strengthens ICC
– Establishes Federal Children’s Bureau (to improve standard of living of
children—combat infant mortality, disease, poverty, child labor, etc.)
– Pres. given power to lower tariffs as part of trade agreements
– 16th amendment: fed gov’t gets power to levy income tax (Taft lukewarm)
Toward the Election of 1912:
Republicans splinter
• Taft unable to hold conservatives and progressives together
– Fights over extent of regulation, tariffs
• La Follette and other reformers form Progressive Republican League
(1910)
–
–
–
–
–
Attacks corrupt ties b/t conservative wing of Republican party and business
Pro-regulation
Anti-Taft in 1912
Pro-direct election of senators
Pro-Initiative, Referendum, and Recall at national level
• T. Roosevelt re-enters politics, essentially trying to take place of both Taft
and La Follette
– According to archives.gov: “Taft proved more conservative than Roosevelt
had anticipated [in 1908], and eventually he regretted his endorsement. In
Roosevelt's eyes, Taft had too frequently sided with the corporate giants and
political bosses he had so relentlessly battled.” (Source:
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/election-cartoons/)
Election of 1912
The cartoons above “satirize Roosevelt's reversal of his anti-third term promise and his
assumption of leadership of the Progressive Party. Both La Follette and Roosevelt lost the
Republican nomination to the incumbent, Taft, who still controlled the national convention
delegates. Roosevelt, however, had swept 9 of the 12 states with primaries, including Taft's
home state of Ohio.” (Source: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/election-cartoons/)
Election of 1912
The “primary battle is characterized in the…political cartoon picturing Ohio as the "Mother
of Presidents." Victories in these primaries made Roosevelt and his progressives confident
that they represented the will of the people. They officially announced their Progressive
Party and challenged Taft and the Democratic candidate, Woodrow Wilson. The
fourth…political cartoon, displays the three candidates shortly before election day in 1912.”
(Source: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/election-cartoons/)
Election of 1912:
Democrats
Progressive Republicans/Bull
Moose
• For Pres: Woodrow Wilson
• For Pres: T. Roosevelt
• Gov of NJ; former president of
Princeton
• Anti-privilege
• Pro-states rights; favored
limiting federal power
• Progressive: direct primary
elections; min. wage; max
hours; end child labor; oppose
restricting immigration
• “New Freedom”: preserve
and restore competition—
break up big businesses,
prevent monopolies
• Former President of US
• Pro-federal power
• Progressive: direct primary
elections; min. wage; max
hours; end child labor;
oppose restricting
immigration
• “New Nationalism”: accepts
value of some “good trusts”
but other “bad trusts” need
to be broken up by fed gov’t
Election of 1912
• Results:
– Taft, Roosevelt split Republican vote
– Wilson cruises to victory
– Socialist: Eugene Debs gains ground—6% of
popular vote
Election of 1912
Wilson: successful start
• Appoints Wm. Jennings Bryan to Sec. of State
• Delivers state of union address personally (1st
time in a century!)
