U.S. History Chapter 17 Notes
The Progressive Era
Amid great political and social change, women
gain a larger public role and lead the call for
reform. President Theodore Roosevelt dubs his
reform policies a Square Deal.
Section 1
The Origins of
Progressivism
Political, economic, and social
change in late 19th century
America leads to broad
progressive reforms
The Progressives
Early 1900s, middle-class
reformers addressed
problems of 1890s
Different reform efforts
collectively called
progressive movement
Reformers aimed to
restore economic
opportunity & correct
injustice by:
- protecting social welfare
& promoting moral
improvement
- creating economic reform
& fostering efficiency
The Progressives
Progressives had four major goals
- Protecting Social Welfare
- Promoting Moral Improvement
- Creating Economic Reform
- Fostering Efficiency
Protecting Social Welfare
Wanted to help people deal with the harsh
conditions of industrialization
- Social Gospel & settlement houses
inspired other reform groups
Florence Kelley – became a political
activist advocate for women & children
- Helped pass law prohibiting child labor &
limiting women’s hours
Protecting Social Welfare
Some believed that
morality rather than the
workplace held the key to
improving the lives of the
poor
- Felt poor should uplift
selves by improving own
behavior
Prohibition - banning of
alcoholic drinks
- Woman’s Christian
Temperance Union
spearheaded prohibition
crusade
Creating Economic Reform
1893 - panic
prompted many
people to doubt
capitalism
Many became
socialists
- 1901 - Eugene
V. Debbs helped
organize the
American Socialist
Party
Creating Economic Reform
Journalists who
exposed corruption in
politics & business
became known as
Muckrakers
- Ida Tarbell
attacked John D.
Rockefeller &
Standard Oil for
using cut throat
businesses practices
to eliminate
competition
Fostering Efficiency
Many progressive
leaders used experts
& science to make
society & the
workplace more
efficient
Louis D. Brandeis
used social scientists’
& data to argue the
cost of working long
hours for the both the
individual & society
Fostering Efficiency
Business leaders
began using
Scientific
management studies
to improve efficiency
in the workplace
- Scientific
management - time
and motion studies
applied to workplace
Fostering Efficiency
Assembly lines were
used to speed up
production
- Made people work
like machines
- Caused higher
worker turnover
Henry Ford reduced
workday to 8 hours &
paid employees $5 a
day to prevent
turnover
Cleaning Up Local Government
Reformers tried to make government
efficient & responsive to voters
Some cities adopted government by
commission of experts
Many used council-manager - people
elected council that appoints
manager
State Reformers
Many reforms were made
at the state level
Robert M La Follette
led the way after he was
elected governor of
Wisconsin
- Passed laws to regulate
railroads and banks
- Also passed civil service
laws
Other states followed
Wisconsin's example
Protecting Working Children
Child workers received
lower wages
- Small hands
handled small parts
better
- Families need
children’s wages
National Child Labor
Committee gathered
evidence of harsh
conditions
- Accidents & diseases
caused by overwork
Protecting Working Children
Labor unions argue
children’s wages lower
all wages
Groups pressed
government to ban
child labor & cut hours
Convinced most states
to pass legislation
banning child labor
and setting maximum
hours
Efforts to Limit Working Hours
Muller v. Oregon Court upheld limiting
women to 10-hour
workday
Bunting v. Oregon upheld 10-hour
workday for men
Reformers won
workers’
compensation for
families of injured &
killed
Reforming Elections
Oregon adopted secret ballot, initiative,
referendum, recall
Initiative—bill proposed by people, not
lawmakers, put on ballots
Referendum—voters, not legislature, decide if
initiative becomes law
Recall—voters remove elected official through
early election
Primaries allow voters, not party machines, to
choose candidates
Direct Election of Senators
Became law in 1913 (17th amendment
Section 2
Women in Public Life
As a result of social and economic
change, many women enter public
life as workers and reformers.
Women in the Work Force
Only middle-, upper-class women could
devote themselves to home & family
Poor women usually had to work for
wages outside home
Roles of Farm Women on Southern, &
Midwestern farms remained the same
- Performed household tasks, raised
livestock, & help with crops
Women in the Work Force
After 1900 – 20 % of
women held jobs
- 25% in
manufacturing
- 50% industrial
workers in garment
trade
- Earned half of men’s
wages
- Jobs in offices,
stores, classrooms
require high school
education
- Business schools
trained bookkeepers,
stenographers, &
Women in the Work Force
1870 - 70% of employed women did
domestic work
- Many African-American,
immigrant women do domestic labor
- married immigrants took in
piecework, or cared for boarders
Women Lead Reform
Many female industrial workers sought to reform
working conditions
Women formed cultural clubs that sometimes
became reform groups
Many women who were active in public life had
attended new women’s colleges
50% college-educated women never married &
many work on social reforms
Women's Suffrage
Women reformers targeted
workplace, housing,
education, food, & drugs
National Association of
Colored Women (NACW)
- Goal was the moral
education of the race was
with which they were
identified
-Managed nurseries reading
rooms, & kindergartens
Susan B. Anthony of
National American Woman
Suffrage Assoc. (NAWSA)
- worked for woman
suffrage, or right to vote
Women's Suffrage
A Three-Part
Strategy for
Suffrage
Convince state
legislatures to give
women right to vote
Test 14th
Amendment - states
lost representation if
they denied men vote
Push for constitutional
amendment to give
women the vote
Section 3
Teddy Roosevelt’s
Square Deal
.
