Chapter 28: Progressivism and the Republican Roosevelt

Chapter 29: Wilsonian Progressivism

at Home and Abroad

The Progressive Era• A new group of reformers appears to

battle the injustices that had come about as a result of industrialization and urbanization

• What were some of the most important problems facing American society in the late 19th Century?

• What are the most important problems facing us in the early 21st Century?

• Any comparisons with the antebellum reformers studied earlier?

Roots of Progressivism• During the Gilded Age and the Industrial Revolution…

social change + political change + economic change an improved society– The Grange = tried to help farmers – Unions = tried to help laborers

• $10 - $12 / week for a 60 – 80 hour work week – women? children?

• The real problem was rooted in the disparity between the rich and poor (we call that “income inequality” these days)– relief was local, unsystematic, dependent on private

charity• Another problem was the industrial domination of political

America – Reforms cost politicians contributions

• Socialism as reform (Debs) vs. socialism as revolution (DeLeon and I.W.W.)

• The social gospel promoted reform based on Christian teachings

What does it mean to be “progressive”? • “progressivism” was not a political party• “progressivism” didn’t just happen in one

part of the country• “progressives” were not the victims• “progressives” did not share one occupation• “progressives” studied specific problems in

specific areas• “progressives” were united in a common

desire to improve society by curbing the monopoly power of big business and improving the common person’s condition

• Thorstein Veblen wrote about “conspicuous consumption” and predatory wealth

• Theodore Dreiser battered profiteers in his novels

The “Muckrakers” • Lincoln Steffens • Ida Tarbell• David Phillips• Ray Stannard Baker• John Spargo• Upton Sinclair

Consumer Rights• The Jungle was written

to focus attention on the plight of the workers, not the food

• President Roosevelt will read that book

• Meat Inspection Act of 1906 will be followed by the Pure Food and Drug Act (Food Defect Action Levels)

• Caveat Emptor (“let the buyer beware”) was no longer the way to conduct business

BOTTLE ALLEY, MULBERRY ROAD BY

JACOB RIIS (HOW THE OTHER HALF LIVES)

• The muckrakers exposed the problems in society

• Progressives in education stressed pragmatism– Test facts, not the rote memorization of facts– Formulate questions and research

• Progressives among the religious practiced the social gospel– The 1st Great Awakening had focused largely on

redeeming the souls of individual sinners– The 2nd Great Awakening had focused on both

the souls of individuals and on social problems such as drinking, prostitution, and slavery

– The Social Gospel focused on the sins of society, such as poverty and inequality, and asked people to seek salvation through building “the Kingdom of God on this earth.”

Ever wonder why, despite all we’ve discussed about the plight of the industrial

class in the U.S., that Socialism

never took hold here?

Where was “the final conflict”

Karl Marx predicted?

There may be a couple reasons…1. Workers either refused or were unable to consider

themselves a class apart from the “upper classes” (no entrenched class consciousness)

2. The safety valve of the western frontier allowed workers to walk away and strike out on their own

‒ The frontier may be “closed” but there were still opportunities to be had

3. Workers enjoyed a remarkably high standard of living despite conditions we’ve described

4. Timing: Americans had achieved political rights and saw no reason to overturn the structure (In other countries, political AND economic rights/opportunities were fought for together )

Political Progressivism

• Political power to the people would undercut the grip of corrupt politicians– Initiative, referendum,

recall, secret ballot• Limits were placed on

campaign contributionsand “gifts” from corporations

• 17th Amendment

Progressivism in the Cities and the States• In Galveston, an expert

staffed commission is electedto run the city (finance, publicsafety, public works)

• In Staunton, Virginia a city-manageris “hired” by an elected council

• Cities took charge of slums, water supplies, power grids, public transportation

• Gov. “Fighting Bob” LaFollette makesWisconsin the “Laboratory of Democracy”

Women in the Progressive Movement• Remember the record of previous women

reformers– Jane Addams and settlement houses (Hull House)– Carrie Nation and temperance

• Florence Kelley took control of the National Consumers’ League – Muller v. Oregon protected women workers

(would be viewed differently now)• However, Lochner v. New York invalidated a

10-hour workday law (would itself later be overturned)– Progressives didn’t always get their way

Women in the Progressive Movement

• Hours were regulated• Conditions in shops were more closely

monitored• Workers’ compensation laws appeared• The W.C.T.U. fought for “dry laws”

– Not popular in big cities with immigrants– Eventually the 18th amendment will pass in 1919

• When 146 workers die at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in NYC (mostly women), sweatshop regulations were tightened

The Triangle Factory Fire• 1911 in NYC

172 children, 2 teachers and 1

rescuer perished in the

fire in Cleveland

T.R.’s Square Deal for Labor

• Tested in the anthracite coalmines of Pennsylvania– Striking workers caused shortages

across the U.S. in 1902– TR threatened to call out

federal troops to seize the mines from the capitalists NOT to force labor back to work

