Agenda 12/2/10
• Stamp back of Ch. 5.1, section 1 Study
Questions – go over the answers
• Work Period:
• Ch. 5.1, part 2 study questions- p. 330-335
– Due Friday
• 5.2 Study Guide – Due Friday
• Muckrakers reading assignment – Worth 5
bonus points in next notebook check!
Rise of Progressivism
1. The Progressive movement was an attempt
to use scientific principles to improve
society.
2. The Progressive Era spans from 1890 to
1920
3. The Progressives believed that
industrialization and urbanization was the
root (cause) of many social problems.
Rise of Progressivism
4. Progressivism was partly a reaction to
laissez-faire economics and the emphasis
on an unregulated market (no gov’t
interference).
5. Progressives believed that the government
required reform due to
1. the poverty of the working class
2. the filth and crime in urban societies (cities)
Rise of Progressivism
6. The connection to science and technology:
Progressives believed they could change
society with science and technology. They
had strong faith in things like organization,
expertise…etc.
7. The Muckrakers were journalists who
investigated and reported on social
conditions and political corruption
Rise of Progressivism
8. Muckrakers focused their stories on:
1. Unfair business practices in large
American corporations like Standard Oil
and the beef packing industry
2. The government- how money influenced
the Senate, vote stealing in urban political
machines
3. Social problems – poverty, disease, crime
in immigrant neighborhoods in NYC
Reading Check
How did the muckrakers help spark the
Progressive movement?
They investigated social conditions and
reported their findings. This sparked
many to get involved in social change.
Making Government Efficient
1. Main Idea: One form of Progressivism
focused on ways to use business practices
to make government more efficient
2. The Progressives main argument for
changing government efficiency was that
they believed that many problems in society
could be solved if the gov’t worked properly
– just like business had become more
efficient through technology.
Making Government Efficient
3. The commission plan is a Progressive
idea for setting up city government. In
it the city gov’t is divided into
departments which are controlled by
an expert commissioner. A board of
commissioners or the City Manager
hires the specialists for each
department.
Reading Check
Why did the Progressives want to
reorganize city government?
The Progressives felt that the government
could not carry out all of the needed
reforms unless it was first reformed.
Democracy and Progressivism
1. Main Idea: Progressive policies in
Wisconsin became widespread,
leading to election reforms
2. A direct primary is a method of voting
in which all party members (voters
registered to that party) may vote for a
candidate to run in the general
election.
Democracy and Progressivism
3. Three reforms which gave voters more
power in government:
1. Initiative: citizens may introduce legislation
(law) and legislature is required to vote on it.
2. Referendum: Allows proposed legislation to be
submitted to the voters for approval
3. Recall: allows voters to demand a special
election to remove an elected official from office
before his/her term has expired
Democracy and Progressivism
• 17th Amendment
• Original Constitutional Method:
• Senators chosen by State legislators
• After 17th amendment
• Voters (the people) elect the Senators directly
Reading Check
What was the impact of the 17th amendment?
What was it intended to solve?
The impact of the 17th is that it allowed the
people to elect senators directly, making the
Senate more democratic (people rule). It was
intended to end corruption, but instead it
removed one of the state governments’
checks on federal power.