Accomplishments of the Progressives

@ the Local, State and Federal Levels

1900 to 1917

“Progressives were reformers who

attempted to solve problems caused by industry, growth of cities and laissez

faire.”

Populists vs ProgressivesPopulists---rural

Progressives---cities

Populists were poor and uneducatedProgressives were middle-class and

educated.

Populists were too radicalProgressives stayed political

mainstream.

Populists failedProgressives succeeded

Progressives wereProgressives were

White ProtestantsMiddle class and native born.

College Educated Professionals Social workers

ScholarsPoliticiansPreachersTeachersWriters

Areas to ReformAreas to ReformSocial Justice

Political Democracy

Economic Equality

Conservation

Social JusticeSocial Justice Improve working

conditions in industry, regulate unfair business practices, eliminate child labor, help immigrants

and the poor

•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.

MUCKRAKERSMUCKRAKERS

Muckraker

Work Subject Results

Thomas Nast

PoliticalCartoons

Political corruption by NYC's political

machine, Tammany Hall, led by Boss

Tweed.

Tweed was convicted of embezzlement and

died in prison.

Jacob Riis

John Spargo

How the Other Half Lives

(1890)

The Bitter Cry of the Children

Living conditions of the urban poor; focused on

tenements.

Child labor in the factories and education for

children.

NYC passed building codes to promote safety and

health.

Ending child labor and increased enrollment in

schooling.

Muckraker

Work Subject Results

Investigated dangerous working

conditions and unsanitary procedures

in the meat-packing industry.

The Jungle(1906)

Upton Sinclair

In 1906 the Meat Inspection Act and

Pure Food and Drug Act were passed

Muckraker

Work Subject Results

Frank Norris

The Octopus (1901)

This fictional book exposed monopolistic

railroad practices in California.

In Northern Securities v. U.S.

(1904), the holding company

controlling railroads in the Northwest was

broken up.

Ida Tarbell

"History of Standard Oil Company" in

McClure's Magazine

(1904)

Exposed the ruthless tactics of the Standard Oil

Company through a series of articles

published in McClure's Magazine.

In Standard Oil v. U.S. (1911), the company was

declared a monopoly and

broken up.

Upton Beall Sinclair

fictitious account of a family of Lithuanian immigrants living in

Chicago and working in the Chicago's Union

Stock Yards.

1906 novel

Exit Questions• List two things you learned after reading

the “Jungle” in class.

• Give an example for the “Jungle” which would support Upton Sinclair advocating for Socialism

• Draw a picture which you think best represents the “Jungle”

Political DemocracyPolitical Democracy Give the government

back to the people, get more people voting and

end corruption with political machines.

I. Local Level

•Commission System

•City manager plan

CityCommissioner

Plan

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.*This could be an elected position

City ManagerPlan

A professional city manager is hired to run each department of the city and

report directly to the city council.

City Reforms

II. State Level•Direct primary

•Initiative•Referendum•Recall•Secret ballot

RecallRecall

Allows voters to petition to have an elected representative removed from

office.

InitiativeAllows voters to petition state

legislatures in order to consider a bill desired by citizens.

ReferendumAllows voters to decide if a bill or proposed amendment should be

passed.

Ensures that voters select candidates to run for office, rather than party bosses.

State Reforms

Secret BallotSecret BallotPrivacy at the ballot box ensures that citizens can cast votes without party bosses knowing how they voted.

Direct PrimaryDirect Primary

Given out only at the polls

Vote in secret

Printed at public expense

Lists names of all candidates and their

parties

Progressive Governor• Robert M. La Follette –

Wisconsin Idea– Direct Primary – Curbed Excess

Lobbying– Commissions in Public

Interest – Backed Labor reform

Robert M. La Follette

III. Federal Level

•Pure Food and Drug Act

• Meat Inspection Act

• Interstate Commerce Commission

Amendments•16 – Federal Income Tax

•17 – Direct Election of Senators

•18- Prohibition

•19- Women the right to vote

Economic JusticeEconomic 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.

Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt• Business– Trust Busting

– Sherman Anti-trust Act of 1890

– “1902, line against the misconduct not against the wealth”

– “Don’t wish to destroy corp. Wish to serve

the public good”

Trust Busting• Elkins Act (1903). ended the common practice of the railroads

granting rebates to their most valued customers. Trusts paid significantly less for rail service than farmers and other small operators. The law required that rates be published and that violations of the law would find both the railroad and the shipper liable for prosecution.

• Hepburn Act (1906). The Hepburn Act strengthened existing• railroad regulations in the following ways:

– Increased the size of the Interstate Commerce Commission from five to seven members

– Gave the ICC the power to establish maximum rates – Restricted the use of free passes – Brought other common carriers (businesses that transport goods or

information for a fee), such as terminals, storage facilities, pipelines, ferries and others, under ICC jurisdiction

– Required the adoption of uniform accounting practices for all carriers – In appeals situations, placed the burden of proof on the shipper, not the

ICC; this was a major change from the previous practice in which the railroads had blunted regulations by lengthy appeals.

A 1904 Puck cartoon depicts Theodore Roosevelt as "Jack the Giant-Killer," battling the Wall Street titans. Actually, Roosevelt “busted” relatively few trusts. His successor, William Taft, dissolved nearly twice as many trusts as Roosevelt. (Scott Foresman Addison Wesley, Picture Research Dept.)

A landmark decision in United States Supreme Court history, as it justifies both “sex discrimination” and usage of “labor laws.” The case upheld Oregon state restrictions on the working hours of women as justified by the special state interest in protecting women's health. The ruling gave the power to the states to regulate the work place.

Curt Muller, the owner of a laundry business, was convicted of violating Oregon labor laws by making a female employee work more than ten hours in a single day. Muller was fined $10.

Muller v. Oregon, (1908)

CONSERVATIONCONSERVATION

Preserve natural resources and

the environment

Square deal

“No more, No less”

• Arbitration (UMW)

• Conservation• Reclamation

• National Park Service

•Federal Children’s Bureau

•Creation of a Dept. of Labor

•8 hr. workday

•Mann-Elkins Act

•Aligns with Conservative

Republicans and splits with Roosevelt’s

Progressives.

•Dollar DiplomacyGoodness gracious, I must have been dozing

•TR forms his own party called the Progressive “Bull Moose Party”……..

The Progressive Party& Theodore RooseveltThe Progressive Party& Theodore Roosevelt

New Freedom

Goal: • Favored an active role in

economic and social affairs.

• Favored small businesses and the free functioning and unregulated and unmonopolized markets.

• Tackle the “triple wall of triple wall of privilegeprivilege”: the tariff, the banks, and the trusts.

1. Similar to Roosevelt’s New Nationalism.

Goal: • Continuation of his Square

Deal which were reforms to help the common man.

• Favored a more active govt role in economic and social affairs.

1. Good trusts vs. bad trusts2. Direct election of senators3. Tariff reduction4. Presidential primaries5. Regulation of monopolies6. End child labor7. Initiative and referendum8. Women’s suffrage

New Nationalism

GOP Divided by Bull Moose

Equals Democratic Victory!

GOP Divided by Bull Moose

Equals Democratic Victory!

William Howard Taft

President of the United States (1909–1913)

Woodrow Wilson

President of the United States (1913-1921)