The Progressive Era, 1901-1920 Ch. 28 Progressivism and the Republican Roosevelt, 1901-1912 and Ch. 29 Wilsonian Progressivism a Home and Abroad, 1912-1916 Reform rise of industrial capitalism and urbanization led to new social, political, and economic issues; efforts created to help solve these issues; role of the power of government in helping to solve these issues; success at local and state level versus success at federal level with reform efforts; role of presidency in promoting reform efforts Politics and Citizenship impact of progressivism on the party system and upon political machines; attempts to install experts and managers rather than traditional parties to avoid party and machine problems; debates over the proper role of the federal government; increasing role of consolidation Economic Transformations response of reformers and workers to corporate consolidation Demographic Changes economic changes impacting the structure of the family, especially role of women; role of women in a variety of causes Environment attempts to address the impact of industrial growth on the natural environment; debates between preservation and conservation Globalization the role of progressivism in extending American involvement abroad Chapter Summary Created by a variety of different groups, the progressive movement became the greatest reform crusade since abolitionism, attempting to use governmental power to correct the social and economic ills of industrialization. Known as progressivism, they wanted to build on existing society, make moderate political changes, and social improvements through governmental action. Beginning at the city and state level, political then social and economic reforms were the areas of focus. Women, using the involvement to extend their traditional roles, played a prominent role in many of these reforms. At the national level, Roosevelt and Wilson offered alternative forms of progressivism while Roosevelt and Taft s political conflict helped split the Republican Party.
Cornell Notes Ch. 28 638 Progressive Roots; 639 Raking Muck with the Muckrakers; 645 Progressive Women; 647 TR's Square Deal for Labor; 649 TR Corals the Corporations; 650 Caring for the Consumer; 650 Earth Control; 650 The Rough Rider Thunders Out (just the last paragraph in this section) Ch. 29 663 Wilson: The Idealist; 664 Wilson Tackles the Tariff; 665 Wilson Battles the Bankers; 666 The President Tames the Trusts; 666 Wilsonian Progressivism at High Tide America at 1900 Statistic 1900 2000 Population 76 281 Life Expectancy 48 (m) & 51 (f) 74 (m) & 79 (f) Population older than 65 3.1 million 35 million Home ownership 46% 66% People living in a home 7 2 Regions people live 62% in Midwest or Northeast 58% in South or West Metropolitan living 28% 80% Non-white population 1/8 ¼ Foreign born population 15% 10% Average income $438 $22,000 Income gap Top 10% make 90% Top 20% make 50% Murder rate 1.5/100,000 7/100,000 The Progressive Era in Brief Causes? Growth of industry, growth of cities Creates? The Progressive Movement Effects? Political, Social, and Economic changes
Origins of Progressivism State reforms of the 1890s Middle-class concerns Diverse minorities Belief changes in society were needed and the government was the proper agency for correcting social and economic ills Who were the Progressives? Urban Middle-class Traditional groups doctors, lawyers, ministers, storekeepers New groups white-collar office workers, middle-management Concerns disturbed about what might happen to American democracy if conditions weren t improved Protestant churches Political leadership Progressives Philosophy? Role of government Darwinism = pragmatism Role of experts Gaining Momentum Muckrakers Newspapers, magazines, books Investigative reporting + sensationalism High point: 1890s-1910s Impact
Reforms in Cities and States The cornerstone of Progressive ideology was faith in democracy. Progressives believed that, given a chance, the majority of voters would elect honest officials instead of the corrupt officials handpicked by boss-dominated political machines. Voter Participation Progressives advocated a number of methods for increasing the participation of the average citizen in political decision-making. Australian ballot (1888-1910) Direct primaries (1903-1915) Direct election of U.S. senators 17 th Amendment (1899-1913) Initiative Referendum Recall Social Welfare Settlement houses Women Schools, juvenile courts, divorce laws, safety regulations Criminal justice and reform Municipal Reform & State Reform City bosses and their corrupt alliance with local businesses and utilities were also targets of Progressive leaders while reform minded governors fought for political and economic reform. Controlling public utilities Commission plan Manager-council plan Temperance and prohibition Urban Progressives vs. rural reformers
Political Reform in the Nation At the national level, three presidents sought broad reforms and regulations as well. Theodore Roosevelt s Square Deal Roosevelt Square Deal Labor Coal strike, 1902 Trust-busting Sherman Anti-Trust Act, 1890 Northern Securities Company Supreme Court, 1904 Standard Oil bad trusts vs. good trusts Regulation Interstate Commerce Commission, 1887 Elkins Act, 1903; Hepburn Act, 1904 Consumer Protection The Jungle, 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act; Meat Inspection Act Conservation Forest Reserve Act, 1891 National Conservation Commission, 1908
Taft s Presidency William H. Taft Roosevelt 1908 Election Trust-busting, Conservation, Regulation U.S. Steel Teddy vs. Taft Mann-Elkins Act, 1910 = ICC 16 th Amendment, 1913 Split in the Republican Party Taft loses support Rise of the Socialist Party Tariff, conservation Socialist Party vs. Progressives Influence on progressives Election of 1912 Issues Candidates Results Taft Debs Roosevelt New nationalism = more government regulation of business and unions, women s suffrage, more social welfare programs Wilson New Freedom = more limits on business and government, end corruption, revive competition Reform