As president, Theodore
Roosevelt works to give
citizens a Square Deal
through progressive reforms
New Reformers
Led by Republican Teddy Roosevelt (man of
action)
1st challenged the power of corrupt money
- Called Jay Gould a crook (no one else had the
courage)
- Gould was one of the most powerful men in
America
- Made fortune with crooked railroad deals
This gained Roosevelt popularity
Roosevelt's Career
Fought against Spain in
Cuba (Rough Riders)
Became governor of New
York
- Tried to clean up
government
- Pushed through a civil
service law
- Hired qualified people
NY political bosses couldn’t
control him,& urged him to
run for vice-president
1900 – William McKinley
won reelection
- Roosevelt became Vice
President
Roosevelt Becomes President
McKinley shot in Buffalo
Teddy Roosevelt became
youngest person to hold
office (age 42)
His leadership & publicity
campaigns helped create
modern presidency
Supports federal
government role when
states do not solve
problems concerning
national welfare
Roosevelt Becomes President
Public loved
Roosevelt
(1st to
use bully pulpit)
- Called him Teddy
- He refused to
shoot a bear cub
while on a hunting
trip
- Resulted in new
toy (the teddy
bear)
The Square Deal
Square Deal - Roosevelt’s
progressive reforms
Roosevelt felt the government should
act as an umpire
- Make sure everyone got a "square
deal"
Using Federal Power
Trust busting
1902 Coal Strike
- Coal reserves were low
- Roosevelt forced both
sides to accept
arbitration (3rd party
decides
dispute)
- Each side received some
of what it wanted
- Sets principle of federal
intervention when strike
threatens public
- Other presidents had
sent troops to end strikes
Using Federal Power
Railroad Regulation
- 1887 – Interstate Commerce Act established
the Interstate Commerce Commission to
prevent railroads from colluding to fix high prices
(ICC too weak to enforce law)
- Roosevelt pushed for federal regulation to
control abuses
- Elkins Act -stopped rebates & sudden rate
changes
- Hepburn Act - limited free railroad passes &
enabled ICC to set maximum railroad rates
Trust Busting
Many big businesses had formed trust
- Controlled prices
This had continued in spite of the
Sherman Antirust Act of 1890
- Act made it illegal for corporations to
gain complete control of a type of
business
- Had not been enforced
By 1900, - trusts control about 80 % of
U.S. industries
Roosevelt wanted to curb trusts that
Trust Busting
hurt public interest
Roosevelt began to
enforce the Sherman
Antitrust Act
- 1st target was the
railroads
Biggest target was
Standard Oil
- 1911 - Supreme
Court ordered that it
be broken up into
smaller
companies
Attack on laissez Faire
Laissez faire - hands off approach
towards business
Business leaders were shocked by
Roosevelt's actions
- They felt that government should not
interfere with the economy
- That the economy performed best when
people were left free to create businesses
and hire workers
Progressives felt that laissez faire created
high prices and low wages
The Muckrakers
Food, drug advertisements made false claims&
medicines were often unsafe
Muckrakers - Writers who exposed corruption in
American society
Exposed unhappy practices in the food industry
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle - unsanitary
conditions in meatpacking
Roosevelt commission investigates, backs up
Sinclair’s account
Forced government to pass the laws
The Muckrakers
Pure Food and Drug Act halted sale of
contaminated food & medicine
- required truth in labeling FDA
Roosevelt pushes for Meat Inspection Act
- dictated sanitary requirements
- Created federal meat inspection program
(USDA)
These laws gave government inspectors the
power to enforce safety and health standards in
the making and selling of food and medicine
Conservation
Conservation - the
controlled use natural
resources
Roosevelt believed that
water and timber
resources should be
maintained for the benefit
of all people
He transferred 150 million
acres of federal land into
the national parks system
He urged the creation of
national parks
- Yellowstone,
Yosemite, & The Grand
Canyon
The Progressives and Race
Roosevelt invited Booker
T. Washington to the
White House
Other than that the
Progressive's record on
racism was terrible
- They worked to keep
Jewish out of universities
- Japanese immigrants
were denied the right to
own land in California
- Racism resulted in
increased segregation in
the south
African Americans Organize
African Americans
looked to new leaders
to help them fight
discrimination
W.E.B. Du Bois
believed that African
Americans should
focus on legality
- Met with other black
leader at Niagara Falls
(Niagara
Movement)
- Formed the National
Association for the
Advancement of
Colored People
(NAACP)
African Americans Organize
1910 - The National Urban
League was formed
- It focused on improving
economic conditions for urban
African Americans
Section 4
Progressivism Under Taft
Taft’s ambivalent approach to
progressive reform leads to a split in
the Republican Party and the loss of the
presidency to the Democrats.
