The Progressive
Era
US History
Section 1: Objectives
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By the end of this
lesson, I will be able
to:
1. Explain the four
goals of progressivism
2. Summarize
progressive efforts to
clean up government
3. Identify progressive
efforts to reform state
government, protect
workers, and reform
elections.
Section 1: The Origins of
Progressivism:
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Main Idea: Political,
economic, and social
change in the late 19th
Century American led to
broad progressive
reforms.
Key Terms:
Progressive Movement
Prohibition
Muckracker
Initiative
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Why it Matters Now:
Progressive reforms in
areas such as labor and
voting rights reinforced
democratic principles that
continue to exist today.
Key Terms / Names:
Referendum
Recall
Seventeenth Amendment
Timeline: What’s Going
On – US and World
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United States:
1901 – William McKinley is
assassinated
1909 – NAACP is founded
1919 – 18th Amendment
outlaws alcoholic drinks
1920 – 19th Amendment
grants women the right to
vote.
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World:
1889 – Eiffel Tower opens
for visitors
1910 – Mexican Revolution
begins
1914 – WW I Begins in
Europe
Progressivism?
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Progress
People vs. Evil Corporations
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Government + Businesses
Urbanization Problems
– Heavy toll on American Life
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Unsafe factories
– Conditions, Hours, Pollution
 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
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Urban problems
– Over crowded, Unsanitary, Crime
Populists vs Progressives
Populists---rural
Progressives---cities
Populists were poor and uneducated
Progressives were middle-class and
educated.
Populists were too radical
Progressives stayed political mainstream.
Populists failed
Progressives succeeded
Origins of Progressivism:
– Progressive Movement - Aimed to
restore economic opportunities and
correct the injustices in American
life.
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–
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–
–
–
–
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Response to the vast changes after the
Civil War and from Industrialization
– Simpler America
These were the problems:
Economic inequities
Environmental issues
Social welfare
Working conditions
Rights for women and children
Progressivism: political and
cultural responses to
industrialization and other issues
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Immigration, corporate power, widening
class divisions.
Four Goals of Reformers
(Progressivism)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Protect social
welfare
Promote moral
development
Secure
economic
reform
Foster efficiency
Protect Social Welfare
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Correct the harsh conditions of
Industrialization
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Monopolies
– Corporations benefited from Government policy
 Laissez Faire – Government out of the business
sector
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Working conditions
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Benefits and vacations a rarity
Workers killed and employers rarely helped
Child Labor
Workers Wages
– $687 annually, worked 12-13 hr days
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Living Conditions
– Tenement Houses
– Social Gospel Movement
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Good works to improve America (Christians)
Promote Moral
Development:
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Many reformers felt morality would
change America
– City offered many releases for middle class and
lower class citizens
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Nickelodeons, rail lines, amusement parks, Model T,
Other Immoral acts
Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)
– Many reformers felt that alcohol was
undermining American morals.
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Prohibition – the banning of alcoholic
beverages. (18th Amendment)
– Many groups fought this (saloons, and
restaurants)
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Saloons offered many things to Immigrants (cash checks,
serve meals)
– Anti-Saloon League (ASL) 1895
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Later in the 1920’s there would be a
much bigger prohibition movement.
Muckrakers Criticize Big
Business:Investigative journalists, known as
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“Muckrakers,”
– exposed corruption in business, terrible working
conditions, living conditions.
– Emphasized facts
– McClure’s and Collier’s famous magazines
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Middle Class citizens in shock
– Today: 60 Minutes TV Program
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Example:
– Ida Tarbell exposed Standard Oil Company’s cutthroat methods of eliminating competition.
(vertical and horizontal integration)
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Eugene V. Debs –
–
–
–
Organized labor
Socialist Party 1901 – uneven balance between big
business and the laborers
Free Market Economy was hurting the workers
Regulating Big Business:
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Many businesses were attacked by
politicians for being “crooked”
– Capitalists vs. Robber Barons
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They aimed to reform:
Shipping rates
No free passes for business officials
Same taxes for everyone
Limits on child labor
– 1907 – 30 states outlawed child labor
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National Child Labor Committee
Reduced work hours
– Workers were well rested = more productivity
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1903 – Oregon Limited Women's work day to 10 hrs
Political Reform
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Large Urban cities
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Ran by Political bosses – Kickbacks
– Change: cities more responsive to its citizens
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Local Governments
– Established Council Members
– Officials take charge of certain areas in a city and certain issues
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Galveston, TX and Dayton, OH
– Both cities hit with a natural disaster
 Galveston – Hurricane Dayton – Flood
Reforming Mayors
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Hazen Pingree of Detroit
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Fair tax system, lower transportation rates, set up
