Progressive Era Notes

PROGRESSIVE ERA NOTES

Miss SpringbornTeam 6

Social StudiesDecember 2012

PROGRESSIVE ERA As the Civil War ended, increased

immigrants caused American cities to grow. As cities grew new problems arose. Reformers swung into action in areas such as city government, politics, public schools, and the workplace. African Americans, American Indians, immigrants, and women also called for reforms.

FILL IN NOTES ON LEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE: PICTURES OF

MAIN IDEAS

THE GILDED AGE:

Many people refer to the time period at the end of the 1800’s to the early 1900’s as the Gilded Age. This nickname came from Mark Twain, a famous author, who said from a distance American society looked golden but when you looked up close it was actually “gilded” (coated with cheap gold paint).

CORRUPTION IN POLITICS:

Powerful organization called political machines influenced city and county politics

They used both legal and illegal ways to get candidates elected to office

They would bribe voters, election officials, get only one candidate listed on the ballot, paid for votes, and even hire the people who counted the votes to make sure it turned out the way they wanted

Political machines where run by powerful bosses

Bosses traded favors for votes

CORRUPTION IN POLITICS:

Most bosses got support from new immigrants who needed more help to get by

One of the most famous political bosses: William Marcy Tweed of New York City reportedly stole as much as $200 million from the City Treasury during his time in power

Even the federal government was corrupt: especially the administration of Ulysses S. Grant. Many of his officials were arrested in plots to avoid paying taxes and went to jail

HOW DO WE SOLVE POLITICAL CORRUPTION? The nation passes Civil Service Reform Civil Service is the term used to describe

government jobs… for example: police, fireman, state troopers, IRS workers, and all other government jobs are considered to be Civil Service Jobs

This was supposed to help put the most qualified candidates in the job

You had to take a test about your test and show certain skills

People were then ranked (highest to lowest) based on their test scores and would get picked for job openings that way

HOW DO WE SOLVE POLITICAL CORRUPTION? This was to prevent unqualified and

corrupt officials from getting government jobs

The law passed in 1883 was called the Pendleton Civil Service Act and set up a merit system controlled by the Civil Service Commission. Today it covers almost 90% of all government jobs.

THE PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT: 

Reformers in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s were knows as Progressives

They worked to solve problems such as crime, disease, and poverty

Many areas were targeted for reform such as health and education, poor living conditions, unsafe working conditions, social unjust, government corruption, child labor, racial discrimination, corrupt monopolies, tenements and more!

Reformers received help from Muckrakers, journalists that helped “dig up dirt” on the problems in society

SOME OF THE SOLUTIONS TO THESE PROBLEMS: Solving Corruption in Politics: Goal was to Expand Democracy: to help

stop the political corruption we start to expand the right to vote and the power of the people

We create more of a direct primary system where the people vote on who will be the candidates for political office

SOLVING CORRUPTION IN POLITICS:

The 17th Amendment is passed in 1913 and allows for the first time Americans the right to vote directly for their Senators in Congress (remember there are 2 senators from every state)

Voters also were given the right to call for action on many political issues:

RECALL Recall: Voters can now sign a petition

asking for a special vote on an elected official. This allows them to remove elected officials if they are not happy with them

Ex: The governor of Wisconsin recently had a recall vote on his term because many were unhappy with some of his more recent decisions, he won his recall vote and is still in power today

INITIATIVE: Initiative: this allows voters to propose

a new law by getting signatures on a petition

Ex: Many states recently voted on issues in the last election under initiative vote, such as the legalization of medical marijuana and in California many citizens wanted change what information was on food labels to include anything genetically altered

REFERENDUM: Referendum: allows voters to sign a

petition to vote on a law already in place Ex: Puerto Rico ( a US Territory) recently

voted in a referendum to change their relationship with the United States and instead of remaining just a territory to try and work towards becoming our 51st state

REFORMING CITY AND STATE GOVERNMENTS: Create a new system of government

that runs more like a business model Had a city council that was elected by

the people and they choose a manager to help run the city

Robert LaFollette developed the Wisconsin Idea and pushes for changes such as tax reform, direct primaries, and more power to the people to elect their officials