Changes in Leadership
Progressives
agenda became
America’s plan
1908 - William
Howard Taft
elected as
president
- Roosevelt's hand
picked successor
Taft’s Presidency
Had cautious progressive agenda
- Chose to consolidate ratter than expand
Roosevelt’s reforms
Received gets little credit for successes
- Busted over 90 trusts during his 4-year term
Didn’t not use presidential bully pulpit to arouse
public opinion
Angered progressives when he signed the The
Payne-Aldrich Tariff
- compromise bill that called for moderate tariffs
- Progressives thought he abandoned low tariffs
& progressivism
Taft’s Presidency
Disputing Public Lands
Angered conservationists
when he appointed
Richard A. Ballinger as
secretary of the interior
- Ballinger put reserved
lands in public domain
Interior official who
protested action was fired
Gifford Pinchot head of
U.S. Forest Service testified against Ballinger
- He was also fired by Taft
The Republican Party Splits
Republicans split over Taft’s support
of House Speaker Joseph Cannon
Cannon weakened progressive
agenda
Many Progressives allied with
Democrats
Democrats gained control of the
House of Representatives in the 1910
midterm election
The Bull Moose Party
Roosevelt decided to run
for president again
Taft people outmaneuvered
Roosevelt’s for nomination
in the 1912 Republican
convention
Progressives formed Bull
Moose Party & nominated
Roosevelt
Progressives called for:
- More voter participation
in government
- Woman suffrage
- Labor legislation,
business controls
The Bull Moose Party
Roosevelt & Taft
ran against
Democrat
Woodrow
Wilson,
- Wilson was a
reform governor
from NJ
Election of 1912
Wilson endorsed progressive
platform called the New
Freedom
- Wanted stronger antitrust
laws, banking reform, & lower
tariffs
- called all monopolies evil
Roosevelt wanted oversight
of big business
- Didn’t think all monopolies
were bad
Socialist Party candidate
Eugene V. Debs wanted to
end capitalism
Wilson won great electoral
victory & got majority in
Congress
Section 5
Wilson’s New Freedom
Woodrow Wilson establishes a
strong reform agenda as a
progressive leader.
Wilson and Big business
Woodrow Wilson shared the same views as Roosevelt
He felt that "good trust" didn't exist
He focused on attacking trusts, tariffs, & high finance
Clayton Antitrust Act - stopped companies from buying
stock to form a monopoly
- Stated that labor unions & farming organizations had the
right to exist
- Strikes & peaceful protest and the collection of strike
benefits became legal
- Ended injunctions against strikers unless threaten
irreparable damage
Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 - Established
new “watchdog” agency FTC
- investigated regulatory violations
- ended unfair business practices
A New Tax System
Wilson pushed for Underwood Act to substantially
reduce tariffs
Businesses tried to get Congress to vote it down
Set precedent of giving State of the Union
message in person
Used bully pulpit to gain passage
Government had to replace revenue lost by
lowering tariffs
1913 - Sixteenth Amendment legalized
graduated federal income tax
- 1% to 6%
- Government earned a lot more money from
income tax than it ever earned from tariffs
Federal Reserve System
Nation needed a way to strengthen the way
banks were run as well as control the amount of
money in circulation
1913 – Federal Reserve Act divided the nation
into 12 banks and established a regional bank in
each district
These banks loaned served other banks in the
region
- Issued paper money
- loaned money to banks in trouble
Federal Reserve System - Brought private
banking system under federal control
Women Win Suffrage
College-educated
women spread
suffrage message to
working-class
College Equal
Suffrage League
went door-to-door,
took trolley tours &
gave speeches at
stops
Carrie Chapman
Catt, head of
NAWSA, stressed
organization &
lobbying
Women Win Suffrage
National Woman’s
Party aggressively
pressured for suffrage
amendment
Work of patriotic
women in war effort
influenced politicians
1920 - Nineteenth
Amendment granted
women right to vote
The Limits of Progressivism
Wilson disappointed Progressives who wanted
social reforms concerning civil rights
Won support of NAACP for favoring civil rights
when he was a candidate running for president
Opposed anti -lynching legislation after he
became president
Appointed fellow white Southerners to cabinet
who extended segregation
Segregated white and black federal employees
NAACP felt betrayed which resulted in a rift with
he president
The Twilight of Progressivism
Outbreak of World War I distracted
most Americans
Reform efforts stalled