work relief for unemployed persons
– City workers built schools, parks, electrical plants
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Tom Johnson of Cleveland
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Instituted progressivism into the city of Cleveland
– Dismissed corrupt and greedy private owners of
utilities
 Gas, water,
 Invited citizens to circus tents to discuss issues
within the city (Town Hall Meetings
State Level Reforms
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Legislation to regulate “big business”
– RR, mines, mills, telephone and other large
companies
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Robert M. La Follette “Fighting Bob”
– Governor of Wisconsin 1900
 Targeted RR companies
 Regulate rates and abolished “free rides” to
politicians
Election Reform:
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The people wanted a voice in politics
– Secret Ballots – made it harder to rig
elections
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Hard to tell who you voted for
Initiatives – voters could create a bill
rather than lawmakers
– Voters instruct legislators
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Referendums – Voters accepted or
rejected the initiative
– Express their views on a proposed measure
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Recalls – Enabled voters to force out
public officials by having them face
another election
– With a petition voters can remove a public
official
Direct Election of
Senators:
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Before 1913 the people had
no say in the election of
senators
Before 1913, each state’s
legislature had chosen U.S.
senators.
To force senators to be more
responsive to the public,
Progressives pushed for the
popular (vote) election of
senators.
As a result, Congress passed
the 17th Amendment – the
people elect the senators of their
state.
Section 2: Objectives
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By the end of this
lesson, I will be able
to:
1. Describe the
growing presence of
women in the
workforce at the turn
of the 20th Century.
2. Identify leaders of
the woman suffrage
movement
3. Explain how woman
suffrage was achieved.
Section 2: Women in
Public Life
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Main Idea: As a result
to social and economic
change, many women
entered public life as
workers and reformers.
Key Terms:
NACW
Suffrage
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Why it Matters Now:
Women won new
opportunities in labor
and education that are
enjoyed today.
Key Names:
Susan B. Anthony
Women in the Workforce
/ Education:
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Women in the early 19th Century
– Devote time to children and family
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Poorer women forced to work
Opportunities for women increased
especially in the cities. By 1900, one out of
five women worked.
– Unions excluded women
– The garment industry was popular as were office
work, retail, and education
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They made less $ per hour than men (for
the same jobs!)
– Men seemed to support families
– Women also began to seek higher education
Social Reformers
– Improve America
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Social Gospel Movement
– Settlement Houses
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Florence Kelley
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Improve lives of women and children
– Investigated the sweat shops
 Campaigned for a federal Child-Labor Law
 Illinois Factory Act in 1893
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Prohibited child labor and limited hours women could work
Children work hours :
Work Monday –Saturday from 6 am – 9 pm
Women Lead Reform
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Women started to form clubs
– Couldn’t vote (YET)
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Push for reform
– Working conditions, pay, long hours
– Triangle Shirtwaist Factory (1911)
– Women and higher education
– Vassar College 1865
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Higher education led to women independence
– “Social Housekeeping”
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Workplace reform, housing reform, education and food + drug
laws
Reform Organizations
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NACW
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National Association of Colored Women 1896
NAWSA
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National American Woman Suffrage Association
– State by state movement to help women earn the
right to vote
 Major businesses feared women’s right to vote
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Progressivism help the women’s cause
Movement started in 1896
1910 Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and Idaho
Susan B. Anthony:
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Women also pushed for equal voting rights
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Susan B. Anthony was a leading advocate of
women’s Suffrage – the right to vote.
–
–
Voted over 150 times in 10 different states
Supreme Court ruled Women are citizens 1875
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In 1869 Anthony and Cady Stanton founded the
National Women Suffrage Association (NWSA)
– a group committed to gaining women’s suffrage
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Women still couldn’t vote
Tried to introduce a Amendment Bill to allow women to vote
 Later: President Roosevelt will support women’s suffrage
Many men feared the changing role of women in
society. WHY?
A 3-Part Strategy For
Suffrage:
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Suffragist leaders tried three
approaches to winning the vote:
1. Convincing state legislatures to
adopt the vote.
1.
2.
Wyoming – 1869
1890’s Utah, Colorado, Idaho
2. Pursuing court cases to test 14th
Amendment.
1.
Equal protection
1. Exclude Women’s right to vote
3. Pushing for national Constitutional
amendment.
1.
19th Amendment :1920
What Was The Outcome?
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In 1875, The Supreme Court ruled that
women were indeed citizens but denied
that citizenship automatically allowed the
right to vote.
For the next 40 years, other measures were
voted down time and time again.
Women will not gain the right to vote until
1920!
Section 3: Objectives
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By the end of this
lesson, I will be able to:
1. Describe the events of
Theodore Roosevelt’s
presidency
2. Explain how Roosevelt
used the power of the
presidency to regulate
business
3. Identify laws passed to
