CHAPTER 21 THE PROGRESSIVE ERA AND GILDED

AGE1868-1920

THE GILDED AGE

The phrase, The Gilded Age, highlights the inequality between wealthy business owners and workers who labored under terrible conditions

Politics during this age were corrupt (guilty of dishonest practices) City and county politics were influenced by political machines

(powerful organizations that used both legal and illegal methods to get their candidates elected to public office)

TAMMANY HALL

New York City’s corrupt political machine After winning city elections in 1888, Tammany Hall rewarded its

supporters with over 12,000 jobs William Marcy Tweed (“Boss Tweed”) stole up $200 million from NYC Spoils system = practice of giving jobs to your political supporters The spoils system helped many untrained and unqualified workers get

government jobs

CONFRONTING CORRUPTION

Politicians in Washington, D.C. fought corruption They passed a law that established a new system for

granting federal jobs One law was the Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883 -

required applicants to pass an exam in order to be hired

MUCKRAKERS

This was the nickname for journalists because they “raked up” and exposed the muck, or filth, of society

They united the Progressive Movement because their writings brought many social and economic issues to the public eye

They helped fight crime, disease, and poverty Progressive = making reforms (changes) that improve

conditions

PROGRESSIVE REFORMS

City planners helped the urban poor by designing safer building codes and opening new public parks

John Dewey’s educational reforms wanted to give children critical thinking and problem-solving skills that would help them in everyday settings

Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) – banned the sale and transport of mislabeled or contaminated food and drugs

VOTING REFORMS

Seventeenth Amendment – Americans can vote directly for U.S. senators instead of having state legislatures vote for them

Referendum – some states allowed voters to overrule a law that the government had proposed or passed

Recall –allowed voters to sign a petition in order to remove a corrupt politician before his term ended

Initiative – allowed voters to propose a new law by collection signatures on a petition

CHILD LABOR

Federal courts banned interstate shipments of products made with child labor

Child labor continued even after reforms of the 1910s because poor families needed the income

Workplace laws passed as a result of the Progressive movement eased reformers’ minds but were not always enforced

TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FIRE

New York City, March 25, 1911 A fire started on the eighth floor of the factory Workers tried to escape, but factory owners had locked exit doors to

reduce theft so146 workers died Effect – this event led to the passage of laws improving factory safety

standards Reformers also fought for workers’ compensation laws which

guaranteed a portion of lost wages to workers injured on the job

CAPITALISM AND SOCIALISM

Capitalism = an economic system in which private businesses run most industries and competition determines the price of goods

Socialism = system in which the government owns and operates a country’s means of production

Major difference - under socialism, the government owns the factories and raw materials

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) – socialist labor union that wanted to overthrow capitalism in the U.S.; it failed

MULLER V. OREGON

Supreme Court decided that it could uphold a law limiting women’s working hours

Supreme Court decided that women’s health was a matter of public concern

TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT

Reformers blamed many of society’s problems, such as family violence and criminal behavior, on alcohol

Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) – their task was to pass local and state laws restricting the sale of alcohol

Eighteenth Amendment (1919) – banned the production, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages throughout the U.S.

WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE

Suffrage = the right to vote Business leaders were opposed to granting women t he right to vote

because they feared women would support minimum wage and child labor laws

In 1890, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony founded the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)

Nineteenth Amendment (1919) – granted American women the right to vote in federal elections

AFRICAN AMERICANS

Booker T. Washington – encouraged African Americans to fight discrimination by improving their economic and educational opportunities

W.E.B. Du Bois – believed African Americans should protest unjust treatment and demand equal rights

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) – called for economic and educational equality for blacks

NAACP used the court system to fight against grandfather clauses

OTHER MINORITY GROUPS

Native Americans felt torn about accepting aid from the Progressive movement because they did not want to adopt white culture

The main reason for the rise in Mexican immigration between 1901 and 1930 is that Mexicans could cross the U.S. birder easily

Chinese immigrants created community associations that provided services

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

Became the 26th President in 1901 Square Deal – his idea for balancing the interests of

consumers, laborers, and businesspeople He helped the conservation movement (protecting nature

and its resources) by doubling the number of national parks and creating wildlife reservations

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Became the 27th President in 1909 His reforms angered Progressives because he moved cautiously

against big business Progressives wanted Taft to be stricter with big business Taft criticized Roosevelt by stating that Roosevelt claimed more power

for his presidency than the Constitution allowed He lost the support of the Progressives because he failed to reduce all

tariffs (tax on imported goods) and lower prices for consumers

WOODROW WILSON

Became the 28th President in 1913 He made banking reforms and revised tariffsUnderwood Tariff Act of 1913 – lowered tariffs Federal Reserve Act of 1913 – created the Federal

Reserve to regulate the economy