Lecture 2: The Gilded Age and Progressive Era History 2020, United States History 2.
Gilded Age – Progressive Era
-
Upload
sopoline-mendoza -
Category
Documents
-
view
36 -
download
0
description
Transcript of Gilded Age – Progressive Era
Gilded Age – Progressive Era
Gilded Age
• Gilded – cheap center covered w/ thin layer of gold (Mark Twain)
• Gov’t followed Laissez – Faire policies
• 1877-1900
Political Party Differences
Republican
• Gold based $
• High Tariffs
• $ for Union soldiers
• Aid to RR
• Limits on Immigrants
• Enforce Blue Laws
Democrat
• Silver based $
• Lower Tariffs
• High farm prices
• Less aid to RR
• Fewer Blue Laws
Presidents of the Gilded Age
Rutherford Hayes
• Republican
• Ended Reconstruction
• Reformed Spoils System
Presidents of the Gilded Age
James A Garfield
• Republican
• Killed by a lawyer, Charles Guiteau
Presidents of the Gilded Age
Chester Arthur
• Republican
• Created Civil Service Commission
• Check qualifications
Presidents of the Gilded Age
Grover Cleveland
• Democrat
• Gov’t control over RR
Presidents of the Gilded Age
Benjamin Harrison
• Republican
• Sherman Anti Trust Act
• Country begins a Depression
Presidents of the Gilded Age
Grover Cleveland
• Democrat
• Stops Pullman Strike
• Only Prez elected twice not in a row!
Presidents of the Gilded Age
William McKinley
• Republican
• Increases US Tariffs
• Supported the Gold Standard
Presidents of the Gilded Age
William McKinley• Spanish –
American War• Annexation of
Hawaii• Killed during 2nd
term – Leon Czolgosz
Progressive Era
• 1890-1920
• A variety of reforms were enacted at all levels
• Many Progressives believed that political action and reform were required for progress in society.
Progressives were not a single unified movement. Their efforts fell into four
categories:
The Progressives: Their Goals and Beliefs
Social Reform
Moral Reform
Economic Reform
Political Reform
Social Reform
Government should be givenexpanded powers so that it couldbecome more active in improvingthe lives of its citizens.
Social Reform Examples
1.Women’s rights–Suffrage (voting)
–Owning Property
–Divorce
–Clothing
–Birth Control
Women’s Reform Leaders
• Susan B Anthony – activist who worked towards gaining suffrage for women– Created National
American Woman
Suffrage Association
(NAWSA)
Women’s Reform Leaders
• Florence Kelley – activist who worked towards gaining better working conditions
Women’s Reform Leaders
• Alice Paul – radical activist who worked towards gaining suffrage for women– Created Congressional
Union (CU): wanted an
Amendment giving
Women right to vote
Social Reform Examples2. Protection of the Environment
– Antiquities Act of 1906» Allows President to designate National
Monuments» Protect and Preserve Wildlife Areas
3. Tenement Life
Over Crowding of the Cities
Poor Living Conditions
Unsanitary Conditions
Social Reform Examples
Social Reform Examples4. Unsafe working conditions and Child
Labor
– Fewer Hours
– Higher Wages
– Safer Factories
– Unions
• The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory operated on the top 3 floors of the 10 story Asch Building in New York City
• Notice that the tallest ladders owned by the fire department only reach the 6th floor
• In 1911, Unsafe working
conditions lead to a deadly fire
• Rather than burn alive in the swift moving fire, many women jump from windows
• This is actually a photo of the building after the fire! Note how there is very little damage on the outside of the building
•
Eight months after the fire, a jury acquitted the factory owners, of any wrong doing.
• Twenty-three individual civil suits were brought against the owners of the Asch building. On March 11, 1913, three years after the fire, the owners settled. They paid 75 dollars per life lost.
• This tragedy led to a push for comprehensive safety and workers compensation laws.
Social ReformExamples
5. Safer Medicines– Restriction of Harmful
Drugs– Proper Labeling – Government Approval of
Future Drugs/Medicines
Patent MedicinesPatent Medicines
• Medicines at the turn of the century did not require a
prescription.
• Making exaggerated claims, they were used for a variety of ailments.
• Many contained dangerous ingredients.
Cocaine was a common ingredient – even for children's medicines
Notice it's from the makers of Bayer Aspirin...
Social Reform Examples
6. Safer Food– Government Inspection of
Food– Proper Labeling
– Cleanliness
Have you read “The Jungle”?
yuck.
The Jungle
• Written by Upton Sinclair
• Talks about the horrors of the meat packing industry
Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906
Created Food and Drug Administration, responsibility of testing all foods and drugs destined for human consumption
The requirement for prescriptions from licensed physicians before a patient could purchase certain drugs
The requirement of label warnings on habit-forming drugs.
Meat Inspection Act of 1906
All animals were required to pass an inspection by the FDA prior to slaughter
All carcasses were subject to a post-mortem inspection
Cleanliness standards were established for slaughterhouses and processing plants.
