Progressivism
The Roots of Change in
American Society
1900-1914
Progressivism & the Protestant Spirit
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Progressive ideals strong amongst young,
Protestant, middle class Americans.
SOCIAL GOSPEL MOVEMENT
Three smaller groups of reformers:
A) Muckrakers
B) settlement house founders
C) socialists
Four Goals of the Progressive
Movement
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Protecting Social Welfare
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Promoting Moral Improvement
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Reformers believed that morality was the key to improving the
lives of workers & immigrants.
Prohibition & WCTU
Creating Economic Reform
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Reform urban problems
YMCA, Salvation Army, Illinois Factory Act
Sought to change the economic system full of struggling
immigrants
Thoughts of Socialism & Eugene Debs
Fostering Efficiency
Exposing the Evils: Muckrakers,
Magazines, & Realism
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Investigative journalism :
 Monopolies & Rockefeller
 Bribery in government
 Rise of Prostitution and social evils
 Boss Tweed & Tammany Hall
Jane Addams & Hull House
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Established first settlement house in on South
Halstead in Chicago
Former Chicago Black Hawk great Bobby Hull.
Hull House- located in Chicago. Coincidence?
You be the judge!
Hull House, Chicago, IL
What purpose/services did it serve?
 Eliminate prostitution
 Day care
 Taught banking, language classes
 Employment bureau
 Promote temperance
The Political Impact of Progressivism:
Municipal & State Reforms
A.
Municipal (Local) Reforms
Public Utilities – gas, telephones, water, trolley companies)
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Brought about two new systems of government
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City Commission Plan
 Power shifted from mayor (1) to a group of city
commissioners/ councilors/aldermen
 City Manager Plan
 City manager, city council, mayor
The Political Impact of Progressivism:
State Reforms
Robert LaFollette (Wisconsin) – “Battling
Bob”
Power to the People
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Initiative- bill originates with the citizens, not the
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Referendum- allows voters to reject and accept
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Recall – citizens have the ability to remove
public officials – accountability factor
Direct Election of Senators – 17th Amendments
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lawmaker
initiative
Theodore Roosevelt
“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble,
you wouldn't sit for a month.” - TR
Rise to Power
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Family History
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Childhood obstacles,
a fine education
Teddy Bear
cowboy
Political Resume
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3 terms in NY State Assembly
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Tammany Hall
N.Y. City Police Commissioner
Asst. Secretary of Navy
Rough Riding President – American Hero
N.Y. Governor
Vice President of the U.S. (McKinley)
“Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an
individual and of nations alike” - TR
The Square Deal
“Any
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man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country, is good enough to
be given a square deal”
Trust-Busting
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Interstate Commerce Act (1887)
Northern Securities Case
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
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Helping the Workers
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1902 Coal Strike
Workers win (sort of) – recognition of arbitration
Improving the Economy
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“Not all trusts are bad
Interstate Commerce Commission
Hepburn Act -1906
Protecting America’s Health
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The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Meat Inspection Act of 1906
Truth in Labeling Law
Pure Food & Drug Act
Supreme Court Rulings:
Lochner v. New York (1905)
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Constitutional Issue/Question:
Was New York’s Bake Shop Act,
in violation of the 14th Amendment-What is the 14th Amendment?
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Decision:
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laws limiting the number of hours an employee is required to work interferes
with the 14th Amendment.
baking is not an unhealthy trade and the law limiting hours cannot be justified as
a legitimate exercise of police power to protect health and safety.
Impact:
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After the Supreme Court decision a 32 year period called the Lochner era began.
Child labor laws and minimum wages were invalidated in the name of Lochner
The union bakers eventually won shorter working days through collective
bargaining
Supreme Court Rulings:
Muller v. Oregon (1908)
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Constitutional Issue/Question:
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Decision:
Was Portland,
Oregon justified when they fined Curt Muller for requiring one of his
female employees to work over 10 hours for one day?
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state may limit the hours a woman can work
may also use their police power and their responsibility to protect the health of
citizens to enact laws
laws may interfere with contract and property rights.
Impact:
The progressive legislation of treating women differently is
now viewed to be so constitutionally suspect it would not be allowed to
stand. In further cases laws that gave men favorable treatment were
struck down, and would be scrutinized under the 14th Amendment (the
right for an individual to make contracts).
The Taft
Presidency
Insert fat jokes here
 The Taft Presidency – Progressive or
Regressive?
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The Payne-Aldrich Tariff
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Ballinger-Pinchot Affair
 Split the Republican party
The Republican
Party
&
President
William H. Taft
The Progressive
Party &
Former President
Theodore
Roosevelt
People should rise
above their sectarian
interests to promote the general good.
The
“Bull Moose”
Party:
The Latest
Arrival
at the
Political Zoo
The Democratic Party &
Governor Woodrow Wilson (NJ)
Could he rescue
the Democratic
Party from
“Bryanism”??
Election Results
By 1912, 100,000 fewer people had voted for
Wilson than had voted for Bryan in 1908.
The 1912 election marked the highpoint of the
Socialist movement in America.
The Rise of Woodrow Wilson
President of the United
States
1912-1920
Advocate of the “Living
Constitution”
The Wilson Presidency:
New Freedom
“Wilson believed that the Constitution was not relevant to the needs of a modern industrial society”
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Underwood Tariff of 1913
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16th Amendment –(1913)
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Authorizes a federal income tax
Federal Reserve Act
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Reduced tariff rates from 40% to 25%
Trust industries were targeted to foster competition and reduce rates
Loss of revenue??? Made up how????
Strengthened the banking system by creating a central banking
system
A return to the Bank of the United States
Delegated financial functions to 12 district reserve banks
Placed a measure of restraint on Wall Street
17th Amendment – (1913)
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Establishes direct election of senators
The Wilson Presidency:
New Freedom (Continued)
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Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914
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Definition of illegal practices was flexible, whether or not a action
stifled competition or created a monopoly
Received broad power to investigate companies unfair trade
practices
Designed to promote consumer protection
Could issue “cease and desist” orders
Other Progressive Reforms
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unions
Federal Trade Commission
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Amended the Sherman Anti-trust Act – Could not be used against
Federal child labor law
Adamson eight-hour law for railroad workers
Seamen’s Act, eliminated age-old abuses of sailors aboard ships
Federal Farm Loan Act
Blacks largely left out of Wilson’s Progressivism