• 1903 the Department of Labor & Commerce is created

Roosevelt the Trust Buster

Roosevelt the Environmentalist &

Other Reforms• 1891: Forest Reserve Act sets

aside 46 million forest acres (start)• 1902: Newlands Reclamation Act

to irrigate the desert southwest• Believed in “multiple-use

conservation”• TR will set aside 125 million acres

for federal reserves• Sierra Club is formed in 1892• 1907: Boy Scouts formed

The Panic of 1907• Many blamed “Theodore the Meddler”• TR blamed the “malefactors of great wealth”• Regardless, new economic reforms were

begun– The Aldrich-Vreeland Act authorized national

banks to issue emergency currency– This will pave the way for the Federal Reserve

Act later• Chooses not to run in 1908 and his “hand-

picked” successor, W.H. Taft, defeats William Jennings Bryan

• TR is only 51 when he leaves office

Theodore Roosevelt’s Legacy• Ushers in an age of reform• Wildly popular and energetic and not afraid to

be a “lightning rod” for government action• Steered the government on a middle road

between laissez-faire individualism and paternalistic collectivism

• Increased the power and prestige of the office• Used a “big stick” for political gains, too• His “Square Deal” could be considered the

grandfather of the “New Deal”• America takes its place on the world stage

William Howard Taft• A “mild” progressive content with

the status quo• Expand and strengthen an American

presence abroad using the almighty dollar to supplant the big stick (sometimes referred to as “dollar diplomacy”)

• The U.S. (thanks to the MonroeDoctrine) had to put its money (and military) where its mouth was in Honduras, Haiti, the Dom. Rep. and Nicaragua (remember the Roosevelt Corollary?) to protect investments and keep foreign nations from intervening

Taft the Trust Buster• 90 suits against trusts in 4 years vs. only 44

for TR in 7 ½ years• 1911: the Standard Oil Trust is dissolved• Taft tried to go after the U.S. Steel Corp. as

well (TR was involved in U.S. Steel)• Taft supported conservationism (created the

Bureau of Mines) but also opened up public land to corporate interests (upsetting TR)

• Republicans lose badly in the Congressional elections of 1910 with a presidential election on its way

CHAPTER 29: WILSONIAN PROGRESSIVISM AT

HOME AND ABROADA good time to ponder…write your

introductory paragraph for this FRQ:

Evaluate the effectiveness of Progressive Era reformers and the federal government in bringing about reform at the national level. In your answer be sure to analyze the successes and limitations of these efforts in the period 1900 – 1920.

The Election of 1912• Woodrow Wilson ran for the Democrats

—New Freedom (stronger anti-trust legislation, banking reform, tariff reductions)

• Theodore Roosevelt ran as a Bull Moose (Progressive Party)– New Nationalism (regulatory agencies, women’s

suffrage, minimum wage laws)– A kind of activist welfare state

(FDR? New Deal?)• William Howard Taft (G.O.P.)

Woodrow Wilson: A Minority (and Idealist) President

• He only won 41% of the popular vote

• Democrats win a majority in Congress

• Son of a minister, shared Jefferson’s faith in the masses

• President of Princeton, Governor of New Jersey• Believed the executive had a dynamic role to

play over Congress• Moral righteousness ≠ Compromise

Wilson’s Legislative Agenda• Underwood Tariff (substantial reduction)• 16th Amendment = graduated income tax• Federal Reserve Act (The “Fed”)

– Created a nationwide system of 12 banks to be overseen by the Federal Reserve Board

– “Bankers’ banks” to monitor currency

• Federal Trade Commission to root out unfair trade practices, unlawful competition and false advertising

Wilson’s Legislative Agenda• Clayton Anti-Trust Act

– Further strengthened the Sherman Anti-Trust Act– Exempts labor from “restraint of trade”

prosecution– Hailed by Gompers as the Magna Carta of labor

• Workingmen’s Compensation for aid during periods of disability

• Railroad workers get an 8 hour workday thanks to the Adamson Act

• Louis Brandeis will be the first Jewish member of the Supreme Court

The Foreign Policy of Wilson• Wilson hated imperialism and was suspicious of Wall

Street• Had to dispatch marines to Haiti• Sent marines to the Dominican Republic• Purchased the Virgin Islands from Denmark• Sent weapons to Mexico to unseat the hated Huerta

– “I am going to teach the South American republics to elect good men!”

– Landed the Navy at Veracruz to protect our interests

• Sends Black Jack Pershing to capture Pancho Villa• If we remember TR for “Big Stick Diplomacy” we

remember WW for “Moral Diplomacy”

But in 1914, World War I begins and the

attention of the United States moves

across the Atlantic