1901 - 1917
 Progressivism is an umbrella label for the economic,
political, social, & moral reforms of the early 20th Century.
 Progressivism was a response to the industrial & urban
excesses of the Gilded Age.
 Led by the urban well-educated middle class, the
progressives aimed to eliminate government corruption,
regulate business, address health hazards, and improve
working conditions.
 In addition they sought to outlaw the sale of alcohol, put
more political power in the hands of the people, & to gain
for women the right to vote.
 Very simply, the Progressives sought “progress” in
American society through government legislation at the
federal, state, & local level.
 Muckrakers fueled the progressive movement by
investigating & exposing problems to the American
people through their articles, books, & cartoons.
 Thomas Nast – Through his cartoons, he exposed the
political corruption of the Tammany Hall political led by
Boss Tweed in New York City. As a result Tweed was
convicted of embezzlement.
 Jacob Riis – Through his novel How the Other Half Lives
(1890) he exposed the living conditions of the urban poor
specifically in the tenements of NYC. As a result NYC
passed building codes to promote safety and health.
 Ida B. Wells – Through her novel A Red Record (1895), she
provided statistics on the lynching of African-Americans. As a
result the NAACP joined the fight for Federal anti-lynching
legislation.
 Frank Norris – Through his fictional novel The Octopus (1901)he
exposed the monopolistic railroad practices in California. In
Northern Securities v. U.S. (1904), the holding company
controlling railroads in the Northwest was broken up.
 Ida Tarbell – Through her "History of Standard Oil Company”
she exposed the ruthless tactics of the Standard Oil Company
through a series of articles published in McClure's Magazine. In
Standard Oil v. U.S. (1911), the company was declared a
monopoly and broken up.
 Lincoln Steffens – Through his novel The Shame of the
Cities (1904) he examined political corruption in cities
across the United States. As a result, cities began to use
city commissions and city managers.
 Upton Sinclair – Through his novel The Jungle (1906) he
investigated dangerous working conditions and
unsanitary procedures in the meat-packing industry. As a
result, in 1906 the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and
Drug Act were passed.
 Booker T. Washington - Former slave who founded the
Tuskegee Institute that focused on teaching AfricanAmericans trade skills to earn a living and gain the trust of
white society.
 W.E.B. DuBois - Founder of the NAACP, and a Harvard-
educated professor who focused on the need for a traditional
liberal arts education for African-Americans who could then
insist upon equal treatment and rights from white society.
 Urban corruption from political machines led to the
reorganization of local government using the:
 City Commissioner Plan – cities hired experts in
different fields to run a single aspect of city
government
 City Manager Plan – A city manager is hired to run each
department of the city & report directly to the city
council
 Reform governors such as Theodore Roosevelt (NY),
Robert “Fighting Bob” LaFollete (WI), & Woodrow Wilson
(NJ) as well as the Populist Party all pushed through
reforms at the state level.
 Their goal was to make state governments more
responsive to the people by encouraging citizens to get
more involved in the political process.
 These reforms included:
 Secret Ballot – Ensured privacy at the ballot box to
allow citizens to cast votes without party bosses
knowing how they voted.
 Initiative – Allows voters to petition state legislatures 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
official removed from office.
 Direct Primary – Voters are able to select candidates to
run for office, rather than party bosses selecting these
candidates.
 Federal legislation was passed including:
 Newlands Reclamation Act (1902) – Encouraged
conservation by allowing the building of dames &
irrigation systems using money from the sale of
public lands.
 Elkins Act (1902) – Outlawed the use of rebates by
railroad officials or shippers.
 United States Forest Service (1905) – Manage the
water & timber resources of the nation.
 Pure Food & Drug Act (1906/1911) – Required that
companies accurately label the ingredients
contained in processed food items.
 Meat Inspection Act (1906) – Required that meat
processing plants be inspected to ensure the use of
good meat & health-minded procedures.
 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 & loan member banks funds at the prime
interest rate, as established by the Federal Reserve
Board.
 Department of Labor (1913) – Established as part of
the executive department to promote the interests of
labor.
 Clayton Antitrust Act (1914) – Strengthened the
Sherman Antitrust Act by outlawing the creation of a
monopoly through any means, & 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 &
inaccurate product labeling.
 16th Amendment – Granted Congress the power to
tax income.
 17th Amendment – Provided for the direct election
of U.S. Senators.
 18th Amendment – Prohibited making, selling, or
transporting alcohol.
 19th Amendment – Provided women suffrage (right
to vote)
 The struggle for women's suffrage dates back to the early
1800s.
 By the mid-1800s, women had become organized under the
leadership of women such as Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady
Stanton, Susan B. Anthony.
 In 1848, suffragists organized the Seneca Falls Convention in
upstate New York. There, Stanton composed the Declaration of
Rights and Sentiments which was modeled after the
Declaration of Independence.
 The Declaration of Rights and Sentiments contained several
resolutions including that a man should not withhold a woman's
rights, take her property or refuse to allow her to vote.
