Progressivism, 1890-1920I. Social Crises

A. Fruits of IndustrialismB. Urban LifeC. Class WarfareD. Inadequate Government

II. Character of Progressive MovementA. New Middle ClassB. Principles—public, science,

investigation, efficiencyIII. Solutions

A. Federal ActionB. Local Reform

IV. Problems with ProgressivismA. ArroganceB. Paternalism/ Ethnocentricity

Industrialization•Dangerous Machinery

– Industrial Accidents

– Disasters • Boston Molasses Flood of

1919

•Poverty– Urban Industrial Workers– Child Labor

•Corporate Power– Robber Barons

Urbanization

Health• In 1900:

– 8,000 0-4 year-olds die annually

– Odds of surviving to age five were only 75%

• Note prevalence of infectious diseases

Cause Number Rate % of total Total (All Causes) 24,941 147 100.0All other causes not here specified 6,897 41 27.7Pneumonia (all forms) 3,389 20 13.6Tuberculosis 2,954 17 11.8Pulmonary Tuberculosis 2,599 15 10.4All Heart Disease 1,893 11 7.6All Accidents 1,119 7 4.5Brights Disease(all Nephritis) 1,117 7 4.5Bronchitis 1,105 7 4.5Cancer 954 6 3.8Diphtheria & Croup 840 5 3.4Diarrhea 777 5 3.1Marasmus, infantile (malnutrition) 636 4 2.6Old Age 431 3 1.7All Suicides 356 2 1.4Typhoid fever 337 2 1.4Whooping Cough 285 2 1.1Paralysis 248 2 1Appendicitis 233 1 0.9Scarlet fever 226 1 0.9Measles 194 1 0.8Cirrhosis of the Liver 193 1 0.8Influenza 160 1 0.6Alcoholism 155 1 0.6Homicides 102 1 0.4

Selected Causes of Death in 1900 in Chicago

Urban Vice

Saloons– 8,000 bars in

Chicago

Prostitution– 1,000

brothels– 6,000

prostitutes– 2,000 arrests– $60M in

annual revenue

Denver Brothel, 1895

Class Warfare

• Increasing union activity:– 1897: 447,000 members, 1,110 disputes – 1905: 2,022,300 members, 2,186

disputes

Chicago Teamsters’ strike of 1905

Leaders

Weak National Government

• 1913: FG spends 2.5% of GNP (22.5% today)• Few federal programs, regulations, or

employees• FG is smaller than some corporations

Real Per Capita Expenditures, 1800-1990, in constant dollars

Political Machine

s• Immigrant

constituents– 13 M people of

foreign stock in Chicago

– 587,112 foreign born

– Catholics from Germany, Ireland, Poland, Italy, and Bohemia

Laissez-Faire• Courts use

14th Am. to strike down state laws:– Protecting

workers– Regulatin

g business

• Lochner v. New York (1905)– Bakers 10

hour law

The New Middle Class

Legal Education

• 1870: – 28 law

schools– 1,600

students

• 1900:– 100 law

schools– 13,000

studentsIllinois State Bar Association, Chicago 1909

Science and Expertise

• Chicago Sanitary Canal (1885-1900)—28 mi. canal linking the Chicago River with the Des Plaines River at Lockport, Illinois

• Reverse the flow of the Chicago River away from Lake Michigan in order to halt pollution of the lake waters by the city's sewage

Investigation

• Muckraking– Weekly Magazines– Investigative journalism

• Social Science– Study urban industrial

conditions• Work Accidents and the Law

(1910)

– Many journals founded between 1886 and 1910

Ida Tarbell Upton Sinclair

Crystal Eastman

Efficiency

• Scientific Management– Time-Motion Study– Piece Work

Gilbreth’s shaving experiment

The Progressive Presidents

• Elite, educated, and intellectual• Extend federal power over business• Conservative undercurrents-- race and

class

Teddy Roosevelt, 1901-9Wm. H. Taft, 1909-1913Woodrow Wilson, 1913-1921

Controlling Corporations

• Populist Precursors– ICC Act (1887)– Sherman Act (1890)

• State Experiments– WI: Robert

LaFollette

• Railroads– Elkins Act (1903)– Hepburn Act (1906)

• Interstate Commerce– FTC Act (1914)– Clayton Act (1914)

Lawmaking• Workers (state laws)

– Accident Insurance– Factory Inspection– Sixteen states limit

women’s hours and wages

• Vice– Mann Act (1910)– Prohibition (1919)

• Political Reform– Election of Senators– Secret Ballot– Women’s Suffrage

• Conservation– National Parks

• Consumers– Pure Food and Drug Act

New Local Institutions

• Settlement Houses– private agencies offering relief, culture, and

education

• Specialized Courts for juveniles, family disputes

Jane Addams

Hull House

Basic Government• City

Charters

• Sewage and Water Reform– Bring water

companies under public control

Public Bath for Men in Chicago

Dark Side

• Ethnocentrism– Prohibition

• Racism– Segregatio

n

• Eugenics– US mental hospitals perform

3,233 eugenic sterilizations between 1907 and 1921