THE PROGRESSIVE ERA (1901-1916)

Chapter 18

The Urban Age and Consumerism The turn of the 20th century marked the

last time in U.S. history when farms and cities grew roughly the same rateThe agricultural “Golden Age” of the late

1870s and early 1880s became far removed from the United States of the 20th century

Cities and industry became the focus of the Progressive Era

New York City (1910)

The Urban Age and Consumerism Consumerism grew with the growth of cities

New York City became the largest city in the United States

Seattle, Washington had hopes to be the New York City of the West Coast○ The timber industry and gold rush of the late 19th

century spurred growth○ Transportation infrastructure and development

grew○ Alki Beach dedicated a statute that closely

resembles the Statute of Liberty

Seattle, Washington (1910)

Seattle, Washington (2010)

The Urban Age and Consumerism Economic abundance became the norm for

American lifePersonal fulfillment by material goods

○ Chain stores, mail-order storesGood wages became intertwined with freedom in

America○ Freedom determined by wealth

Mass consumption of good feeds into the previous point People want money, money leads to power, power

leads to corruptionThe Progressive Era becomes a Gilded Age with a

domestic reform agenda

The Oil Boom in Texas

SpindletopGuffey, Galey, Mellon, A.F. Lucas, and Patillo

Higgins believed that oil could be found in SE Texas

The Hammill brothers from Corsicana were hired to drill in Jefferson County ○ Used a revolutionary rotary drilling process

Struck oil at Spindletop (3 mi. south of Beaumont) on 10 January 1901

Spindletop produced between 70k and 100k barrels per day in the early years

Spindletop, Gladys City, Texas

The Oil Boom in Texas

Results of the Oil StrikeAfter Spindletop, Texas chartered 491 oil

companies○ Houston Oil Company ○ J.M. Guffey Petroleum Company (later Gulf

Oil)○ Texas Company (Texaco)

Former TX Governor James S. Hogg was an investor

○ Humble Oil Company (later Exxon)○ Sun Oil Company

The Oil Boom in Texas

Results of the Oil StrikeBy 1929, the oil industry in Texas produced 293 million

barrels annuallyEmployed 13,726Valued at $429.5 millionHowever, oil boom towns were notorious for their

lawlessness○ Rivaled the cattle frontier○ Issues of bootlegging, prostitution, gambling, little to no

city services○ Desdemona, Mexia, Wink, and Borger were particularly

badTexas Rangers were sent in to stave off the growing troubles

A general response to the changes brought by industrialization An alternative (and/or opposition) to conservatism and

radicalism Conservatives favor big business Radicals (Socialists and Anarchists) prefer to essentially alter the

industrial nation completely Typically associated with left-wing politics in the U.S. Progressives have typically been seen as a middle-ground in

early 20th century politics Issues they wanted to change

Harsh working conditions in factories Laws regulating tenements (slums) in cities Women’s Suffrage Prohibition Child Labor

What is Progressivism?

LimitationsProgressivism for Whites Only

○ Middle-class democratic society○ Social reform aimed at whites only○ Social control embedded in older agrarian solutions

Anti-eastern bias that essentially limited the success of the movement○ Dates back to Reconstruction and the Hogg

Administration (State-wide reform)Failed to keep Texas independent of northern money

SuccessPassed needed regulatory legislation

Texas brand Progressivism

Progressive Themes

Order Efficiency Centralized Management Apply scientific thought to social and

political problems

Progressive Leaders

Progressive = Pragmatic/Practical/Reasonable

Young men and women who entered law, medicine, business, education, and especially, social work

Lots of national associations formed during the Progressive Era

Education became a goal and hallmark of Progressive leaders

Progressive Thinking Modern issues require a modern interpretation

A throwback to PopulismHistorians argue over whether economic or politics

issues greatly influenced this shift in thinking Foner believes that Progressives sought to

reinvigorate an activist, socially conscious governmentRejects the traditional assumption that big

government is badProgressives believe that conservatives and big

business are the problem

Progressive Agenda

Government AssistanceA crucial step towards modern

interpretations of welfare starts in the Progressive Era

Progressive Agenda

State and local governments make effective reformState/local reform was out of sync with

national Progressives, but reform none the less○ Initiative, referendum, and recall

Robert La Follette (Wisconsin) made the state a “lab for democracy”

“City Manager” form of local government○ Galveston was one of the first cities to try this

after the hurricane of 1900

The Galveston Hurricane 8 September 1900 – a category 4 hurricane hit

Galveston In 1890, Galveston boasted it was the “third richest city in

the United States in proportion to population” The greatest natural disaster to ever strike North