protect public health and
the environment
Section 3: Teddy
Roosevelt’s Square Deal
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Main Idea: As
President, Theodore
Roosevelt worked to give
citizens a Square Deal
through progressive
reforms.
Key Terms:
The Jungle
Square Deal
Meat Inspection Act
Pure Food and Drug Act
Conservation
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Why it Matters Now: As
part of his Square Deal,
Roosevelt’s conservation
efforts made a permanent
impact on environmental
resources.
Key Names:
Upton Sinclair
Theodore Roosevelt
Teddy Roosevelt
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Born into a wealthy NY family
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Athletic Teenager
– New York Politics
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New York State Assembly
NYC Police Commissioner
Assistant Secretary of the US Navy
– Rough Riders, Battle of San Juan Hill in Cuba
Roosevelt returned as a leader and hero
Governor of NYC
– Political Bosses didn’t like TR as their Governor
 Political NY Bosses nominated TR to become VP
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1901 “Teddy” Roosevelt becomes Vice President
– William McKinley President is Assassinated
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1901 Theodore Roosevelt becomes the 26th President
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42 yrs old 1901-1909
He was a rough and tumble politician that spoke what was
on his mind
1902 Coal Miners Strike
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UMW – United Mine Workers Union
– Called for a strike
– 140,000 Miners
– Shorter work day, better pay, right to organize in a
union
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Workers struck for 5 months
– Theodore Roosevelt had to intervene
 Coal powered 90% of the nation
– Called both sides to the White House to negotiate
 Government intervened in the business world
The Square Deal:
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Roosevelt saw the presidency as a “bully
pulpit” – used his role as president to do
what he wanted to do.
– Platform to advocate an agenda
– Government should be responsive to injustice
– Did not wait for the legislative branch to act
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Executive decision.
The Square Deal – The term is used
to describe the various progressive reforms
sponsored by the Roosevelt administration.
– The Square Deal worked to balance competing
interests to create a fair deal for all sides: labor and
management, consumer and business, developer and
conservationist.
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Not to favor any group of Americans but to be fair to all.
– Government should use its resources to help the
country socially and economically
Using Federal Power:
Trust busting:
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By 1900, Trusts – legal bodies created to hold stock in
many companies – controlled 80% of U.S. industries.
– Many Companies formed into a Monopoly (Standard Oil)
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Sold their prices far lower than their competitors
“Trust Buster”
– “We don’t wish to destroy corporations, but we do wish to make them…
serve the public good.”
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Sherman Anti-Trust Act
– 1890’, outlawed Trusts/Monopolies in America
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Initial law left it hard to enforce
– Roosevelt filed 44 antitrust suits under the
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Sherman Anti-
Trust Act
The goal was to break up unfair business practices.
– Northern Securities Company
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Controlled RR’s in the Northwest
Supreme Court broke up the company
– Standard Oil
Regulating the Railroads
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Interstate Commerce Act 1887
– Prohibit fixing of high prices in certain areas
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Hepburn ACT of 1906
– Interstate Commerce Commission
 Set maximum railroad rates
 Inspected Railroad companies
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Free RR passes to politicians
Government
– Laissez Faire to… hands on
Upton Sinclair: The Jungle
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Upton Sinclair wrote The
Jungle in 1906.
The book focused on the
sickening conditions of the
meatpacking industry.
The book made quite the
impression on Theodore
Roosevelt.
He promised to fix the
problems of mass production
in the US.
After reading the book he
passed the Meat Inspection
Act – reformed meatpacking
conditions (1906)
Pure Food and Drug Act:
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Congress passed the Pure Food
and Drug Act
Companies were promising their
products to do everything from
curing cancer, to growing more
hair.
Popular children’s medicines
contained opium, cocaine, and
alcohol.
Expiration dates were also
included on canned food.
Roosevelt’s Environmental
Accomplishments:
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Roosevelt first conservation
President
– Carefully manage America’s
Natural resources
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Only the national Government had the
resources to preserve America’s Nature
–
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Originally states handled their natural resources
Conservation – some wilderness
areas would be preserved, while
others would be developed for
the common good.
– 150 new natural forests
Yellowstone National
Park - Wyoming
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5 National Parks, 18 National Monuments
– Later presidents and advisors
would aim to open this land for
business
Section 4: Objectives
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By the end of this
lesson, I will be able
to:
1. Summarize the
events of the Taft
presidency.
2. Explain the division
in the Republican
party.
3. Describe the election
of 1912.
Section 4: Progressivism
Under Taft
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Main Idea: Taft’s
ambivalent approach to
progressive reform led to a
split in the Republican Party
and the loss of the
presidency to the Democrats.
Key Terms:
Payne-Aldrich Tariff
Bull Moose Party
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Why it Matters Now:
Third-party candidates
continue to wrestle
with how to become
viable candidates.
Key Names:
Gifford Pinchot
William Howard Taft
Woodrow Wilson
After Roosevelt:
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Teddy Roosevelt Legacy
– Naturalists emerged, Girls Scouts
– Roosevelt was president for 8 years and
accomplished a lot.
– Some of Roosevelt’s policies came under
scrutiny from various organizations.

