Progressivism

Reforming America’s Modern Industrial Society in the Early

20th Century

The Progressive Challenge• Progressives of the late 19th and early 20th century sought

to address the problems of an increasingly industrial and urban society through social reforms, often seeking government intervention to achieve their goals

• Support for the progressive reform movement was more broad-based than the populist movement of the 1890s; middle-class Americans supported progressive policies as a way of preventing potential social revolution

• Problems included:– Poor living and working conditions for laborers– Pollution and environmental degradation– Income and social class gaps– Lack of competition due to the rise of monopolies/trusts– Government corruption at all levels– Lack of political rights for many groups

Progressive Solutions• Progressives sought utilitarian approaches to smooth

out the rough edges of unrestrained free-market capitalism – the idea of the “greatest good for the greatest number”

• They believed in the application of scientific “management” to better society; accepted the idea that every problem has a pragmatic solution

• They also believed that government could and should play a role in promoting social welfare

• The progressive movement drew heavily on the influences of the Enlightenment – progress, rationalism, liberalism, and humanitarianism

Intellectual Leaders• Thorstein Veblen – social critic who skewered wealthy elites

in The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899); believed that engineers and workers were better suited to lead the nation

• Herbert Croly – called for a Hamiltonian approach to government in The Promise of the American Life (1909)

• John Dewey – educator and philosopher who championed hands-on education and relativism; believed that America needed well-educated citizens who could make up their own minds

• Jane Addams – founder of Hull House, who also fought for women’s suffrage and labor rights; urged common cause between middle and working classes

• Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. – Supreme Court justice who advocated for loose interpretation of the Constitution to reflect social changes; the law must “evolve” to meet needs

Muckrakers• Theodore Roosevelt labeled investigate journalists as

“muckrakers”, reflecting their efforts to point out the problems of American society c. 1900

• Upton Sinclair – author of The Jungle (1906) sought to persuade Americans to bring about labor reforms but led more directly to consumer safety legislation

• Ida Tarbell – condemned Rockefeller’s business practices in The History of the Standard Oil Company (1904); encouraged trust-busting activities

• Lincoln Steffens – exposed corrupt political machines in The Shame of the Cities (1904)

• Ida B. Wells – African-American writer who brought the evils of lynching home to her readers

Jacob Riis• Riis led the way among muckrakers for How the

Other Half Lives (1890), which combined photos and written text to reveal the awful conditions of the urban poor in New York City

Political/Social Reformers• Robert La Follette – progressive Republican

governor of Wisconsin who supported the “Wisconsin Idea” of electoral reform (direct primaries, initiatives, referendums, recalls) combined with business regulation, labor reform, and social welfare programs

• Robert Wagner – New York politician who investigated the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911 and proposed significant labor reforms

• Florence Kelley – campaigned for child labor laws and labor reform for women workers; argued that consumers had just as much interest as laborers in bringing about much-needed changes

Theodore Roosevelt’s “Square Deal”• Philosophy – TR believed that the interests of all Americans

needed to be represented, not just the special interests; used his power as president and the so-called “bully pulpit” to balance between the interests of rich and poor

• Coal Strike of 1902 – TR intervened to help negotiate an end to the strike that favored miners but did not meet all of their demands; his goal was to prevent a coal shortage that could have resulted in a national crisis; this was the first time a president directly supported labor interests

• Northern Securities Trust case (1903-04) – TR started the process of “trust-busting” to curb the power of big business but not eliminate it; TR’s government sued J.P. Morgan’s trust for acting in “restraint of trade” under the terms of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act; this was the first time a president ever took on big business and won

Roosevelt’s Reforms• Consumer Safety – aimed at protecting the

consumer against poor-quality and even dangerous products-- Meat Inspection Act (1906)-- Pure Food & Drug Act (1906)

• Conservation – aimed at conserving resources to ensure future use-- Land Reclamation Act (1902)-- Gifford Pinchot appointed as head of the

U.S. Forest Service (1905)• Railroad Regulation – designed to strengthen

the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)-- Hepburn Act (1906)-- Mann-Elkins Act (1910), approved by Taft

TR’s “New Nationalism” • Roosevelt declined to run for a third term in 1908 even

though he would have likely been re-elected; he hand-picked his successor, Secretary of War William Howard Taft

• Even though Taft encouraged trust-busting (as evidenced by the break up of the Standard Oil Trust in 1911), he was not perceived as being as dedicated to progressive reform as TR

• Taft supported Secretary of the Interior Ballinger in his decision to fire Gifford Pinchot after Pinchot protested the opening of federal lands to timber companies; this decision created a rift between Taft and Roosevelt

• By 1910, Roosevelt was already positioning himself to reclaim the presidency and advocated even greater government intervention to encourage progressive goals; this program (which advocated big government) became known as the “New Nationalism”

The Watershed Election of 1912There were four major presidential candidates in

the 1912 election campaign:President Taft won the Republican nomination

despite a major challenge from TR, who won in nearly every state that had a direct primary; he represented conservative elements in the GOP

Woodrow Wilson, progressive governor of New Jersey, won the Democratic nomination and campaigned on a progressive “New Freedom” platform

Theodore Roosevelt won the Progressive Party (Bull Moose) nomination and advocated his “New Nationalism”

Eugene V. Debs ran as the Socialist candidate, representing the far left’s radical views

Election of 1912 Results

• Why did Wilson win the 1912 election?

Wilson’s “New Freedom” Agenda• Wilson’s first years in office produced a flood of progressive

reform measures, matched only by FDR’s first “Hundred Days” in 1933 and LBJ’s “Great Society” reforms in 1964-65

• Financial Reforms – provided government with a consistent source of revenue and more control of the financial system

-- Underwood-Simmons Tariff Act (1913)-- 16th Amendment (1913) – income tax -- Federal Reserve Act (1913)

• Corporate Regulation – sought to further limit the power of large corporations by regulating them more closely

-- Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914)-- Federal Trade Commission Act (1914)

Wilson Political Cartoons

Wilson’s Agenda (continued)Labor Reforms – built on the groundwork of TR’s handling of the

coal strike, cases such as Muller v. Oregon (1908), and incidents such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911)

-- Keating-Owen Act (1916) – banned child labor-- Adamson Act (1916) – 8-hour day for railway

workers-- Workman’s Compensation Act (1916) – disability

benefits established for federal workersSocial Welfare Reform – sought to regulate social behavior

-- Mann Act (1910), approved by Taft-- Narcotics Act (1914)-- 18th Amendment (1919) – made Prohibition possible

Political Reforms17th Amendment (1913) – direct election of U.S. senators19th Amendment (1920) – women’s suffrage!

resulted from several factors:-- growing role of women in the work force-- leadership of women in reform movements

(ex: Jane Addams, Carry Nation, Florence Kelley)-- political leadership of NAWSA (Carrie Chapman Catt) and

the more radical Women’s Party (led by Alice Paul)-- growth of educational opportunities for women-- emergence of the “New Woman” in American culture-- role of women in World War I made the critical difference

Women’s Suffrage in Imagery