The Progressive Era: The Drive For Reform

The Progressive Era
The Drive For Reform

1890 to 1917
“Progressives were
reformers who attempted to
solve problems caused by
industry, growth of cities
and laissez faire.”
Progressives were:
 White Protestants
Middle class and native born.
College Educated Professionals
Social workers
Scholars
Politicians
Preachers
Teachers
Writers
Progressive Presidents
•Theodore Roosevelt
1901 to 1909
•William Howard Taft

1909 to 1913
•Woodrow Wilson
1913 to 1921
Progressive Beliefs
 Move away from laissez faire with

government regulating industry
 Make US government responsive to
the people (voting)
 Limit power of the political bosses.
 Improve worker’s rights, conditions
for poor and immigrants
 Clean up the cities
 End segregation and Jim Crow
Populists vs Progressives
Populists---rural
Progressives---cities
Populists were poor and uneducated

Progressives were middle-class and educated.
Populists were too radical

Progressives stayed political mainstream.
Populists failed
Progressives succeeded
Areas to Reform
Social Justice
Political Democracy
Economic Equality
Conservation
Social Justice
Improve working
conditions in industry,
regulate unfair
business practices,
eliminate child labor,
help immigrants and
the poor
Political Democracy
Give the government
back to the people, get
more people voting and
end corruption with
political machines.
Economic Justice
•Fairness and opportunity in
the work world, regulate
unfair trusts and bring about
changes in labor.
•Demonstrate to the
common people that U.S.
Government is in charge and
not the industrialists.
CONSERVATION
Preserve natural
resources and the
environment
Journalists and MUCKRAKERS
•Muckrakers were journalists and
photographers who exposed the
abuses of wealth and power.
•They felt it was their job to write
and expose corruption in industry,
cities and government.
Progressives exposed corruption
but offered no solutions.
Muck
Muck Work Subject Results
raker
raker
Political Tweed was

corruption by convicted of
Thomas Political NYC's political embezzlement and
Nast Cartoons machine, died in prison.
Tammany Hall, led
by Boss Tweed.
Living conditions of the NYC passed building

Jacob How the Other urban poor; focused on codes to promote safety
Riis Half Lives tenements. and health.
(1890)
Ending child labor and
John The Bitter Cry of Child labor in the
increased enrollment in
Spargo the Children factories and education
schooling.
for children.
Investigated In 1906 the Meat Inspection

Upton
Sinclair
The Jungle dangerous working Act and Pure Food and
(1906) conditions and Drug Act were passed
unsanitary procedures
in the meat-packing
industry.
Muck Work Subject Results
raker
This fictional book In Northern Securities

exposed v. U.S. (1904), the
Frank The Octopus holding company
monopolistic
Norris (1901) controlling railroads
railroad practices in in the Northwest was
California. broken up.
Exposed the
"History of ruthless tactics of In Standard Oil v. U.S.
Standard Oil the Standard Oil (1911), the company
Ida Company" in Company through was declared a
Tarbell McClure's a series of articles monopoly and broken
up.
Magazine published in
(1904) McClure's
Magazine.
Upton Sinclair’s, The Jungle, exposed the filthy, unsanitary working
conditions and corruption in a meatpacking company in Chicago
President Roosevelt
proposed legislation to
clean up the

meatpacking industry
after reading The
Jungle.
Food and Drug Act
Meat Inspection Act

The Charity • Decided who was worthy of help
Organization • Wanted immigrants to adopt American,
middle-class standards.
Movement • Offered charity and justice to society’s
problems.
• Sought to apply the gospel teachings of

The Social Gospel Christ. Preached salvation through service to
Movement poor
•Moved into poor communities

The Settlement •Their settlement houses served as
Movement community centers and social
service agencies.
Social welfare reformers •Hull House,
House founded by Jane
Addams a model settlement house
work to relieve urban in Chicago, offered cultural events,
poverty classes, childcare, employment
assistance, and health-care clinics.
Jane Addams
Settlement House
•To provide a center for higher

civic and social life; to institute
and maintain educational and
philanthropic enterprises.
•To investigate and improve the
conditions in the industrial
districts of Chicago.
•To help assimilate the
RUN BYimmigrant
COLLEGE EDUCATED
population WOMEN
provide educational, cultural, social
services
send visiting nurses to the sick
help with personal, job, financial
problems
Protecting Children
• Many Progressives fought to end child
labor.
• Florence Kelley= lawyer, helped form the

National Child Labor Committee which formed
the U.S. Children’s Bureau in 1912.
• Progressives also fought to better

educate children. (John Dewey)
Protecting Industrial Workers
• In the early 1900s, the U.S. had the most
industrial accidents in the world.
• March 1911 = Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in

NYC. Killed 146 workers.
• Outrage over the fire caused many progressives

to fight for safer workplaces, workers
compensation laws and 10 hour workdays.
1900 Galveston,TX Hurricane
• Killed more than 8,000.
• Left entire city in ruins
• As a result, the city put in place a new mayor and

a five person commission to run the town.
City Government Reforms
Cities hired experts in different fields to run a

single aspect of city government. For example,
the sanitation commissioner would be in charge
of garbage and sewage removal.
City
Commissioner Plan
A professional city manager is hired to run each

department of the city and report directly to the
City Manager city council.
Plan
Election / State Reforms
Allows voters to petition to have an elected
representative removed from office.
Recall
Allows voters to petition state legislatures in

order to consider a bill desired by citizens.
Initiative
Allows voters to decide if a bill or proposed

amendment should be passed.
Referendum
Privacy at the ballot box ensures that citizens

can cast votes without party bosses knowing
Secret Ballot how they voted.
Ensures that voters select candidates to run for

Direct Primary office, rather than party bosses.
Progressive Governors
Hiram Johnson---Governor of Calif.
•Worker’s compensation
•State insurance supported workers
injured on the job.
Robert La Follette---Gov. of Wisconsin

•Wisconsin Idea = La Follette Plan
•Taxes on incomes and corporations

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The Progressive Era

The Drive For Reform

•William Howard Taft

 Move away from laissez faire with

Populists were poor and uneducated

Populists were too radical

Political Tweed was

Living conditions of the NYC passed building

Investigated In 1906 the Meat Inspection

This fictional book In Northern Securities

• Sought to apply the gospel teachings of

•Moved into poor communities

•To provide a center for higher

• Florence Kelley= lawyer, helped form the

• Progressives also fought to better

• March 1911 = Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in

• Outrage over the fire caused many progressives

• Left entire city in ruins

• As a result, the city put in place a new mayor and

Cities hired experts in different fields to run a

A professional city manager is hired to run each

Allows voters to petition state legislatures in

Allows voters to decide if a bill or proposed

Privacy at the ballot box ensures that citizens

Ensures that voters select candidates to run for

Robert La Follette---Gov. of Wisconsin

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