PROGRESSIVE ERA

1889-1920

Muckrakers

•Name applied in 1906 by Pres. Theodore Roosevelt to a group of

journalists who exposed the abuses of power and corruption in American

political and business life.

•They were largely responsible for mobilizing public opinion in favor of

the progressive reform of the period.

Upton Sinclair - The Jungle

IDA TARBELL - HISTORY OF THE STANDARD OIL CO.

FRANK NORRIS - THE OCTOPUS

Lincoln Steffens - The Shame of the Cities

Jacob Riis - How the Other Half Lives

Ida B Wells Barnett - The Color Line

Goals of Progressivism

1. Protecting Social Welfarea. Worked to soften some of the harsh conditions of

industrialization b. Social gospel – preached salvation through service to the

poorc. Settlement house movement – community centers in

slum neighborhoods that provided assistance to people in the area

1. Health care2. Education

3. Jobs4. Language classes

5. Etc.

2. Promoting Moral Improvement:

• Wanted people to uplift themselves by improving their personal behaviors

• Ex. Prohibition Movement (ban alcoholic beverages)• 1872 WCTU – spearheaded the movement

• By 1911 - 245,000 members• Group did much more than fight for prohibition:

a. Worked for suffrageb. Visited prisoners and asylums

c. Opened Kindergartens for immigrants

3. Creating Economic Reform

•Big business often received favorable treatment from government officials and could use its

economic power to limit competition.

4.Fostering Efficiency

•Put their faith into experts and scientific principles to make society and the workplace

more efficient.•Ex. Muller v Oregon

•Justice Brandeis used data produced by social scientists to show how working long hours

affected women and thus cost society.

•Scientific management - time and motion studies to improve efficiency by breaking manufacturing tasks

into simple parts “Taylorism”

Reforms for Children, Workers, and Voters

1. Movement for Social Justicea. Settlement House Movement - located in immigrant

neighborhoods• Provided services to those in the community

• Taught English• Arts• Music

• Children’s activities• Health care

• Help with finding jobs• Etc.

• Jane Adams – 1889 – Hull House - Chicago

Jane Adams Hull House

Lillian Wald Henry Street Library

b. Child labor laws by 1914 every state had laws “on the books”

• 1916 – Keating Owen Act – prohibited the shipment of products made with child labor,

Ruled unconstitutional in 1918.

• 1924 – child labor amendment was approved by Congress but was not ratified by the

required three-fourths states

• 1938 – Fair Labor Standards Act - abolished child labor in interstate industries.

2. Movement to Regulate Business and Labor

A. Lochner v. New York (1905)A New York state law ruled that bakery workers could not

work more than 60 hours a week including overtime.

Court declared the law illegal – denied businesses due process.

B. Muller v. Oregon (1908)An Oregon law prevented women from working more

than 10 hours a day.

Court declared the law constitutional.Used scientific studies for first time to help make

decision.

3. Reforms in the Election Process

a. Initiative b. Referendum

c. Recalld. Primaries

e. Secret Ballot

Many of these reforms were the results of the Populists platform.

Wisconsin became known as the “Progressive State” and Governor Robert LaFollette was known as the “father of

Progressivism”.

President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)

Roosevelt was a conservative, but did not hesitate to use the power of the presidency to deal directly with

social and economic problems.

Saw his job as one of stewardship - responsible for the welfare of all.

Domestic policy became know as the“Square Deal”

Reforms fell into three categories:

1. Regulating Business:

A. Reputation as a “trust buster”Broke up over 40 trusts during his administration.

Saw a difference in a “good trust” and a “bad trust”Felt that size did not immediately make a business bad.

B. Northern Securities v. U.S. Northern Securities was a holding company – controlled

the railroad system of the Pacific Northwest in 1904.

Supreme Court ruled that the holding company had to be dissolved because it was in restraint of trade.

C. Coal Strike:

• Roosevelt called labor members and owners to a meeting to settle the strike

D. Court cases

• Lochner v. New York - 1905• Muller v. Oregon – 1908

E. Legislation

• Elkins Act – 1903 - barred rebates• Hepburn Act – 1906 – gave Interstate Commerce

Commission power to nullify unreasonable railroad rates.

•Commerce Dept. founded – 1903

2. Protecting the Consumer

• Meat Inspection Act – 1906 - est. health and sanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry.

• Pure Food and Drug Act – 1906 - banned harmful additives in food and misleading advertisement.

3. Conserving Natural Resources

• Newlands Reclamation Act – 1902 – provided that money from the sale of desert land in the West be

used to finance irrigation projects.

•Forest Homestead Act – 1906 – opened up certain forest lands for agricultural use.

•Inland Waterways Act – 1907 – provided for the appointment of a commission to study the use of the

nation’s major rivers

•National Park System - established with Gifford Pinchot as the head.

•Antiquities Act – 1906 – Provided that sites of historic and/or scientific interest be placed under national

protection

•1907 – barred the cutting of trees on 150million acres •Of government timberland

William Howard Taft - 1909-1912

Broke up over 90 trusts while he was President.Most significant case was –Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v U.S. (1911)

- court ruled that monopoly should be dissolved.

Mann-Elkins Act – 1910gave the ICC the power to regulate

communication by telephone and telegraph.

Sixteenth Amendment - gave power to Congress to impose a graduated income tax.

Taft managed to alienate most Progressives when he did the following:

1. Payne-Aldrich Act of 1909 - raised the tariff to a higher rate. He did not back this – but he did not stand up to Congress in order to defeat it.

2. Fired Gifford Pinchot - Pinchot was ahead of the Forest Service. The Sec’t.of the Interior had illegally allowed business interests to have protected landin Alaska. Pinchott complained and wasfired.

Election of 1908

Republican - William Howard Taft

Democrat - Woodrow Wilson

Progressive - Theodore Roosevelt

With Roosevelt running on a third party the Republican Party’s votes were split and that allowed for Wilson to win the election.

Woodrow Wilson - 1912-1920

Domestic Policy was call “New Freedom”

Financial Reforms:1. Graduated Income Tax - 16th Amend.

2. Federal Reserve System - a nationalbanking system.Country is divided into 12 districts witheach having a Federal Reserve bank.

Federal Reserve Districts

Federal Government could now:

1. issue new, sound currency

2. control the amount of money incirculation and the interest rates

3. shift money from one bank to anotheras needed

By raising the interest rates the Gov’t. can Stimulate consumer spending in times of recession or raise interest rates to control inflation.

Business Regulation:

1. Federal Trade Commission Act - 1914-aimed at preventing unfair competition.ex. Investigate false advertising and mis-labeling.

2. Clayton Antitrust Act - 1914-strengthened the gov’t’s power to controlbusiness practices that threatened competition.ex. Prohibits companies from price fixingor buying stocks in competing companies.

Other Reforms under Wilson:

1. The Adamson Act - 1916 - 8 hr. work-day for railroad workers.2. Federal Farm Loan Act for Farmers -1916-low-interest loans for farmers3. Keating-Owen Child Labor Act - 19164. 18th Amendment - 1919-prohibited the manufacturing, transporting,and selling of alcohol.5. 19th Amendment - 1920 -gave women the right to vote.

Progressive Era ended with the beginning of WWI.