Progressivism in Politics

US History

Urban Issues Drive Local Reform

• Rapid urbanization created a lack of basic services.

• Reformers wanted:– Govt ownership of public utilities

• Electricity• Gas• Telegraph• Telephone

– Why? To make them affordable to everyone?• Only the rich could afford them.

Local and State Reforms• Progressive anti-

corruption campaign:– Civil Service Reform– End to Political Bosses– Creation of City

commissions and city managers.

• Ex. Police Commissioner

Who is he?

State Reform Issues

• Governors were key here.

• Issues differed depending on the region:– North: political corruption

& labor conditions.– South: anti-big business– West: railroad deregulation

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State Reform• Case Study: Wisconsin

– Robert LaFollette (1855-1925)• “Fighting Bob”

• Governor from 1900-1905

• Became US Senator for WI (1905-1925)

• Direct primary

• Fair tax system

• Railroad regulation

• Commissioners put in place who reported directly to governor.

• Scientific approach to reform: do survey, gather data, base report on data collected.

State Reform

• Case Study: New York–Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)

• Governor of New York• Focused on social legislation:

–Improving conditions in urban tenements

–Taxing public corporations

State Reform• States started to regulate

health and safety:– Factory inspections– Insurance to cover job

accidents– Minimum employment age– Maximum hours for child

labor (8-10 per day)– Limit on hours for women– Old-age pensions.

State Reforms• Political Reforms in States

– Initiative: voters suggest new laws and amendments in state constitutions

– Referendum: voters vote on legislation directly.

– Recall: voters remove officials from govt jobs before term ends.

– Secret Ballot: voters vote in private.

National Reform

• Theodore Roosevelt, again.– Vice-President in 1900 election.

• President when McKinley was shot.

– 1904 he proposed “Square Deal” platform:• Give consumers a break!

– Created an economic role for the presidency…

Square Deal

• TR’s economic role known as “New Nationalism”:– Trusts are necessary evil.– Controls needed to rein in monopolies.– The President is “steward of the people”

• He controlled power in the best interest of the people.

– Main goal for a president: the public good.

TR’s Progressive Legislation• Commerce Department

(1903)– Set up to collect information

needed to enforce anti-trust legislation already on the books.

• Elkins act (1903), Hepburn Act (1906)– Expanded the Interstate

Commerce Commission

– Gave the ICC regulation powers.

TR: “Trust Buster”• Roosevelt went after JP

Morgan’s railroad monopolies in the Pacific Northwest.– 1904 Supreme Court ordered the

breakup of Northern Securities. (Northern Securities v. US).

• “Rule of Reason”: trusts can’t automatically be broken up; you have to look at how it affects trade.

Square Deal and Labor

• Under TR, govt played a bigger role in mediation between workers and management.– 1902 coal miners strike.

• Strikers wanted higher pay, shorter work hours, and a union.

– When winter approached, TR brought union and mine owners together.

– Discussions broke down. • TR threatened to use troops to

get the mines moving.• Mine owners agreed to

arbitration.

– Union got some demands; mines got working again.

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Square Deal and Environment

• Added 150 million acres to national forests and preserves.

• Created a plan for resource management.

• Created national forest service• Grand Canyon and Niagara

Falls placed under protection• Controlled and improved river

systems.

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