• Weekly press conferences
• Works closely w/ Democratic Congress
• 3 clusters of legislation passed: tariff revision,
banking reform, antitrust legislation (see next)
Wilson: successful start
• 1st cluster of legislation: tariff reform
– Tariffs:
• Dem. Leaders in congress painted Republican
protectionists as tools of corporate lobbyists
• Underwood-Simmons Tariff (1913): Lowered most
tariffs by ~25%
– stimulated competition and moved US toward free trade
– Graduated income tax (16th amendment)
• Shifts burden to wealthy; reduces gov’t reliance on
tariffs to fund operations
Wilson: successful start
• 2nd cluster: banking reform
– Areas of concern:
• Credit difficult to get outside financial centers in Northeast
• Control of money supply (issuing credit is a way to expand the
money supply)
• Need for a national banking system to enhance financial stability,
restrict individual banks
– Solution:
• Federal Reserve Act (1913)
– Divides US into 12 districts, each w/ a regional central bank (called a
federal reserve bank) which serves other banks in the region
» Federal reserve banks:
• Issue new paper currency in emergency situations
– Transfer funds to member banks in trouble
– Control interest rates at which banks could borrow money; allowed
for greater control over economy:
» raise rates to fight inflation (makes it difficult to borrow);
» lower rates to stimulate business (makes it easier to borrow)
Wilson: successful start
• 3rd cluster: antitrust legislation
– Clayton Act (1914)
• Expands Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)
• To prevent anticompetitive practices:
– Specifies particular business activities that were illegal restraints on trade;
specifies penalties for violations
– Provided for break-up of monopolies
• To provide legal guarantee of right to unionize:
– Specifies that unions were NOT illegal combinations in restraint of trade and
could not be prosecuted as such
– Limits ability of courts to issue injunctions against unions
– Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (1914)
• Power to investigate and stop violations of antitrust laws by
companies engaged in interstate commerce
– TR criticized it for not really doing what it was supposed to do—regulate
business (Wilson staffed it w/ industry insiders)
Wilson: successful start
• 3rd cluster: antitrust legislation
– Why did many businesses LIKE Clayton Act and
FTC?
• Legislation written w/ help of industry insiders
• Lessened public anger at big business, since something
had been done to rein them in
• Made rules of competition clearer, thus making
business more predictable
• Federal regulations preferable to wide array of state
regulations (which could be harsher)
Wilson: additional successes
• Banned child labor (overturned by Supreme Court)
• Created federal loan program for farmers
– Freed farmers from dependence on banks; allowed them
to sell crops when market was favorable
• Increased income tax; created inheritance tax (1916)
• Adamson Act: 8 hour day for railroads
– Helped make 8 hour day the norm in industry more
broadly
• Appoints Louis Brandeis to SC
– Pro social reform; pro-antitrust litigation = Pro- “New
Freedom”
– First Jew on SC
Wilson’s less progressive side: limited
interest in social justice
• Child labor:
– No support for child labor leg. (leave it to the states)
• Women’s rights:
– No support for federal amend for women’s suffrage
(initially)
• Race:
– Denounced KKK’s “reign of terror” but sympathized
with desire to restore white rule in South; blacks were
“ignorant and hostile” and an “inferior race”
– With Wilson’s approval, members of his cabinet
segregated their departments--sep. toilets, drinking
fountains, break rooms
Election of 1916
Democrats
• For Pres: Wilson
– Well positioned after
successes of 1st term
– Campaigns as pro-reform
– “He kept us out of war.”
– Adamson Act brings urban
laborers into Democratic fold
Republicans
• For Pres: Charles Evans
Hughes
– Nominated by conservative
wing of Republican party
– Justice on SC (resigned when
nominated for pres)
– Anti-Adamson Act
– Anti-income tax
• Note: TR abandoned the
Progressive party, returned
to Republicans in 1916
Election of 1916
Assessing the Progressive Era
• “Wilson, the reformer, had won a second
term, but the Progressive Era was over”
(Maier 655).
– Exception:
• 18th amendment: prohibition (1919)
• 19th amendment: women’s suffrage (1920)
– Otherwise, attention turns to the Great War
Assessing the Progressive Era
• Significant antitrust legislation passed (but large corporations still
dominate economy)
• Federal Reserve increases stability (but centers of finance remain in
northeast)
• Workers solidify new rights, but no social safety net
• Shift of financial burden of running federal gov’t from those paying tariffs
toward those with greater ability to pay
• Democratic rights expand
– Direct election of senators
– Initiative, Referendum, Recall (in some states)
– Women’s suffrage
• Democratic rights limited:
– African Americans in South disenfranchised
– Immigrants in North face discrimination
– Government is stronger
• Federal gov’t more activist than ever before, esp. as regulator
• Racism, xenophobia prevalent, even among progressives
2003 AP DBQ (form B)
• Evaluate the effectiveness of Progressive
Era reformers and the federal government
in bringing about reform at the national
level. In your answer be sure to analyze
the successes and limitations of these
efforts in the period 1900-1920.