Chapter 13—The Progressive Movement (1890-1919)

Chapter 13 Section 1----The Roots of Progressivism

  1. The Rise of Progressivism (pp. 418-420)
  2. Progressive Era (1890-1920)
  3. Progressivism---collection of ideas & activities about how to fix the problems within American Society
  4. Progressives believed that the government needed to take a more active role in solving society’s problems caused by urbanization & industrialization

a. Government had to be fixed first before it could be used to fix other problems

  1. Progressives were people who:
  2. belonged to both political parties
  3. were usually urban, educated middle-class Americans
  1. Muckrakers---group of journalists who exposed social conditions & political corruption
  2. Jacob Riis---How the Other Half Lives---focused on poverty, disease, & crime in New York City
  3. Ida Tarbell---exposed Standard Oil
  4. Upton Sinclair---exposed the meat-packing industry
  5. Lincoln Steffens—exposed corrupt practices of urban political machines
  1. Making Government Efficient (page 420)
  2. Use of Scientific Management in running governments
  3. Government be more efficient if they were run by experts & not elected officials
  4. Commission Plan---city government is divided into different parts with a different function, each placed under the control of a commissioner (expert) hired by a city manager
  5. Galveston, Texas (1901)—1st city to use the Commission Plan
  6. Democracy and Progressivism (page 421)
  7. Robert La Follette—Governor of Wisconsin---More democracy in society
  8. Direct Primary---party election in which all party members vote for a candidate to run in the general election
  9. Initiative---allowed citizens to introduce legislation & required the legislature to vote on it
  10. Referendum—allowed proposed legislation to be submitted to the voters for approval
  11. Recall---allowed voters to demand a special election to remove an elected official from office
  12. 17th Amendment—Direct Election of Senators—People elect rather than state legislature selecting them
  1. The Suffrage Movement (pp. 421-423)
  2. 2 Groups formed:
  3. National Woman Suffrage Association (Elizabeth Cady Stanton/Susan B. Anthony)
  4. Focused on passing a constitutional amendment for woman suffrage
  5. American Woman Suffrage Association (Lucy Stone/Julia Ward Howe)
  6. wanted state governments to give women the right to vote before trying to amend the U.S. Constitution

***2 groups united in 1890***----Led by Alice Paul—NAWSA

  1. Used Protests & Picketing
  1. 19th Amendment (1920)—Women given the right to vote
  1. Social Welfare Progressivism (pp. 423-425)
  2. Social Welfare Progressives created charities to help the poor &and disadvantaged, and pushed for laws to help fix social problems
  3. Laws passed to end child labor laws & required children to be in school (compulsory education laws)
  4. Laws passed to make the work environment safer for workers
  5. building codes, workers’ compensation laws, zoning laws, & health codes
  6. Temperance Movement—Called for the moderation or elimination of alcohol
  7. 1874—WCTU—Women led this movement
  8. 18th Amendment---Banned the manufacture, sale, & consumption of alcohol
  1. Progressives Versus Big Business (page 425)
  2. Progressives disagreed if they should break-up big business or regulate big business
  3. Socialism—Idea that the government should own & operate industry for the community as a whole (railroad & utilities)
  4. Eugene Debs—1912 American Socialist Party Candidate
  5. Most progressives & Americans believed in the American system of free enterprise

Chapter 13 Section 2---Roosevelt in Office

I. Roosevelt Revives the Presidency (pp. 427-430)

A. Roosevelt’s “Square Deal” Program---Balance the needs of all groups in American society

B. Taking on the Trusts

  1. 1904—Supreme Court ruled that the Northern Securities violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act

C. Coal Strike of 1902

  1. Roosevelt threatened the owners to have the army run them if they did not accept arbitration

D. 1903—Department of Commerce & Labor created

  1. Bureau of Corporations—authority to investigate corporations & issue reports on their activities
  1. Hepburn Act (1906)—strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission by giving it the power to set railroad rates

II. Social Welfare Action (page 430)

A. 1905—Consumer protection became a National issue

B. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle—described conditions in Chicago’s slaughterhouses