AmericaKilled roughly 6,000 citizens (over 8,000 deaths are

attributed to the disaster)Completely devastated Galveston’s government and

economy Galveston’s city leadership adopted the “Commission

Plan” as a result of the hurricane in 1901

Galveston 1890

The Galveston Hurricane

The Galveston Hurricane

The Galveston Hurricane

The Galveston Hurricane

The Galveston Hurricane

The Galveston Hurricane The Commission Plan (Galveston Plan)

City commissioners replaced the elected representatives from specific geographic ward

Designed to bring efficiency to rebuilding GalvestonPut individual commissioners in charge of specific

municipal departmentsThe assembled commission acted as a policy-

making and legislative body Other cities adopted the plan

Houston (1905), Dallas, Fort Worth, and El Paso (1907)

By 1920, 27 other cities adopted it

Social Progressivism

Give the political power back to the peopleGoal of civic harmony to make everyone

happy (sounds great)Immigrants that declare citizenship/loyalty to

the U.S. will gain voting rightsProgressives turned their attention to larger

social problems○ Poverty, bad housing, low wages

Progressive Freedom Labor Movements

American Federation League (AFL) attempted to make ties with progressive corporate leaders that were willing to negotiate with unions

The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) formed from a group of unionists who rejected the AFL’s conciliatory policies to big business

Ethnicity and racial conflicts caused stumbling blocks for labor unity○ However, in some cases, ethnic cohesiveness

proved to be an effective negotiation tactic

Progressive Freedom

Labor MovementsStrikes

○ Lawrence, Kansas strike: workers demanded higher wages to feed consumerist needs

○ New Orleans strike: dockworkers showed interracial solidarity

Labor struggled to fight for rights to assemble and speak freely

Progressive Freedom

Labor MovementsWhy were labor unions angry?

○ Managers in industry were more concerned with effective and timely manufacturing processes than the welfare/morale of workers

○ Children and pregnant women worked an average of 14 hours a day

○ Workers’ compensation for injuries on the job were non-existent

Fordism

The assembly line system becomes commonplace

Henry Ford wanted to standardize output and lower the price of his cars

The moving assembly line revolutionized American industrial production

He paid employees $5.00 a dayWanted them to buys his carsAlso wanted to appease them from striking

Yellow Journalism Muckrakers

A new generation of journalists that wrote primarily for the purpose of exposing the ills of industrialism, commercialism, and urban America○ Published in national magazines such as McClure’s

Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle is a primary example○ This book prompted President Roosevelt to pass the

Meat Inspection Act of 1906Waco’s William Cowper Brann and his battle

against Baylor University is another example

Meat Processing Plant (1910)

Global Immigration

Between 1901 and 1914, 13 million immigrants came to the U.S. via Ellis Island in New York City

Industrial expansion in the U.S. and the decline of agriculture worldwide led to increased immigrationThe U.S. was sheltered from the agricultural

crisis temporarily

Global Immigration Immigrants’ Reasons for Coming to the U.S.

Saw the U.S. as a beacon of freedomSaw the idealism of U.S. culture and the

potential to be a ‘self-made man’Some were temporary workers that came until

the agricultural crisis ended Ethnic communities grow in large, industrial

citiesReligion becomes central to their ethnic

heritage and identity after emigrating

Feminism

Feminism and ProgressivismReform-minded women were middle-class,

college-educated, and devoted to public/social service○ Jane Addams and Hull House in Chicago

They advocated for freedoms such as women’s suffrage, maternalist reform, and birth control

Feminism

Feminism and ProgressivismMaternalism

○ Women pushed to champion their roles within the homeMuller v. Oregon – case that limited women’s work

hours

○ The movement helped inspire and fuel the suffrage movement especially after 1910

○ By 1900, more than half of the United States allowed women to vote in local elections dealing with school issues

Feminism

Feminism and ProgressivismBirth Control Movement

○ Emma Goldman lectured on sexual freedom and promoted birth controlVery radical at the time; she was also an anarchist

and sometimes a socialist

○ Margaret Sanger championed birth control as the heart of the new feminist movement

Birth control became a crucial issue that feminist, labor radicals, and cultural modernists felt compelled to debate

Progressive Overall

It was a double-edged swordMost Americans still retain a nativist/racist

mentality towards ProgressivismSome really do push for true Progressive

reform Progressivism “for whites only” gave rise

to the Ku Klux Klan of the 1920sImmigration becomes the target issue

Progressive Overall Progressivism was challenged by socialism

Late 19th century radicals and anarchists represented a considerable road block to Progressives

These alternative views flourished in diverse ethnic communities in cities like New York City and Milwaukee

Eugene Debs was a significant voice for socialism○ Ran for President in 1912 on the Socialist ticket

Theodore Roosevelt

The first modern presidentComes into office after McKinley was

assassinated by a RussianWas a very fascinating figure; used the

White House as a bully pulpit to push his version of Progressivism

Did little for race relationsHowever, he did let Booker T. Washington

dine at the White House

Theodore Roosevelt Trust Busting

Not as effective as his successor Taft, but gets more credit than any other Progressive president

