The Progressive Era (1900 - 1920)1. Progressive Movement Reaction to problems created during the Gilded Age. Goals of Progressives:

1) Return control of the government to the people 2) Restore economic opportunities 3) Correct injustices in American life.

Progressives reformers often lived in cities & had a college education.

The reform movement had actually started after the Civil War with the Greenback labor party, but it had gained the most with the Populists

2. The “Muckrakers”Journalists who sought to expose political corruption, poor working conditions, or other problems in American society. Ida Tarbell- Muckraker who

exposed John Rockefeller’s ruthless tactics to build his oil monopoly in The History of the Standard Oil Company.

Thomas Lawson- brought the inner workings of the stock market to light in Frenzied Finance.

John Spargo- unearthed the horrors of child labor in The Bitter Cry Of The Children in 1906

Lincoln Steffens Muckraker who wrote

The Shame of the Cities. Exposed corrupt city politicians and unfair businesses practices.

Upton Sinclair Muckraker who wrote

the bestseller, The Jungle. Exposed horrible & unsanitary conditions of meatpacking industry.

3. Reform in GovernmentProgressives wanted to give common people a greater voice and rid government of corruption.

(A) Initiative Allowed citizens to initiate, or propose, a bill by collecting the required number of signatures from voters.

(B) ReferendumProgressives wanted voters to have a direct say in the lawmaking process. In a referendum, people could vote to approve or reject a proposed law.

(C) Recall Allowed voters to remove elected officials from office before their terms were complete. Voters sign a petition for a recall, then a special election takes place to vote a politician out of office.

4. Direct Election of Senators Until 1913, state legislatures elected

senators to represent the states in U.S. Congress. Progressives complained that special interests could buy votes by bribing legislators.

17th amendment (1913) - required the direct election of U.S. Senators in all states.Gave Americans a greater role in govt.

5. Progressive Reform for States

La Follette’s “Wisconsin Idea” Progressive Robert La Follette elected governor

of Wisconsin in 1900. Established direct primaries in state elections, an

income tax, protected natural resources, regulated & taxed big business, etc.

Wisconsin became a national model of progressive reform. Other states soon followed.

6. Social & Moral Reform Ban on Child Labor

Progressives used photos & statistics to show plight of working children. Nearly all states banned child labor by 1920 and set maximum working hours.

Temperance Movement (Ban on Alcohol)Some Progressive women felt alcohol was root of many social problems. Pushed states to pass ban on alcohol.

18 amendment (1919)– Illegal to manufacture, sale, transport alcohol in U.S.

7. Women’s Suffrage (right to vote)

President Woodrow Wilson did not support female suffrage.

Instead, states were pressured to grant women suffrage (pickets, parades, boycotts)

Famous suffragettes included Susan B. Anthony & Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

19th amendment - ratified in 1920 gave all women right to vote.

8. Rights for African Americans Booker T. Washington

Black educator. Believed African-Americans should learn useful labor skills & prove economic value to society.

Founded Tuskegee University in Alabama.

Favored gradual approach to equality. Financial security first, civil rights later.

W.E.B. Dubois First African-American to

receive a degree from Harvard University.

Strongly disagreed w/ Booker T.

Wanted blacks to seek education & lead their communities in demanding immediate equal rights.

Founded Niagra Movement – later became the NAACP. Used courts & legislature to fight for African-American rights.

9.Health & Environmental Reform Meat Inspection Act (1906)

President Theodore Roosevelt read The Jungle. Ordered a federal investigation into meat industry.

Meat Inspection Act set sanitation standards for meat industry.

Pure Food & Drug Act (1906) Roosevelt & Congress to passed Pure Food & Drug Act. Banned harmful additives in foods and false advertisements for drugs.

Laws led to creation of the Food and Drug Administration & improved food safety in America.

Progressives Promote Conservation Wanted to protect America’s natural resources from abuses by industries during the Gilded Age.

States & President Roosevelt created millions of acres of national forests & wilderness areas to preserve for future generations of Americans (Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park, etc.)

10. Roosevelt: The Square Deal

Roosevelt’s agenda for the country – “a Square Deal for all” involved progressive legislation:-control corporations-consumer protection-conservation of natural resources

1902→ordered the break up of the massive Northern Securities Company

1904→ he was supported by the Supreme Court which ordered the company dissolved

1902 Roosevelt called both sides to a conference at the White House

11. Economic Reform Income Tax Amendment

President William Taft & Progressives wanted to even out the disparities of wealth in American society & force rich to pay fair share.

16th Amendment (1913) – federal graduated income tax (tax rate rises as income increases).

12. “Trust-busting” Roosevelt & Taft went after large

monopolies by filing nearly 150 anti-trust lawsuits under the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Dismantled Standard Oil Company & others.

Clayton Antitrust Act (1914)President Woodrow Wilson & Progressives strengthened Sherman Antitrust Act to allow government to regulate large companies & dismantle monopolies.

Federal Trade Commission (1914)

Wilson & Progressives wanted to police actions of businesses to preserve fair competition.

FTC has power to order businesses to stop harmful practices & file lawsuits against monopolies.

13. Impact of Progressive Era Progressive Era reforms helped to “level

the playing field” between the rich and poor & made America more fair, honest, efficient.

Progressive energy eventually faded due to World War I and economic boom of 1920s.