Woodrow Wilson s Progressive Program Wilson Competition tariffs, banking, trusts Tariff reduction Underwood Tariff, 1913 and income tax Banking reform Federal Reserve Act, 1914 Private national bank vs. federally regulated banks Trusts Clayton Antitrust Act, 1914 Federal Trade Commission Social Child Labor Act, 1916
African Americans in the Progressive Era In championing greater democracy for the American people, leaders of the Progressive movement thought only in terms of the white race. African Americans were, for the most part, ignored by Progressive leaders, for many of them shared the general prejudice of the time and believed in focusing on reforms that benefitted everyone rather than just one group. Status Post-Reconstruction Civil Rights Voting Rights Civil Rights Cases of 1883 Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 Jim Crow Laws Literacy tests Poll taxes Grandfather clauses Economic Rights Progressives Economic discrimination Roosevelt Wilson Responses Two Approaches Which is a prerequisite for which? Economic rights first or civil and political rights first? Booker T. Washington a stress on economics Tuskegee skilled trades Education and economic progress A little green ballot Racial harmony and economic cooperation
Sell out to segregation? W.E.B. Dubois a stress on civil rights The Souls of Black Folks (1903) Pragmatism versus militantism Urban Migration 1900 90% Migration Jobs Race relations Crop destruction Racial tension and discrimination Civil Rights Organization Niagara Movement, 1905 NAACP, 1908 National Urban League, 1911
Women, Suffrage, and the Progressive Movement The Progressive era was a time of increased activism and optimism for a new generation of feminists. However, although the younger generation of men were generally more liberal than their elders, not all male Progressives enthusiastically endorsed the women s movement. The Campaign for Women s Suffrage Carrie Chapman Catt NAWSA, 1900 State level, amendment Militant Suffragists Alice Paul, 1916 National Woman s Party Congress, amendment Nineteenth Amendment World War I 1920 Other Issues League of Women Voters Roosevelt, Wilson Economic discrimination Social Changes Margaret Sanger, 1916
The End of the Progressive Era While the progressive movement had run its course by the early 1920s, many progressive organizations supporters continued to work for reform. Reasons for the End World War One Material growth A return to normalcy needed Weaknesses of the Progressive Movement Uneven Pattern of Reform Court Roadblocks Survival of Political Machines Heritage of the Progressive Movement The Progressives promoted the belief that government has the reasonability to act for the people's welfare. The Progressive Era marked the transition from laissez-faire to government regulation of the economy. The Progressives demonstrated the ability of our democratic institutions to meet problems arising out of urbanization and industrialization. Further, they showed the need for tackling such problems on the city and state levels as well as on the federal level. The Progressives believed that a President should provide strong and effective national leadership. This concept was illustrated, for the first time since the days of Abraham Lincoln, by both progressive Presidents: Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.
Historical Views: Reform or Reaction? Historians have generally agreed that the Progressive movement was a response to industrialization and urbanization. They do not agree, however, on whether the Progressives were truly seeking to move society in new directions or whether they were reacting against new trends and attempting to maintain society as it once was. Basically, how liberal was the movement? Liberalism an alliance between the public and the government to guard against and correct the abuses of capital; to bring about short-term solutions to economic, political, and social changes and also bring about changes to existing economic, political, and social institutions Liberalism an alliance between the government and corporations designed to maintain and enhance the power enjoyed by a small elite class and preserving the status quo. Examples of liberal reform movements Progressive Era (1900-1920), New Deal (1933-1945), Fair Deal (1945-1953), New Frontier and Great Society (1961-1969) Historical Views Reform The Progressives were acting in the tradition of earlier reform movements (Jeffersonians, Jacksonians, and Populists). Basically the working class finally erupted and demanded their due. Reaction The Progressives were middle class Americans who felt threatened from above by the new corporate elites and threatened from below by the restless working class. Anxious about their status, this group attempted to maintain its traditional leadership of society by directing the reform. The neglect of unions and African Americans is further evidence that the reformers were conservative at heart. Reform The Progressives were led by the middle class, but their motives for reform were an expression of their strong sense of social conscience. For example, Protestant churches worked for responsibility and justice while muckrakers articles aroused feelings of guilt with respect to the poor and outrage with respect to dishonest politics. Reaction The Progressives were led by the business elite who, far from being opposed to government regulation, in fact wanted regulation as a way to stabilize industry and dampen cutthroat competition. For example, regulation of the meatpacking industry worked for the benefit of the large meatpackers who lobbied behind the scenes for government controls. Reform The Progressives were neither psychologically or economically disadvantaged nor the old elite but were instead members of a new social class that possessed new techniques of scientific management and organizational know-how and who wanted to apply rational, scientific methods to the operations of social and political institutions. Basically this group wanted to rationalize and modernize society by introducing the impartial hand of government.