Progressivism & US Domestic Policy - 1901 – 1920

To Consider?

-What was Progressivism, its goals, “who” were they?

What are the positive aspects of Progressivism…the negative?

-What were its limitations and what groups do not benefit?

-Does Progressivism help to solve some of the worst effects of the 2nd Industrial Revolution?

-Is the growth of the influence and power of the Federal Government a good thing… can they effectively “regulate” society, politics, and economics…should we even try?

From the turn of the century up to 1920, Americans of all backgrounds wrestled with the idea of “progress.” Giant cities peopled by impoverished immigrants, new technologies of mass production, political machines controlled by party bosses, and the “400,” spectacular wealth controlled by the few families.

This left people wondering… “Is this progress?”

The USA had more money and technology, but…it seemed… to have more corruption, disease, and poverty as well?

Middle and Upper-class activists throughout the nation called themselves “Progressives.” They sought to strengthen the moral fiber of American Society and solve/lessen the problems of “modern” life. The fought successfully for reforms****such as---Woman Suffrage (19th amendment), Prohibition of Alcohol (18th amendment), creation of a national graduated income tax (16th amendment), the popular election of US Senators (17th amendment) {These four(4), (16, 17, 18, & 19th), amendments to the US Constitution are called the “Progressive Amendments}… also- Anti-Trust legislation, Laws curtailing Child Labor, and the Conservation of Natural Resources.

However, there were competing ideas for reform… experts in law, economics, engineering, immigration, politics, business, and even social work often disagreed on what constituted progress.

****EXCEPTION TO PROGRESSIVE GAINS****HUGE****Minorities, especially African-Americans, saw the “PROGRESS” contained in the 14th and 15th amendments undermined by the Supreme Court and various State Laws… and local practice… Jim Crow becomes commonplace… emboldened by Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 (separate but equal ok- legalizing Government Segregation and discrimination), President Woodrow Wilson premiers the movie, “Birth of a Nation,” at the White House, is quoted in it, and Segregates all Federal Employees and Federal Workplaces, Whole African American Communities across the country are forcibly moved and evicted from their land, Hispanic and Asian citizens are segregated and lynched in the West victims of their own “Jim Crow,” Women (not a minority, but…) still do not have the right to vote in most states and cannot even own property in most states, and hundreds of blacks are “lynched” by white mobs every year between 1890 and 1920… African-American Leaders like Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois debate the meaning of “Progress” and the best method to achieve it for blacks in the USA… as do Alice Paul and Carrie Chapman Catt debate about the best method(s) to achieve progress for Women.

Progressive reformers prized efficient scientific planning to promote the “public good” but… often failed to see that what was good for one…public/group… might be bad for another…public/group.

Cleaning up city politics made sense to some reformers…most of the Progressive Gains politically are at the local and State level…To immigrants, however, cleaning up city government meant losing the support of the “Boss” who looked out for them… with jobs, health care, housing, protection, etc…

REGULATING (local, state, and federal government) Business****huge***in the interest of the people… helped consumers (Pure Food and Drug Act)… The Sherman Anti-Trust Act began to split up monopolies/trusts…but are limited by the Supreme Court in the E.C. Knight case… Railroads are limited by the Elkins and Hepburn acts and the ICC (created by the Interstate Commerce Act, 1880s) now contains members other than RR representatives… Regulatory Agencies are created by the Federal Government to help clean up the most abusive practices of monopolies… and support labor as well with the Clayton Anti-Trust Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, and the Federal Reserve Act (regulating Banks-issuing a standard currency)… and even attempt to regulate CHILD LABOR (Keating-Owen Act)…although a Charlotte, NC Supreme Court case rules this unconstitutional in Hammer v. Dagenhart…and this problem is left to the New Deal, 1930s, to solve.

Banning alcohol seemed as an urgent reform, WCTU is the largest women’s organization in the world led by Francis Willard…Anti-Saloon league—Carrie Nation’s hatcheteers. However, a small problem... how do you enforce it… when most Americans do not want to ban alcohol… this leads to a huge growth in “Organized Crime,” and huge profits for bootleggers… and criminal underworld gains tremendous influence in America.

The Progressive Era (1901 -1920) was the greatest time of Constitution rewriting since the Bill of Rights… 4 new amendments (16,17,18, and 19) also due to the growth of REGULATORY AGENCIES… was one of the largest booms in the Growth of the Federal Government… until the New Deal in the 1930s attempts to deal with the Great Depression. This is in conflict with many conservatives…who still believed in Cleveland’s statement… “it is the job of the people to support the government, not the job of the government to support the people.” They will return to power at the end of the Progressive Era and attempt to roll back the changes and the effects during the Great Depression are dramatic.

Progressives came from both political parties and they were influenced greatly by many of the Populist measures in the Omaha Platform… attempting to deepen the nation’s commitment to democracy, fair play (TR’s square deal and the 3 c’s), but also to impose their moral and social values, too. The Progressives even copy the Populists by creating their own 3rd party, the Bull Moose/Progressive Party in 1912 led by Teddy Roosevelt… although both he and Taft (conservative Republican) lose to the Progressive Democrat Woodrow Wilson… the Platform of the Bull Moose Party, New Nationalism, in 1912 influences, along with many Progressive ideas on using experts to solve social issues, the New Deal of FDR that transforms our nation into the Social Democracy we know today… for some a good thing…for others not as much. 