AMERICA SEEKS
REFORMS IN THE
EARLY 20TH
CENTURY
As America entered
into the 20th century,
middle class reformers
addressed many social
problems:
1. Work conditions,
2. Rights for women
and children,
3.Economic reform,
4. Environmental
issues.
PROGRESS
PROTECTING WORKING CHILDREN
• As the number of
child workers rose,
reformers worked to
end child labor
• Nearly every
state limited or
banned child labor
by 1918
• Founded by Jane
Addams
• It was built to
provided various
educational and
cultural activities
for poor
immigrants
Prohibition
Alcoholism during the early 1900’s was believed to
be a major problem within the United States.
During this time period many different groups
supported the limit on alcohol consumption and the
overall ban of the substance. Some of the major
groups include employers, progressives, religious
groups, and women.
th
18
Amendment:
Banned selling, consumption of
alcohol in America
THE GOVERNMET
CORRUPTION IN POLITICS
• Issues:
CORRUPTION! Political machines or large trusts
(monopolies) usually influenced which senators were
elected by money bribes and in return were given
federal contracts or favors.
17th Amendment:
Direct election of Senators by state
voters
•By 1900, Trusts –
legal bodies created
to hold stock in many
companies –
controlled 80% of U.S.
industries
Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt’s
Presidency
• Roosevelt proposed his Square Deal in which “every man
will receive no more or no less just a square deal!”
• Roosevelt never wanted to eliminate big business, rather
he wanted to take control of it by using anti-trust
legislation. Roosevelt understood the importance of big
business and the role in played in making the United
States powerful enough to compete with other nations.
Public Changes
Muckrakers
• The Muckrakers was the name given by
Theodore Roosevelt to a group of
crusading journalist who helped shed
light on the issues happening in
society.
• In 1906 an individual by the name Upton Sinclair
published an article called “The Jungle” in which
he described the horrific conditions of the meat
packing industry.
• Meat Inspection Act – it allowed the government
to set the standards of cleanliness and the
federal inspection of meat sold.
• Congress passed
the Pure Food and
Drug Act in 1906
• The Act halted the
sale of
contaminated foods
and medicines and
called for truth in
labeling
• Roosevelt made
preservation of our
Forest a primary
concern of his
administration
• Created a
National Park
system.
African Americans
•Roosevelt failed to
support Civil Rights for
African Americans
•He did, however, support
a few individuals such as
Booker T. Washington
In 1909 a number of African Americans
and prominent white
reformers formed the
National Association for
the Advancement of
Colored People (DuBois)
The NAACP had 6,000
members by 1914
The goal of the
organization was full
equality among the races
The means to achieve
this was the court system
•Founded in 1909, the
NAACP urged African
Americans to protest
racial violence
• W.E.B Dubois, a
founding member, led a
march of 10,000 black
men in NY to protest
violence
Republican William
Howard Taft easily
defeated Democrat
William Jennings Bryan
to win the 1908
presidential election
Among his
accomplishments, Taft
“busted” 90 trusts during
his 4 years in office---more than ROOSEVELT
Taft later became the only
President to become a
Supreme Court Justice
Republicans split in 1912
between Taft and Teddy
Roosevelt (who returned after
a long trip to Africa)
Convention delegates
nominated Taft
Some Republicans formed a
third party – The Bull Moose
Party and nominated
Roosevelt
The Democrats put forward a
reform - minded
New Jersey
Governor, Woodrow Wilson
As America’s newly
elected president,
Wilson moved to
enact his program, the
“New Freedom”
He planned his attack
on what he called the
triple wall of privilege:
trusts, tariffs, and high
finance
•In 1914 Congress
enacted the Clayton
Antitrust Act which
strengthened the
Sherman Act
•The Clayton Act
prevented companies
from acquiring stock
from another company
(Anti-monopoly) ban on
Price DISCRIMINATION
•The Act also
supported workers
unions
- Wilson also
signed the
Keating-Owen
Child Labor Actunder 14 could no
longer work in
Factories
- ADAMSON ACT8 hour work day
for Railroad
Workers
The FTC was formed in
1914 to serve as a
“watchdog” agency to
end unfair business
practices-this was
WILSON’S greatest
Accomplishment
The FTC protects
consumers from
business fraud
Today the FTC has been working on protecting
consumers from ID theft
Wilson worked hard to
lower tariffs, however
that lost revenue had
to be made up
Ratified in 1916, the
16th Amendment
legalized a graduated
federal income tax
•Roosevelt grabbed national attention by advocating war with Spain in
1898
•His volunteer cavalry brigade, the Rough Riders, won public acclaim for
its role in the battle at San Juan Hill in Cuba
•Roosevelt returned a hero and was soon elected governor of NY and later
McKinley’s vice-president
William M. “Boss” Tweed was one of the
biggest POLITICAL Bosses, a corrupt leader
and was eventually arrested for corruption in
New York City.
DOMESTIC WORKERS
Before the turn-of-thecentury women without
formal education
contributed to the economic
welfare of their families by
doing domestic work
Altogether, 70% of
women employed
in 1870 were
servants
WOMEN IN THE WORK FORCE
Opportunities for women
increased especially in
the cities
By 1900, one out of
five women worked
The garment trade was
popular as was office
work, department stores
and classrooms
Reform
• The improvement or amendment of what is
wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory
What were the backgrounds of
reformers?
The progressives were
(for the most part) native
born, middle or upper
class. They concerned
themselves with urban
problems such as the
trouble of workers
poor sanitation
political machines.
1. Plight and 2. Populist
1. a condition, state, or situation, esp. an
unfavorable or unfortunate one.
2. a member of the People's party.
Spoil System
• A spoil system (also known as a patronage
system) is a practice where a political party,
after winning an election, gives government
jobs to its voters as a reward for working
toward victory, and as an incentive to keep
working for the party.
Civil Service Reform
• It established for federal job applicants and
created the Civil Service Commission, which
administered competitive examinations to
candidates in certain classifications.
The Progressive Era
Regulation
Increased tendency to direct some business
activities through federal regulations
Social Justice
Settlement House movement
Before the Civil War,
American women
were expected to
devote their time
to home and family
By the late 19th and
early 20th century,
women were visible
in the workforce
Earlier reformers included the POPULISTS who
wanted social reform & were mainly concerned with
rural problems:
the plight of the farmers
wanted more government control of the
railroad
The major issues included the exploitation of female
and child laborers . . . . . ..
......
. Because of Gilded Age Politics
• Why the push for Civil Service Reform?
So in 1905, by the authority of the Forest
Reserve Act (1891), 172 million acres
placed under Federal protection