Progressive Era1868 - 1920

What is Progressivism?

Promoting political or social reform through government action in an attempt

to improve or change society.

Progressivism• The idea arose due to the vast changes that modernization/industrialization had

caused in American society.

Progressivism• Progressives tried to eliminate the causes of

such problems as crime, disease, poverty, poor working conditions, corrupt politicians, and a lack of education in poor areas.

Progressives• Many people believed that the government had

the power and the means to help fix these inequalities.

• This gave rise to reformers who were known as: Progressives

The Gilded Age• The late 1800’s in the U.S. was also known as

the “Gilded Age”.

• This term represented the inequalities that existed between business owners and

the workers.

Muckrakers• These were journalists who wrote stories

that exposed the problems and corruption in society.

They were nicknamed Muckrakers because they “raked up” and exposed the muck or

filth of society.

Upton Sinclair• He wrote the “The Jungle” in 1906.

• This book documented the horrible conditions in the Chicago meatpacking industry.

• Resulted in legislation to protect the public from unsanitary food.

Jacob Riis

• He published the book “How The Other Half Lives” in 1890.

• Made Americans aware of the extreme poverty suffered by some working people.

• Led to reforms and improved housing conditions.

During this period in America the work in factories could be boring, unhealthy, and

even dangerous.

Unions

There was also very little safety regulations from the government.

Unions

Companies were more concerned about profits than worker safety and quality of life.

Unions

UnionsThis was the time when workers began to join

together to protect their common interests and improve their working conditions.

Unions

• The idea that workers act together as a group to improve their working conditions is known as

collective bargaining.

• Labor unions were then formed so that workers could use collective bargaining to

improve their working conditions.

Unions

Unions• Most employers were

hostile towards workers efforts to unionize.

• This was because it cost companies more money to provide higher wages, better working conditions, etc.

Companies blacklisted pro-union workers so they would not be able to get a job.

• This opposition by companies was the main factor that limited the growth of unions during the late 1800’s.

Unions

• While companies opposed unions, the unions opposed immigration.

• Unions tended to oppose immigration because they feared immigrants would take jobs from native-born Americans.

Unions

Samuel Gompers

• Led the AFL (American Federation of Laborers), and worked on organizing national unions. Ex: Mineworkers, Steelworkers

Types of UnionsTrade Unions – Craft workers who have special

skills. (machinists, stonecutters, welders, etc.)

Industrial Unions – All the workers in an entire industry. (automotive, steel)

Temperance Movement

• In the early 1800’s many progressives began a movement to restrict, and then to ban the consumption of alcohol.

• They were against alcohol because they felt it was destroying peoples lives and ruining families.

• These reformers believed in an idea called temperance, or the avoidance of alcohol.

Temperance Movement

• Mainly women lead the Temperance Movement because they lived with the effects of excessive drinking by their husbands.

Temperance Movement

• They fought for the passage of laws restricting the sale of alcohol.

Temperance Movement

• This movement helped pass

the 18th Amendment.

Temperance Movement

18th Amendment

• It passed in 1919.

• The amendment banned the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcohol.

Prohibition

• The passage of the 18th Amendment started a time period known as prohibition.

• Government officials found it nearly impossible to enforce prohibition.

Prohibition

• Americans found ways to make alcohol at home, illegal bars called speakeasies opened in cities, and crime increased.

Prohibition

• Organized crime and gangs began fighting for control of the illegal alcohol business.

Prohibition

• Alcohol was illegal in the U.S. from 1920 -1933, and then the 21st Amendment was passed that

ended prohibition.

Prohibition

• Many women reformers fought for suffrage, or the right to vote.

Suffrage Movement

• Some in society believed that women should only be homemakers and mothers, and not politically active because it would distract them from their families.

Suffrage Movement

• The first public meeting about women’s rights was held in 1848 at Seneca Falls, NY.

Suffrage Movement

• At the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 they came up with the Declaration of Sentiments.

• These were a list of grievances against the way women had been treated in the past.

