Progressivism 1900-1920

Progressivism 1900-1920ProgressivesWho were they?Small business ownersTeachers and social workersReform minded politiciansRoots of ProgressivismImmigrationTenementsSanitationLabor disputesChild laborGoal 7 fixes Goal 5

4The Media Exposes Americas ProblemsNewspapers, Magazines, and BooksExposed the problems of industrial society

MuckrakersMuckrakers were journalists and activists whose goal was to expose corruption and societal problems Upton Sinclair- The JungleIda Tarbell- The History of The Standard Oil Co.Lincoln Steffens- The Shame of the CitiesJacob Riis- How the Other Half Lives

Upton SinclairThe JungleDescribed the filthy conditions in the meat packing industryLed to the passage of the federal Meat Inspection Act & the Pure Food and Drug Act

Excerpt from the Jungleold sausage that had been rejected, and that was moldy and white it would be dosed with borax and glycerin, and dumped into the hoppers, and made over again for home consumption. There would be meat that had tumbled out on the floor, in the dirt and sawdust, where the workers had tramped and spit uncounted billions of consumption germs. There would be meat stored in great piles in rooms; and the water from leaky roofs would drip over it, and thousands of rats would race about on it. It was too dark in these storage places to see well, but a man could run his hand over these piles of meat and sweep off handfuls of the dried dung of rats. These rats were nuisances, and the packers would put poisoned bread out for them; they would die, and then rats, bread, and meat would go into the hoppers together the meat would be shoveled into carts, and the man who did the shoveling would not trouble to lift out a rat even when he saw one there were things that went into the sausage in comparison with which a poisoned rat was a tidbit.

Ida TarbellExposed Standard Oil Company as a monopoly

Lincoln SteffensHe wrote the influential book The Shame of the CitiesExposed how corrupt most U.S. cities were

A bribe is bad, that is, it is a bad thing to take; but it is not so bad to give one, not if it is necessary to my business. Business is business is not a political sentiment, but our politician has caught it. He takes essentially the same view of the bribe, only he saves his self-respect by piling all his contempt upon the bribe-giver, and he has the great advantage of candor. It is wrong, maybe, he says, but if a rich merchant can afford to do business with me for the sake of a convenience or to increase his already great wealth, I can afford, for the sake of a living, to meet him half way. I make no pretensions to virtue, not even on Sunday. And as for giving bad government or good, how about the merchant who gives bad goods or good goods, according to the demand?

Jacob RiisDocumented poverty in the tenementsFlash photographyHow the Other Half Lives

Reform began at local and state levels

municipal and state reformState LevelRobert La FolletteWisconsin IdeaIdeas and legislation aimed at reforming politics & educationMany states begin adopting measures that reform the political process

State Level ReformsSecret Ballot: no on can known how a citizen votedInitiative: this allowed the voting public to petition state government to consider bills wanted by the peopleReferendum: gave the voters the right to decide if a proposed state law should be passedRecall: voters have the right to remove elected representatives from officeDirect Primary: candidates for office are chosen by the voters instead of politicians or bossesReform at the National LevelProgressive PresidentsTheodore Roosevelt--26th (1901-1909)William Howard Taft--27th (1909-1913)Woodrow Wilson--28th (1913-1921)

Teddy RooseveltRepublican (in name only)Wealthy NY FamilyStarted in politics in age 23Ass. Secretary of Navy under McKinleyPresident age 43Energetic, charismatic, diplomatic, religiousSquare DealDomestic policy to protect common people from big business

Square Deal"When I say I believe in a square deal I do not mean . . . to give every man the best hand. If the cards do not come to any man, or if they do come, and he has not got the power to play them, that is his affair. All I mean is that there shall be no crookedness in the dealing."