Gifford Pinchot head of the US Forest
Service came under fire for conserving so
much land for preservation.
– Public enjoyment vs. Private Development
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Others were starting to see the land as a
great opportunity for development and
growth (Taft)
Now William Howard Taft would have
his chance at the presidency
William Howard Taft
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Taft 1909
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TR decided not to run again
– Hand selected and endorsed Taft
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Taft would support many progressive
reforms
– 16th +17th Amendments
 16th = income tax
 17th = direct election of Senators
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But Taft did not run the country the way
Roosevelt thought he would
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Taft proposed higher tariffs.
Became much more conservative
Taft Stumbles
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Did not increase Roosevelt’s Progressive
Reform Policies
– Taft did want to lower tariffs
– Payne Bill
 Lower taxes on imports
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Payne Aldrich Tariff
– Moderated the high rates of the Aldrich bill (proposed
by the senate)
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Richard Ballinger
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Secretary of interior – removed 1 million acres of
forest
Anti conservationist action
The Republican Party
Splits:
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As time went on, Taft couldn’t hold the
two wings (conservatives and
reformers) of the Republican Party
together.
Voters started to blame Taft for the
rising costs of living and loss of
conservation of land
– More democrats gained seats in congress
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Roosevelt is going to make a come
back!!

Returned from a hunting trip in Africa
Why did Taft have trouble keeping the
Republican Party together?
1.
2.
3.
4.
They didn’t like Taft
They wanted higher
tariffs
The progressives
and reformers didn’t
agree on policy
None of the above
The Bull Moose Party:
1912 Election