Suffrage Movement

Suffrage Movement

• Two famous women who worked to make Women's Suffrage happen were Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

• These two women founded the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) to fight for women’s rights.

Suffrage Movement

• In 1913 a woman named Alice Paul founded the National Women’s Party (NWP).

• The NWP organized parades, public demonstrations, and picketing to draw attention to the suffrage movement.

Suffrage Movement

• The NWP picketed in front of the White House and were jailed for all of their

“radical” views.

Suffrage Movement

19th Amendment• The 19th Amendment was passed in 1920. It

finally guaranteed women the right to vote!

Suffrage

Political ReformsTo force state legislatures to respond better to voters, reformers passed new laws:

Referendum –Permits voters to

approve or reject a law that has already been passed by the government.

Political ReformsRecall – Allows voters to hold a special election to remove an elected official from

office.

17th Amendment• Originally state legislatures elected two senators from each state.

• To reduce influence from special interest groups, reformers fought to change this.

• They helped pass the 17th Amendment in 1913, which then had voters choose the senators.

Government Corruption• One reason there was corruption in many of

our city and county politics was because they were dominated by:

Political Machines

• These were powerful organizations that used legal and illegal methods to influence politics to get their candidates elected.

Government Corruption

• These machines were lead by bosses. They traded favors for votes, stuffed ballot boxes, and even stole money from the govt.

Government Corruption• One of the political machines was New

York’s organization called Tammany Hall.

• In one example of corruption they helped win an election, rewarded supporters with jobs, and stole an estimated 200 million dollars from the city government.

Government Corruption

Triangle Shirtwaist Company

• A fire in NYC in 1911 killed 146 women. Exits from

the building were locked, among other

safety failures.

• This tragedy resulted in new building codes to

protect workers.

Child Labor

• Parents often needed the income from their children working.

• Children were paid a fraction of what adults made.

• Laws were eventually passed that required children to attend school.

Child Labor

• When John D. Rockefeller used horizontal integration he was creating a monopoly.

• A monopoly is when you have total ownership of a product or service.

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

• Having a monopoly is bad for consumers because it restricts competition.

• This can lead to higher prices and a lower quality of goods and services.

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

• In 1890 Congress acted to ban trusts and monopolies.

• A trust is when you run several companies using a single board of directors.

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

• This law made it illegal to create monopolies or

trusts that restrained trade.

• Teddy Roosevelt was the first president to use this law.

• He became known as a “trust buster”.

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

W.E.B. Du Bois

• He was a civil rights leader.

• He believed African Americans should protest unjust treatment and demand equal rights.

• In 1909 he helped found the civil rights group the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People).

• In 1915 the NAACP won an important court case which made grandfather clauses illegal.

W.E.B. Du Bois

Booker T. Washington

• Booker was from the last generation born into slavery.

• He was an educator, author, and an advisor to several presidents.

• He felt that self-improvement (hard work) by African Americans would lead

to the end of discrimination.

Booker T. Washington

Teddy Roosevelt

• Teddy was president from 1901-1909.

• He was known as one of the progressive presidents.

• He helped Congress pass the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act in

response to the book “The Jungle”.

Teddy Roosevelt

Teddy Roosevelt• Teddy was also a great conservationist. He

doubled the number of national parks.

Montezuma Castle - 1906

Grand Canyon - 1908 (made it a monument) TR fought unsuccessfully to make it a national park.(became park in 1919)

• Roosevelt’s reforms to balance the interests of everyone was known as the:

“Square Deal”

Teddy Roosevelt

“Walk softly and carry a big stick”

Teddy Roosevelt

His philosophy on foreign policy was to:

The Progressive Party• During the election of 1912, Roosevelt

decided to run for president again.

• William Taft was chosen to run for the Republicans.

• Roosevelt split from the Republican Party and created the Progressive, or “Bull Moose” Party.

• Woodrow Wilson, a democrat, won the election because of Taft/Roosevelt

splitting the Republican vote.

The Progressive Party

Timed Pair Share Sentence Starters

Q1 - The most significant change to come out of the Progressive Era was _________, because__________.

Q2 -