Square Deal Legislation-Newlands Reclamation Act1902-Mediation of Coal Strike1902-Elkins Act1903Increased RR regulationstrengthened the Interstate Commerce Act-Hepburn Act1906Increased RR regulationFed. govt can set RR rates, and authority of ICC increased-Pure Food and Drug Act1906 (AMENDED 1911)-Meat Inspection Act1906-National Conservation Commission: Gifford Pinchot conservationist 1908

Coal Strike 1902Penn. Coal miners went on strike(higher pay, shorter hours, recognize union)Panic-fear of no coal in winterTR unprecedentedly calls for an arbitrationConflict settled, miners returned to work

Reclamation (Newlands) Act of 1902The bill allowed the government to undertake irrigation projects to establish farms for relief of urban congestion.Named for Francis Griffith Newlands

Elkins Act 1903forbade the railroad carriers from giving large and powerful clients rebates on their shipments. Those were the rebates which differed from the published freight tariffs. double effect: it allowed the railroads to set their rates according to market conditions, and it enlarged the regulatory powers of the ICC.

Hepburn Act 1906gave the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) the power to force railroads to obey ordersthe ICC's authority was extended to cover bridges, terminals, ferries, sleeping cars, and express companiesPure Food and Drug Act 1906Preventing the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated or misbranded or poisonous or deleterious foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors, and for regulating traffic therein, and for other purposes

Meat Inspection Act 1906requires USDA to inspect all cattle, sheep, swine, goats, and horses when slaughtered and processed into products for human consumption. prevent adulterated or misbranded livestock and products from being sold as food, ensure that meat and products are slaughtered and processed under sanitary conditions.

ConservationPreserve natureOver-lumbering had drastically reduced forestsFarmland overusedIndustrial pollutionWater control under private parties (no flood control)

Conservation150 National Forests 51 Federal Bird Reservations 4 National Game Preserves 5 National Parks 18 National Monuments 24 Reclamation Projects

Gifford PinchotFirst trained forester; Chief of US Forest ServiceBallinger-Pinchot AffairControversy involving Pinchot and Secretary of the Interior Richard BallingerPinchot accused Ballinger of wrongdoing and misconduct; Pinchot eventually firedConsequences: contributed to split in Republican Party during the 1912 presidential election

Trust BusterDid not equate Bigness with Badness

Trust BusterCreated Dept. of Commerce and LaborBureau of Corporations-could inspect the books of all companies engaging in interstate commerce

Trust BusterNorthern Securities Co. Prevented company from consolidating all the railroads in the northwestJ.P. Morgan

Trust busterAlthough TR did prosecute some trusts he was criticized for not doing enough

William Howard TaftRepublicanTRs Secretary of WarNever wanted PresidencyChief Justice of SCTrue trustbuster

Fat Man in the bathtub

TaftPayne-Aldrich TariffTax on imported goodsAngered progressivesBallingerPinchot Affair16th Amendment

1912 ElectionTaft-RepublicanWilson-DemocratTR- Bull Moose/Progressive party

Wilson Elected!

Woodrow WilsonDemocratFirst president with a PhDFormer governor of NJ

LegislationNew Freedom domestic policyClayton Anti-Trust ActFederal Trade CommissionUnderwood TarriffFederal Reserve System19th AmendmentSlow on Civil Rights Birth of a NationWWI ends Progressivism focus shifts to war effort

New FreedomTariff ReductionReform banking systemControl abusive corporationsCompetition to increase opportunitySupport rights of union and the working manFederal Reserve ActSet up to prevent or moderate the cycles of boom and bust that had devastating impact on the American economyAn attempt to regulate and stabilize the monetary system in the US

establishment of up to 12 Federal Reserve Banks (district banks) to coordinate policy with a seven-member Federal Reserve Board in Washington

Today: conducting the nation's monetary policy, supervising and regulating banking institutions, maintaining the stability of the financial system and providing financial services to depository institutions

Clayton Anti-Trust Act 1914Passed to clarify the existing antitrust lawStrengthen Sherman Anti-Trust ActPlaced limitations on the use of injunctions against unions and stipulated that labor organizations were not illegal combinations acting to restrain trade; boycotts, strikes and picketing were all recognized as legal activities

Henry Clayton-driving force behind the Clayton Anti-trust ActFederal Trade Commission ActThe agency was empowered to investigate corporate practices and, if necessary, issue cease and desist orders to halt illegal activities. The commission replaced the earlier and less powerful Bureau of Corporations.Other Progressive ProblemsUnions, Farmers, and Industrial SafetyWomens suffrageAfrican American and progressivismRadicalism