FIXING THE PROBLEMS IN THE CITY:

There were many causes of the problems in the urban (city) society

City problems were caused by things like urbanization, growth of the middle class, bad working conditions in factories, scandals about political corruption, rise of powerful corporations (monopolies), and increase in immigration

New jobs/profession emerge to help the cities: jobs like city planners and civil engineers

These new planners will pass zoning laws, building-safety codes, create public parks, create proper waste disposal system (sewers), create safe water system, and created street paving and proper bridge building projects

EDUCATION REFORM: Many states start to pass laws requiring

children to attend school Push towards opening of High Schools

for upper education Courses in citizenship, health, and job

training were developed Kindergartens are opened for the first

time specifically to help the children of the poor and working class learn basic skills

EDUCATION REFORM: John Dewey, an important reforming in

education, created new models for teaching children that are still used today

Helped to create the American Medical Association (AMA) to help regulate the education of doctors and nurses and to spread the new scientific knowledge that was being learned about diseases and treatments

REFORMING THE WORKPLACE: Child Labor Reform Because of extremely low wages in the

workplace many families sent their children to work to help the family get by

About 1.75 million children under age 15 worked in mines, mills, and factories in 1900

Reformers helped create the National Child Labor Committee to investigate child labor and eventually pass laws

Federal government will pass laws in 1916 and 1919 but had some trouble keeping those laws intact from court challenges

SAFETY IN THE WORKPLACE: Many pushed for higher

wages and fewer working hours

Many states will pass minimum wage laws and maximum working hours

Tragic Accidents bring attention to workplace safety

In 1900 alone, 35,000 people were killed by industrial accidents. Another 500,000 were injured on the job

SAFETY IN THE WORKPLACE: In 1911, the tragic and shocking fire at the

Triangle Shirtwaist Company in New York City caused anger and outrage

A fire broke out when over 500 mostly immigrant women and children were preparing to leave for the day

The exit doors on the 10th floor of the building were locked and over 146 workers died from the fire, some jumping to their deaths to escape the smoke and heat

Because of this shocking case and others like it, reformers called for more workplace safety and greater laws regulating working conditions

SAFETY IN THE WORKPLACE: TRUE STORY: MODERN DAY TRAGEDY!! Sadly, cases

like this still happened in developing countries today around the world. On November 24th, 2012, 118 workers died at a garment factory in Bangladesh when a fire broke out and workers could not get through the narrow escape exits stairwells fast enough. These workers were also on a higher floor and many jumped to their death as well. Many poorer countries in this region have experience fires and other industrial accidents in recent years just like this. Many countries are years behind the United States in fixing this problem. Cases like this is why all building have fire codes in buildings, well lit and labeled emergency exits, why we practice fire drills, and have emergency systems such as 911 in place today.

LINKS ON MODERN DAY TRAGEDY http://

www.democracynow.org/seo/2012/11/26/massive_fire_kills_at_least_112

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/fire-kills-112-workers-making-clothes-us-brands/story?id=17807229

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/26/world/asia/bangladesh-fire-mourning/

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/24/15420144-fire-sweeps-clothing-factory-in-bangladesh-more-than-100-killed?lite

THE COURTS AND THE WORKPLACE: Many businesses sued in court over these new

regulations saying it was not fair and that the government shouldn’t be interfering in their business

Some laws were gotten rid of by the courts: For example in New York State there was law limiting bakers to a 10 hour work day but the Supreme Court ruled that the state could not limit businesses to only a 10 hour work day and workers could sign an agreement to work a longer day if they wanted

Other laws were kept by the courts: For example in the case of Muller vs. Oregon in 1908, the Court ruled that you could limit women’s working hours for health and safety reasons

Many of these issues were decided state by state

RISE OF LABOR ORGANIZATIONS: Unions fought for better working conditions Workers began to unite together to demand

shorter working hours, higher wages, and safety on the job

In 1903, the Women’s Trade Union League became the first all women’s union to demand better working conditions for females