  1. Meat Inspection Act—required federal inspection of meat sold & set standards of cleanliness in meatpacking plants
  2. Pure Food and Drug Act—prohibited the manufacture, sale, or shipment of impure or falsely labeled food 7 drugs

III. Conservation (pp. 430-431)—Roosevelt’s Greatest achievement

A. Newlands Reclamation Act (1902)—authorized the use of federal funds from public land sales to pay for irrigation & land development projects

B. Gifford Pinchot—Head of the U.S.Forest Service

  1. Managed the Timber resources in the West
  2. regulated s for controlling lumbering on federal lands

***Roosevelt’s Legacy---People looked to the federal government to solve the nation’s economic & social problems & the executive branch increased its power***

Chapter 13 Section 3---The Taft Administration

I. Taft Becomes President (pp. 434-437)

A. Hand Picked by Roosevelt to be the Republican Candidate in 1908 in which he defeated William JenningsBryan

B. Payne-Aldrich Tariff—raised some tariffs instead of lowering them

  1. Speaker of the House Joseph Cannon had the power to push bills through
  2. Taft stopped the Republican campaign against Cannon & Cannon pushed the tariff bill through the House
  3. Taft accepted the changes to protect high tariffs from the Senators
  4. Progressives felt betrayed

C. Ballinger-Pinchot Affair

  1. Pinchot Charged Sec. of Interior Ballinger had tried to turn over valuable public lands to a private business group for his own profit
  2. Charges found to be groundless, but Pinchot leaked the story to the press
  3. Taft fired Pinchot for insubordination

***Democrats gain control of both the House & Senate in the 1910 elections***

II. Taft’s Progressive Reforms (page 437)

A. Taft brought twice as many antitrust cases as Roosevelt & established the Children’s Bureau to fight child labor

B. Roosevelt never criticized Taft until Taft brought an anti-trust suit against U.S. Steel

Chapter 13 Section 4—The Wilson Years

I. The Election of 1912 (pp. 438-439)

A. Presidential Candidates:

  1. Republican—William Howard Taft
  2. Progressive Party(Bull Moose Party)—Theodore Roosevelt
  3. New Nationalism---

1. reforms that favored legislation to protect women & children in the workforce & workers’ compensation for those injured on the job

2. Wanted a Federal Trade Commission to regulate industry

  1. Democrats—Woodrow Wilson
  2. New Freedom
  3. supported free enterprise & criticized Roosevelt for a program that supported monopolies

4. Result of 1912 Election:

  1. Roosevelt & Taft split the Republican vote, giving Wilson the victory

II. Regulating the Economy (pp. 439-441)

A. Underwood Tariff (1913)--

  1. reduced the tariff by 50%
  2. levy an income tax on the earnings of individuals & corporations

B. Federal Reserve System (1913)—12 districts

  1. establish interest rates—raise rates to fight inflation & lower interest rates to stimulate the economy during a recession

C. Anti-Trust action:

  1. Federal Trade Commission (1914)—set up to monitor American business
  2. power to investigate companies & issued “cease & desist” orders against companies involved in unfair trade practices
  3. Clayton Anti-trust Act (Strengthened Sherman Anti-trust Act)
  4. put a ban on tying agreements (required retailers who bought from one company to stop selling a competitor’s products)
  5. banned price discrimination
  6. could not charge different customers different prices
  7. Labor Unions were not illegal & gave them the right to exist

III. Federal Aid and Social Welfare (pp. 441-442)

  1. Keating-Owen Child Labor Act (1916)---prohibited children under the age of 14 from working in factories
  2. Adamson Act---8 hour workday for railroad workers
  3. Federal Farm Loan Act—provided farmers with long-term loans at low interest rates

IV. The Legacy of Progressivism (page 442)

  1. Americans looked to the government to play an active role in regulating the economy & solving social problems
  2. Limits to progressivism: Failed to address Black Reform issues
  3. 1909—NAACP was founded thanks to the Niagara Movement

***Progressives expanded democracy & improved life for many Americans***