Social Reform Examples
7. Civil Rights MovementAfrican Americans were still fighting for basic rights guaranteed them in the Constitution
Problems African Americans fought Against
• Voter Restrictions– Poll Tax – Pay a fee to vote
– Literacy Test – prove you could read & write to vote
– Grandfather Clause – exempts a group of people from obeying a law provided they met certain conditions before law was passed
Problems African Americans fought Against
• Jim Crow Laws – System of laws that segregated public services by race
Problems African Americans fought Against
• Plessy v. Ferguson – “Separate but Equal”– Supreme Court ruled
against Homer Plessy saying segregation was legal as long as separate facilities were equal
Problems African Americans fought Against
• Lynching – mob’s illegal seizure & execution of a person, usually by hanging
African American Leaders
• Booker T. Washington – encouraged African Am. To become educated & learn a trade
African American Leaders
• WEB DuBois – encouraged African Am. To attend college & become leaders; Also started NAACP
African American Leaders
• NAACP – National Association for the Advancement of Colored People–Worked through courts to gain
equal rights for African Am.
Moral ReformMany felt the Morals of our society were at the
root of many turn of the century problems. - Moral Reformers sought to promote Moral
Improvements:
• End Prostitution• End Gambling• End Drunkenness
• Education for Children
• Americanization and Restriction of Immigrants
Economic Reformers sought to curb the power and influence of wealthy interests.
Economic Reform
» Monopolies» Trusts» Gap between Rich
and Poor
• Governments should become more efficient and less corrupt so that they can competently handle an expanded role.
Political Reformers demanded Political Honesty and Accountability
» Patronage/Spoils System» Only Politicians can introduce bills» Only Legislatures can pass laws» Only Courts can remove corrupt officials» Political Machines» Bribery
Political Reform
• The giving of jobs or other political favors to supporters – even if they are not qualified
• Even Presidents did it! …until…
Patronage
Progressive Political Reforms
BEFORE
• Party leaders chose candidates for state & local offices
AFTER
• Direct Primaries – Voters select their party’s candidates
Progressive Political Reforms
BEFORE
• State legislature chose US Senators
AFTER
• 17th Amendment – US Senators are elected by popular vote
Progressive Political Reforms
BEFORE
• Only members of state legislature can introduce bills
AFTER
• Initiative – Voters can put bills before the legislation
Progressive Political Reforms
BEFORE
• Only legislatures pass laws
AFTER
• Referendum – voters can vote on bills directly
• DE voters control raising school taxes
Progressive Political Reforms
BEFORE
• Only courts or legislature can remove corrupt officials
AFTER
• Recall – voters can remove elected officials from office
Progressive Political Reforms
MUCKRAKERS• Journalists that exposed turn of the
century problems such as illegal business activities, putrid food, quack medicines, squalid living conditions, dangerous working conditions, etc.
• The uncovering of these awful truths led progressives to demand changes.
• Exposed the shameful living conditions in city tenements
• Exposed Big City Political Corruption
• Exposed the ruthless practices of big business
• Exposed the horrors of the meatpacking industry
• The Jungle
• History of Standard Oil
SOME FAMOUS MUCKRAKERS
• How the Other Half Lives
• Ida Tarbell• Lincoln
Steffens
• Shame of the Cities
• Jacob Riis
• Upton Sinclair
Progressive Presidents
Theodore Roosevelt
• Republican
• Youngest Prez
• Took office after McKinley is shot
Progressive Presidents
• Led the fight to dissolve 40 monopolies as a “trust buster“
• “Square Deal" promised a fair shake for the average citizen, including:– regulation of railroad rates and pure foods
and drugs. – promotion of the conservation movement,
emphasizing efficient use of natural resources.
Progressive Presidents
William H Taft
• Republican
• Promised to continue TR’s ideas
• Tried but lacked TR’s energy
Progressive Presidents
• Interstate Commerce Commission was directed to set railroad rates.
• Initiated 80 antitrust suits
• Submitted to the states amendments for a Federal income tax and the direct election of Senators.
Progressive Presidents
• Ballinger-Pinchot Affair
• Gifford Pinchot – Head of Forest Service
• Richard Ballinger – Sec. of Interior
• Pinchot accused Ballinger of taking bribes for mining rights in Alaska
• Taft fired Pinchot!
Progressive Presidents
• Progressive Republicans are upset w/ Taft & want TR back
• TR loses in the primaries so he creates his own political party
• Progressive Party aka Bull Moose Party
Election of 1912
• Rep – William Taft
• Dem – Woodrow Wilson
• Prog – Teddy Roosevelt
Wilson Wins!!!!Candidate Popular Vote Electoral Vote
Wilson 6,296, 547 435
Roosevelt 4,118,571 88
Taft 3,486,720 8
Other 1,135,637 None
Progressive Presidents
Woodrow Wilson
• Democrat
• Continued Progressivism
• Prez during WWI
Progressive Presidents
• Anti-trust legislation established a Federal Trade Commission to prohibit unfair business practices.
• Laws prohibiting child labor; another limited railroad workers to an eight-hour day.
• Lowered Tariffs
Progressive Presidents
• Louis Brandeis – 1st Jewish Supreme Court Justice
• Dept. of Labor
• Women’s Bureau
Progressive Presidents
• 16th Amendment – Congress can levy income taxes
• 17th Amendment – Direct Election of Senators
• 18th Amendment – Prohibition of Alcohol
• 19th Amendment – Women’s Suffrage