The Origins of Progressivism
By 1900, America was faced with _________________________ that had been mounting for 30 years but had not been affectively addressed.
The nation was gripped by a __________ movement called ______________________.
Biggest period of reform since the 1840’s
It waged war on many social evils including __________________, ____________________,
_____________________________, and irresponsible corporations.
Roots of Progressivism
Pressure came from a number of different groups:
____________________ from Europe. Start to gain strength in the U.S.
_____________________ preaching Social Gospel. Focused on the needs of the poor and the workers at the mercy of the corporations.
___________________. Suffrage movement included social justice in their call for reform because women were often those who suffered the most.
________ _______ exposing corruption of cities and working conditions of children and women.
Progressivism
The heart of the progressive movement:
· Belief that ___________________ should be strengthened so that it could act aggressively to tackle social ills.
· Government could be an instrument of positive good.
Basic Prescription: use government as an agency of human ___________________.
At heart: a rejection of Laissez Faire.
Basic Beliefs of Progressives
Government should:
· Be more ________________________ to citizens
· Curb power and influence of _____________________
· Expand powers to _____________________________.
· Be more efficient and less _______________.
Basic Goals of Progressives
· Political Reform
-rid gov’t of corruption --direct election of _____________________.
-women’s suffrage.
· Bust the trusts
· Address the social problems of the day
o Growing gap between rich and poor
o Improve working conditions.
The Muckrakers
· Exposure of urban problems and political and economic corruption and exploitation.
· Targets:
-monopolies/trusts/corporations (steel, oil, and the railroads mainly)
-___________________________________________
-poor living and working conditions (such as tenements)
· Mainstream:
-__________________________ (newspapers and magazines)
· Journalists and Authors
-Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (meat packing industry)
-Jacob Riis How the other half lives (tenement living)
-Ida Tarbell’s Mother of Trusts (Rockefeller and Standard Oil)
-Lincoln Steffens The Shame of the Cities (municipal corruption)
Muckrakers
Journalists who practiced what today is called “investigative journalism” in order to spotlight corruption in society.
Lincoln Steffens- through his articles and books he exposed corrupt political machines in the big cities. He also spoke about problems African Americans faced in the South.
Jacob Riis- his pictures and articles exposed the living conditions of the lower classes in the tenements.
Ida Tarbell- her interviews and articles exposed the actions of Standard Oil and encouraged the gov’t to investigate the monopoly.
Frank Norris- his fictional novel told of the power of the Southern Pacific RR in California
Upton Sinclair-wrote many books exposing corporation corruption. The Jungle, exposed horrific conditions in the meat-packing industry. Brought about the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act.
Reformers Mobilize
The __________________ ____________________ movement preached salvation through service to the poor.
Some reformers founded ___________________ homes.
These homes provided a place to stay, classes, health care, and other social services.
__________ _________ was the most famous member of the settlement movement. She founded Hull House in Chicago.
Changes in the Work Place
Florence Kelley was a lawyer that found against child abuse and against child labor.
In 1900 1.75 million children under the age of 15 worked in ___________________________________.
Laws were passed to regulate or end child labor, but were found __________________ or were just ignored.
Attention brought to unsafe working conditions
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire brought undeniable attention to the plight of workers in unsafe conditions. 140 or more young women lost their lives in a fast-spreading fire because they were ______________ in.
Those that tried to escape via the stairs died when the stairs collapsed. Many jumped to their deaths to escape the fire. This happened in New York City in the middle of the day. The attention it received helped lead the fight against poor working conditions.
Disasters helped change the way cities operate
In September of 1900, a hurricane destroyed ___________________, TX and killed 6,000 – 8,000 people. The current city government couldn’t handle the recovery.
A _________________________ system was setup. Commissioners were experts in certain areas such as police, fire, public works, and administration. Together, they worked to rescue and rebuild Galveston. Absent a major problem to work on, many commission systems fall to bickering over turf and budgets. Galveston abandoned the system in 1919.
Even though Galveston abandoned the system, many small towns in Texas still operate this way today.
Progressives Demand Government to Help Society
Progressive leaders expand the role of government to help reform society. They sought government help to insure a minimum standard of living. A lot of their success was at the municipal or local level. Many cities sought _____________ rule, which gave them more leeway in running their cities.
The Governor of Wisconsin, Robert “Fighting Bob” LaFollette led the way in many areas of reforming government. His efforts included the _________ ______________ system. This removed the power of the political bosses to nominate candidates and put it into the hands of the people.
direct primary- a nominating election in which voters choose the candidates who later run in a general election. By 1916, most states had adopted the use of the direct primary.
Other efforts include:
the Seventeenth Amendment- this gave voters the power to elect their senators directly. Before the Seventeenth Amendment, people felt that it was too easy for political machines to influence Senators and control the government.
-Initiative- gave voters the power to initiate, or introduce, legislation. A petition is an example of this.
-Referendum- This is a companion to the initiative. By receiving enough signatures on a petition, citizens can then force the legislature to place a recently passed law on the ballot, allowing voters to approve or veto the measure.
-Recall- This enables voters to remove an elected official by calling for a special election.