 Suffragists were greatly disappointed to learn that women were
excluded from the Fifteenth Amendment that granted all men
the right to vote.
 They continued to protest, march, and organize in the hope that
they would soon be able to legally vote.
 Finally in 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment was passed which
provided women with the right to vote.
 Florence Kelley – National Consumers League –
fought for equal pay & an end to unfair treatment
of women & children in the workplace.
 Margaret Sanger - Educated urban poor about the
benefits of family planning through birth control.
She founded the organization that became
Planned Parenthood.
 Frances Willard – Women’s Christian Temperance
Union – fought to end the use & abuse of alcohol,
which they believed contributed to the evils of
society.
 Jane Addams – Women’s Trade Union League –
opened the Hull House, a settlement house in
Chicago & fought for reform of public services
in the city
 Lucy Burns & Alice Paul – Congressional Union
for Women Suffrage – suffragettes that used
radical tactics such as the hunger strike to call
attention to women’s right to vote.
 The Temperance Movement began in the 1820s, and focused
eliminating the use of alcoholic beverages. Alcohol
consumption was seen as an amoral vice, particularly due to
the rise of the saloon industry.
 Saloons introduced gambling and prostitution in an effort to
entice customers and encourage them to drink more alcohol.
Conservatives and Christians were outraged by this attack on
orderly society.
 In 1874, Frances Willard formed the Women's Christian
Temperance Union (WCTU) for the sole purpose of
encouraging the prohibition of alcohol consumption.
 During the Progressive Era, the Eighteenth Amendment
was passed in 1919. This banned the manufacture, sale,
and transportation of alcohol in the United States.
 However, America did not stop drinking during the 1920s.
In fact, if Prohibition was designed to stop amoral
behavior it backfired.
 Bootlegging, the illegal manufacturing and selling of
alcohol became incredibly profitable as underground
bars called speakeasies stocked up on booze for their
clientele.
 Bootlegging became its own criminal enterprise leading
the establishment of organized crime with the likes of Al
Capone in Chicago.
 Finally in 1933, the Twenty-first Amendment was passed
which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, ending
Prohibition.
Theodore Roosevelt
26th U.S. President
(1901-1909)
 Progressive Record
 “Trust Buster” – Although more interested in
“regulating” than “busting” trusts (powerful business
combinations), Roosevelt was successful in
regulating trusts to ensure business competition.
One such example was his break up of the powerful
Northern Railroad Securities company.
 Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902 – Roosevelt forced
arbitration on a reluctant management & labor to
resolve the strike that had a national impact.
Promoted the idea of a “Square Deal” between labor
& management much more so than any previous
president.
 Progressive Record
 Conservation – Roosevelt set aside 190 million acres of
land for national forests, coal & water reserves, & wildlife
refuges. Also appointed Gifford Pinchot the head of the
National Conservation Commission to promote proper use
of the nation’s natural resources.
 Railroad Regulation – Through the Hepburn Act the
Interstate Commerce Commission was granted the power
to set maximum railroad rates.
 Regulating the Food Industry – His support led to the
passage of the Pure Food & Drug Act & the Meat
Inspection Act.
William Howard Taft
27th U.S. President
(1909-1913)
 Progressive Record
 “A True Trust Buster” – Taft had his Attorney General
file 90 anti-trust cases as compared to 44 filed under
Roosevelt.
 Further Regulation
 Placed telephone & telegraph companies under ICC
jurisdiction.
 Prohibited interstate transportation of women for
immoral purposes (White Slave Traffic Act)
 16th Amendment was passed during his administration
 Election of 1912
 Although Taft was Roosevelt’s hand picked successor,
Roosevelt & Taft had a falling out due to Taft not being
progressive enough. Despite this the “Old Guard”
Republicans nominated Taft for President.
 As a result Roosevelt & the progressive members of
the Republican Party split & formed the Bull Moose
Party which nominated Roosevelt for President.
Roosevelt touted his “New Nationalism” that was a
more radical progressive reform agenda which stated
that social justice could occur only through
government intervention.
 Election of 1912
 The Democrats nominated Woodrow Wilson. Wilson
touted his “New Freedom” program that called for
sweeping away privilege & restoring unfettered
competition in business.
 Roosevelt & Taft essentially split the Republican vote
allowing Wilson to become President
Woodrow Wilson
28th U.S. President
(1913-1921)
 Progressive Record
 Lowered tariffs (tax on imported goods)
 Federal Reserve Act (1913) that reorganized banking to
protect American finances.
 Federal Trade Commission (1914)- regulated business &
prosecuted unfair trade that could lead to a monopoly.
 Supported the Clayton Anti Trust Act a stronger law to
regulate big business; exempted labor unions from the
category of illegal combinations.
 Progressive Record
 Under Wilson’s direction Congress passed labor laws
designed to ban child labor, shorten workdays, & to
provided injury compensation to federal employees.
 Progressive Amendments 17, 18, & 19 were passed during
his administration.