Republicans split in 1912 between Taft
and Roosevelt
– Republicans wanted Roosevelt, but Taft had
momentum
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Republican progressives formed a third party
Roosevelt called his progressive party
the Bull Moose Party – “I’m as strong as
a Bull Moose”
– TR is running for a 3rd term

Democrats seize an opportunity
– The Democrats put forward a reform-minded
governor, Woodrow Wilson. (who would later
win the presidency)
What did the Bull Moose
Party support?
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The Bull Moose Party
supported:
1. Women’s suffrage
2. Worker’s compensation
3. An 8-hr. work day
4. A minimum wage for
women
5. A federal law against
child labor
6. A federal trade
commission to regulate
business.
So, How Did Wilson Win?
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The split between Taft and Roosevelt
turned nasty. (name calling) – they
divided themselves.
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Roosevelt = egotist
Taft = fathead , brain of a guinea pig
Woodrow Wilson endorsed a
progressive platform called the “New
Freedom”, it demanded:
1. Stronger Antitrust legislation
2. Banking reform
3. Reduced Tariffs
Wilson won with a 42% popular vote.
What aided Woodrow Wilson the MOST
in the presidential campaign?
1.
2.
3.
4.
His new ideas
His popularity with
the people
The bickering going
on between
Roosevelt and Taft
All of the above
Section 5: Objectives
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By the end of this
lesson, I will be able
to:
1. Describe Woodrow
Wilson’s background
and the progressive
reforms of his
presidency.
2. List the steps
leading to women
suffrage.
3. Explain the limits of
Wilson’s progressivism.
Section 5: Wilson’s New
Freedom
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Main Idea: Woodrow
Wilson established a
strong reform agenda
as a progressive
leader.
Key Terms:
Clayton Antitrust Act
Federal Trade Commission
(FTC)
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Why it Matters Now:
The passage of the 19th
Amendment during
Wilson’s administration
granted women the right
to vote.
Key Terms:
Federal Reserve System
19th Amendment
Wilson Wins Financial
Reforms:

Woodrow Wilson

Grew up in the south
– Professor then President at Princeton
 Governor of New Jersey – 1910
 Supported Progressive Reforms
– was a progressive president

“New Freedom”
– Triple Attack – Trusts, tariffs, high finances
– Attacked Big Businesses
– He aimed to give greater power to
average citizens

He grew up in the South, which affected his
ability to use federal power to help civil
rights.
Clayton Antitrust Act

Legal approach to strengthen the
Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.

Spelled out a series of illegal practices
– Selling at a lass to undercut competitors
– prohibited corporations from acquiring stock of
another if doings so would create a monopoly
– Labor unions and farm organizations could
legally form
– Cannot charge strikers unless they caused
damage
Federal Trade Commission

Federal Trade commission
– Administrative approach to attack
businesses
– “Watchdog” agency
 Power to investigate possible violations of
regulatory statutes to
 require periodic reports from corporations
 End number of unfair business practices

FTC investigated over 400 companies
Tax Systems

Underwood Act (Underwood-Simmons Tariff)
– Lower tariffs


Tariff – tax on imports
House quickly passed the bill, Senate eventually passed
the bill with revisions

Now called the Underwood-Simmons Tariff)
– Federal Income Tax

16th Amendment
– Legalized federal income tax
 Graduated Income Rates
 Higher earnings = higher taxes
 Lower earnings = lower taxes
Federal Reserve System:

Now financial reform was on the table
–
–
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Currency and Banking Reform
Credit and money supply had to keep pace with the
economy.
Federal Reserve Act of 1913
–
Wilson’s greatest piece of legislation
–
It created a network of banks
The Federal Reserve System was put
into action.
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Federal Reserve
Building
12 sections Regional Banks
Issue currency in emergency situations
provide loans to private banks
This system still serves as the basis of our
nation’s banking system.
How the War Helped:


America became involved in WW I.
Patriotic women headed committees
– Carrie Catt – NAWSA President

Peaceful, political organizations
– Lucy Burns – picked around the White House
– Alice Paul – formed radical suffrage organizations

Women’s War Efforts

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They knitted socks for soldiers
Sold liberty bonds
In 1919, Congress finally passed the 19th
Amendment – granted women the right to
vote.
It had only taken 72 yrs (Seneca Falls
Convention of 1848 was when they first
tried)
Limits of Progressivism:

Wilson created a lot of reform policies
– Failed to create enough social reforms

African American reform
– Disappointed supporters throughout America
– Wilson placed segregationists in the federal government

Like Roosevelt and Taft, Wilson
retreated on Civil Rights when he
entered office.

The KKK reached a
membership
of 4.5 million in the
1920s
Did not favor anti lynching laws or segregation
laws
“state issue”
– Navy – do away with common drinking fountains and
towels
 Segregated facilities were just


“the colored men who voted and worked
for you in the belief that their status as
African citizens was safe in your hands are
deeply cast down
End of Progressive
Movement

WWI on the horizon

“there’s no chance of progress and reform
in an administration in with war plays the
principal part.”
– WWI 1914
– US gets involved in WWI April 2 1917