Post on 23-Jan-2016
Progressivism, 1890-1920I. Social Crises
A. Fruits of IndustrialismB. Urban LifeC. Class WarfareD. Inadequate Government
II. Character of Progressive MovementA. New Middle ClassB. Principles—public, science,
investigation, efficiencyIII. Solutions
A. Federal ActionB. Local Reform
IV. Problems with ProgressivismA. ArroganceB. Paternalism/ Ethnocentricity
Industrialization•Dangerous Machinery
– Industrial Accidents
– Disasters • Boston Molasses Flood of
1919
•Poverty– Urban Industrial Workers– Child Labor
•Corporate Power– Robber Barons
Urbanization
Health• In 1900:
– 8,000 0-4 year-olds die annually
– Odds of surviving to age five were only 75%
• Note prevalence of infectious diseases
Cause Number Rate % of total Total (All Causes) 24,941 147 100.0All other causes not here specified 6,897 41 27.7Pneumonia (all forms) 3,389 20 13.6Tuberculosis 2,954 17 11.8Pulmonary Tuberculosis 2,599 15 10.4All Heart Disease 1,893 11 7.6All Accidents 1,119 7 4.5Brights Disease(all Nephritis) 1,117 7 4.5Bronchitis 1,105 7 4.5Cancer 954 6 3.8Diphtheria & Croup 840 5 3.4Diarrhea 777 5 3.1Marasmus, infantile (malnutrition) 636 4 2.6Old Age 431 3 1.7All Suicides 356 2 1.4Typhoid fever 337 2 1.4Whooping Cough 285 2 1.1Paralysis 248 2 1Appendicitis 233 1 0.9Scarlet fever 226 1 0.9Measles 194 1 0.8Cirrhosis of the Liver 193 1 0.8Influenza 160 1 0.6Alcoholism 155 1 0.6Homicides 102 1 0.4
Selected Causes of Death in 1900 in Chicago
Urban Vice
Saloons– 8,000 bars in
Chicago
Prostitution– 1,000
brothels– 6,000
prostitutes– 2,000 arrests– $60M in
annual revenue
Denver Brothel, 1895
Class Warfare
• Increasing union activity:– 1897: 447,000 members, 1,110 disputes – 1905: 2,022,300 members, 2,186
disputes
Chicago Teamsters’ strike of 1905
Leaders
Weak National Government
• 1913: FG spends 2.5% of GNP (22.5% today)• Few federal programs, regulations, or
employees• FG is smaller than some corporations
Real Per Capita Expenditures, 1800-1990, in constant dollars
Political Machine
s• Immigrant
constituents– 13 M people of
foreign stock in Chicago
– 587,112 foreign born
– Catholics from Germany, Ireland, Poland, Italy, and Bohemia
Laissez-Faire• Courts use
14th Am. to strike down state laws:– Protecting
workers– Regulatin
g business
• Lochner v. New York (1905)– Bakers 10
hour law
The New Middle Class
Legal Education
• 1870: – 28 law
schools– 1,600
students
• 1900:– 100 law
schools– 13,000
studentsIllinois State Bar Association, Chicago 1909
Science and Expertise
• Chicago Sanitary Canal (1885-1900)—28 mi. canal linking the Chicago River with the Des Plaines River at Lockport, Illinois
• Reverse the flow of the Chicago River away from Lake Michigan in order to halt pollution of the lake waters by the city's sewage
Investigation
• Muckraking– Weekly Magazines– Investigative journalism
• Social Science– Study urban industrial
conditions• Work Accidents and the Law
(1910)
– Many journals founded between 1886 and 1910
Ida Tarbell Upton Sinclair
Crystal Eastman
Efficiency
• Scientific Management– Time-Motion Study– Piece Work
Gilbreth’s shaving experiment
The Progressive Presidents
• Elite, educated, and intellectual• Extend federal power over business• Conservative undercurrents-- race and
class
Teddy Roosevelt, 1901-9Wm. H. Taft, 1909-1913Woodrow Wilson, 1913-1921
Controlling Corporations
• Populist Precursors– ICC Act (1887)– Sherman Act (1890)
• State Experiments– WI: Robert
LaFollette
• Railroads– Elkins Act (1903)– Hepburn Act (1906)
• Interstate Commerce– FTC Act (1914)– Clayton Act (1914)
Lawmaking• Workers (state laws)
– Accident Insurance– Factory Inspection– Sixteen states limit
women’s hours and wages
• Vice– Mann Act (1910)– Prohibition (1919)
• Political Reform– Election of Senators– Secret Ballot– Women’s Suffrage
• Conservation– National Parks
• Consumers– Pure Food and Drug Act
New Local Institutions
• Settlement Houses– private agencies offering relief, culture, and
education
• Specialized Courts for juveniles, family disputes
Jane Addams
Hull House
Basic Government• City
Charters
• Sewage and Water Reform– Bring water
companies under public control
Public Bath for Men in Chicago
Dark Side
• Ethnocentrism– Prohibition
• Racism– Segregatio
n
• Eugenics– US mental hospitals perform
3,233 eugenic sterilizations between 1907 and 1921