Struggle for Womens Suffrage

19TH CENTURY WOMENS SUFFRAGE LEADERS

Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902)Lucretia Mott (1793-1880)Susan B Anthony (1820-1906)Alice Paul (1886-1977)

March 3, 1913 March on Washington-5,000 women

Womens Suffrage ContinuedMany progressive women grew frustrated that they still did not have the right to vote.As of 1910, women had federal voting rights only in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Washington, and Idaho.Womens organizations began using increasingly radical tactics to make their voices heard1919- Congress passes the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote1920- final ratification by states (72 years after Seneca Falls Convention)African Americans and ProgressivismHardshipsMajority poorLived in southern statesTenant farmers and sharecroppersJim Crow Laws (de facto segregation- by tradition and custom)Plessy v Ferguson (de jure segregation- by law)Black schools inferior to whitesNo say in politics

Examples of Jim Crow LawsRestaurants: It shall be unlawful to conduct a restaurant or other place for the serving of food in the city, at which white and colored people are served in the same room, unless such white and colored persons are effectively separated by a solid partition extending from the floor upward to a distance of seven feet or higher, and unless a separate entrance from the street is provided for each compartment. Intermarriage: All marriages between a white person and a Negro person or between a white person and a person of Negro descent to the fourth generation inclusive, are hereby forever prohibited. (Florida) Education: The schools for white children and the schools for Negro children shall be conducted separately. (Florida) Textbooks: Books shall not be interchangeable between the white and colored schools, but shall be continued to be used by the race first using them. (North Carolina Burial: The officer in charge shall not bury, or allow to be buried, any colored persons upon ground set apart or used for the burial of white persons. (Georgia Parks: It shall be unlawful for colored people to frequent any park owned or maintained by the city for the benefit, use and enjoyment of white persons. and unlawful for nay white person to frequent any park owned or maintained by the city for the use and benefit of colored persons. (Georgia) The Blind: The board of trustees shall. maintain a separate building. on separate ground for the admission, care, instruction, and support of all blind persons of the colored or black race. (Louisiana) Lunch Counters: No persons, firms, or corporations, who or which furnish meals to passengers at station restaurants or station eating houses, in times limited by common carriers of said passengers, shall furnish said meals to white and colored passengers in the same room, or at the same table , or at the same counter. (South Carolina)

African American LeadersBooker T WashingtonW.E.B. Dubois

Booker T WashingtonAtlanta CompromiseSpeech that stated blacks should worry only about economic equality not civil and political rightsTuskegee Institute

W.E.B. DuboisNiagara MovementNAACPWORKED FOR FULL CITIZENSHIP AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR BLACK AMERICANS.

Washington and DuboisBLACKS SHOULD WAIT FOR SOCIAL EQUALITY AND WORK FOR SOCIAL RIGHTS THROUGH ECONOMIC PROGRESSBLACKS WILL MAKE NO REAL PROGRESS AS LONG AS THEY WERE DENIED EQUAL RIGHTS NO MATTER HOW DOCILE THEY ACTEDSEGREGATION AND 2ND-CLASS CITIZENSHIP WERE TO BE ACCEPTED HOPING THEY WOULD BE ACCEPTEDBLACKS SHOULD WORK FOR EQUALITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE NOW AND NOT ACCEPT 2ND CLASS CITIZENSHIPCIVIL RIGHTS WOULD COME FROM WHITES WHEN BLACKS PROVED THEMSELVES READYBLACK PEOPLE SHOULD NOT WAIT FOR WHITES TO ACCEPT THEM FOR THEY WERE AMERICANS LIKE EVERYONE ELSENAACP fights back

Movie that glorifies the KKKNAACP Fights BackLynching

Anti Lynching Expose

Magazine :The Crisis

Radicals:Socialism and CommunismEugene V Debs-socialistRan for president numerous times as American Socialist Party candidateEmma Goldman-anarchism (no govt)Women's rightsSexual independenceJailed for distributing birth control literature