One of the most powerful unions was the American Federation of Labor (AFL) whose leader Samuel Gompers argued for safer working conditions, higher pay, and right of the worker to organize

THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES: Women started to attend more colleges

in the late 1800’s Some argued that women could not

handle the “mental strain” of too much thinking

Even with higher education many jobs were still closed to women because of their gender

TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT: Women played a vital role in this reform This movement blamed alcohol for many of

society’s problems Leading reformer in this movement was a woman

named Carry Nation who literally stormed into saloons with ax’s chopping up the bar and smashing the liquor bottles

Reformers joined the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)

This movement will lead to the passage of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution in 1919. This amendment outlaws the production and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States

Total ban of alcohol

WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT: Many women wanted more rights

including the right to vote Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B.

Anthony found the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) in 1890 to help get the right to vote for women

Carrie Chapman Catt fought for women’s suffrage in many western states including Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, and Utah

WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT: Catt becomes president of NAWSA in 1900

and helps mobilize about 1 million volunteers to work for women’s right to vote

A rival group called the National Women’s Party (NWP) was founded by Alice Paul in 1913 and aimed to make the women’s suffrage movement more public with protests, parades, and public demonstrations including hunger strikes

Both groups efforts will pay off when the 19th amendment is passed in 1920 and granted all women in the United States the right to vote

AFRICAN AMERICANS FIGHT FOR CHANGE: After slavery ended there was still a lot of

problems for African Americans including discrimination

Booker T. Washington tried to help improve conditions through education. He was a founder of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama

Ida B. Wells was more outspoken and wrote many articles drawing attention to the violent killings in the south of black men

AFRICAN AMERICANS FIGHT FOR CHANGE: W.E.B. Dubois took a more hands

approach to fighting discrimination and helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

NAACP worked to end discrimination and bring down the oppressive Jim Crow Laws and end segregation in the South

THE PROGRESSIVE PRESIDENTS:

THEODORE ROOSEVELT (TEDDY)- TOOK OFFICE AFTER WILLIAM MCKINLEY WAS

SHOT AND KILLED IN 1901.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT (TEDDY)- Believed in being an active president. He pushed for the Square Deal, where

everyone’s (businessmen, workers, and consumers) rights should be balanced for the public good.

Got involved in several progressive issues including cleaning up the meat-packing industry thanks to Upton Sinclair’s book The Jungle. Because of this he pushes the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. This regulates the manufacture, sale, and transportation of all food and drugs distributed in the United States.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT (TEDDY)- Also passed was the Meat Inspection act

specifically addressing Sinclair’s book. Roosevelt also gets Congress to regulate railroad

shipping costs, this helping the small farmers. He also becomes a big supporter of the

conservation movement that worked to protect our natural resources and sets up many sites as protect federal lands. This today is known as our National Parks System, for example the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Niagara Falls, Badlands in South Dakota, Florida Everglades, etc… In total 150 million acres of public land set aside and protected

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT-TAFT WAS A BIT MORE CAUTIOUS THAN ROOSEVELT

AND MOVED A LITTLE SLOWER.

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT- He continued Roosevelt’s path and sued

many big businesses for unfair treatment of workers and for being monopolies.

Taft also continued to add more lands to the National Parks System for protection.

Taft will lose his re-election bid to Woodrow Wilson and the Bull Moose Party in 1912 in a very dirty three way race between Taft, Wilson, and T. Roosevelt.

WOODROW WILSON- WILSON PROMISED TO IMPROVE THE HORRIBLE SOCIAL CONDITIONS

MANY AMERICAN’S WERE LIVING IN.

WOODROW WILSON- He lowered tariffs with the Underwood Tariff Act of

1913. He also reformed the tax code by pushing for the

passage of the 16th Amendment in 1913 that allowed the federal government to tax our personal income. This provided a new source of income for the federal government.

He also worked to get the Federal Reserve Act passed to reform the banking industry. Created a National banking system and a federal reserve.

Wilson also pushed to reform businesses; He helped get the Clayton Antitrust Act passed in 1914 and strengthened federal laws against monopolies.

He also created the Federal Trade Commission that had the power to stop unfair trade practices.