Roosevelt got his reputation as a trustbuster in 1904 after pushing for the dissolution of Northern Securities○ Railroad holding company owned by J.P. Morgan

and RockefellerCarnegie’s sale of his steel company was a

particular problem to Roosevelt○ U.S. Steel was a bad example; they fixed prices

and wages

Theodore Roosevelt Trust Busting

“Square Deal” – Roosevelt frequently advocated arbitration over violence and strikes○ Used this method when faced with a major coal

strike in 1902Roosevelt saw himself as a broker between

competing interests○ The United Mine Workers went on strike;

Roosevelt invited both parties to the White House to work out their issues

○ Threatened to send the army if the issue could not be resolved

Theodore Roosevelt Foreign Policy

Sailed the U.S. Navy’s “Great White Fleet” around the world○ Political, military, and economic means of

showing off U.S. powerRoosevelt Corollary – extended U.S. efforts to

help Latin American countries○ The Monroe Doctrine still hard at work

Pushed for a treaty that would lead to the construction of the Panama Canal

Mediated conflicts between Russia and Japan

Theodore Roosevelt

Second TermWon in 1904 with 56 percentRoosevelt believed this overwhelming

support meant popular support for Progressive reform

Developed the concept of the modern presidency○ More oversight of big business○ Took a more aggressive stance in foreign

affairs

Theodore Roosevelt

Progressive Legislation in his Second TermHepburn Act – railroad regulation;

strengthened the authority of the Interstate Commerce Commission

The Supreme Court overturned a great deal of his legislationLimited the effectiveness of his Progressive

agenda

Theodore Roosevelt

ConservationRoosevelt was an avid outdoorsmanEstablished the U.S. National Park system

○ Set aside land for future public enjoyment

William Howard Taft Hand picked by Roosevelt to be his

successorEveryone voted for Taft because Roosevelt

supported himRoosevelt was popular and seen as hip, cool,

and effective○ Everyone thought Taft would easily follow suit

Taft was a brilliant Supreme Court justice After taking office, Taft basically went against

everything Roosevelt set up for him to inherit

William Howard Taft

Taft envisioned a passive role for the PresidentWanted Congress to do the majority of the

workAnother throw-back to the Gilded Age

without major business influence

William Howard Taft Payne-Aldrich Tariff

Lowered some tariffs, but left many way too high for Progressives to be happy

General consensus was that the rates set by the Dingley Tariff were way too high○ Especially regarding railroad shipping

Taft was in a bad spot, but he eventually sided with the right-wing conservatives and endorsed the Payne-Aldrich Tariff○ Roosevelt became enraged○ Conservatives quickly forget about Taft after this

Progressives broke ties with Taft○ Hoped that Roosevelt would run for President again in 1912

Taft is stuck in a very precarious position

William Howard Taft

Trust BustingTaft was extremely effective as a trust buster

○ Even busted the trusts that Roosevelt favoredRoosevelt gets so angry that he comes back

to the U.S. from his African safari to speak against Taft

Roosevelt runs against Taft in 1912Forms his own party, the “Bull-Moose Party”

○ Splits Republican support

Election of 1912

Theodore RooseveltRunning under the “Bull-Moose” PartySplits the Republican Party

William Howard TaftRunning as a Republican candidateTakes what little support is left from the

Republicans Woodrow Wilson

Democrat candidateWins the election

Woodrow Wilson Campaigned on a “New Freedom” platform

A socially responsible Progressive agendaPlayed Progressivism from a liberal angle

Was a extremely well-educated manLaw degree, PhD in Political Science and History

from Johns HopkinsGovernor of New Jersey; President of Princeton;

APSA President; only U.S. President to hold a PhD

Played more rounds of golf than any U.S. President; over 1,000 times

Woodrow Wilson

Tariff ReformMoved quick and passed the Underwood

Tariff○ Did what Taft and the Payne-Aldrich Tariff

could not; actually reasonably lower ratesClayton Anti-Trust Act

○ Outlawed unfair trade practices and limited court injunctions against labor unions

○ Basically, big business could not run away labor unions any longer

Established the Federal Trade Commission

Woodrow Wilson

Retreat from ReformBy November 1914, Wilson stated that he

had achieved the goals of “New Freedom”This upset many Progressives who felt there

was more to be done○ Especially upset them after he essentially

breaks with Progressive reform completely after learning of World War I

○ Held to his belief that government should be involved in the debate over social reform though

Woodrow Wilson Reelection in 1916

Reelected in a close raceAdopted a very pragmatic approach to reform

(move toward the middle of the political spectrum)Built up his resume with more reform during the

election○ Federal Farm Loan Act○ Intervened on the side of workers in strikes○ Tried to ban child labor○ Adopted the first progressive income tax○ Supported female suffrage