The Progressive Movement Late 1800’s, Early 1900s.

The Progressive Movement

Late 1800’s, Early 1900s

What do you see here? What problems does this indicate that “progressives” want to improve? What do you think caused these problems?

A reform movement to cure the problems created by the INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Unsanitary, crowded, corrupt CITIES Poor WORKING CONDITIONS Liquor Abuse A few wealthy industrialists (e.g. Rockefeller,

Carnegie) with a high % of POOR POLITICAL CORRUPTION – “Machines”

Who were they? EDUCATED, WHITE ANGLO-SAXON PROTESTANT REFORMERS (Mostly) - WASPs

4 goals:

Help the POOR Promote MORALITY Improve the WORKPLACE (Efficiency, etc.) Improve GOVERNMENT (More Efficiency, etc.)

Goal # 1 of Progressives:Help the POOR

•Salvation Army: -soup kitchens, nurseries, “slum brigades” – MORAL COMPONENT TOO•Jane Addams’ – Hull House in Chicago (1889) – Childcare, help for women & Immigrants, reformers met there

What do you think she was saying to these women?

Goal # 1: Help the POOR (cont.)

•Idea of an income tax was proposed…

•GOAL: distribute income more evenly (and embarrass Republicans) – “Soak the Rich”

RESULT: 16TH Amendment: 1st Income tax (1913 – Taft/Wilson)

“Progressive” Tax – Higher Income = Higher tax

Issue Today? Bush Tax Cuts

Goal #2 of the progressives: Promote MORALITY

best way to help people…

•- Teach them to be more MORAL

•Best way to do that…

No More Drinking!!!!!

W.C.T.U.: Women’s Christian Temperance Union – Largest Women’s Group in History

•Pushed for Ban on drinking

•women’s right to vote

Morality…Continued

RESULTS: 18th Amendment (1920) – Ban on Drinking 19th Amendment (1920) – Women can vote…

– Alice Paul & WCTU

Morality for men in the “outside world” but also…

&

AND….YWCA

What do you see here? Why does this look dangerous? Why do you think children were valued as workers based on this?

“I want to learn to read but I can’t if I’m working all the time…”

Goal #3 of the progressives:Make the WORKPLACE better

Child Labor – BIG PROBLEMChild Labor was limited (by 1912 – ¾ of all states banned it)

What do you see here? What do you think happened?

Also…women’s labor was Dangerous (Triangle Factory- 146), Underpaid(1/2) Progressive movement attempted to make

improvements for women at work AND:

Better Education (Radcliffe, Smith, Wellesley)! THE right to vote!

NAWSA – Carrie Chapman Catt– tried state legislatures, courts and then …

-Got RADICAL – ALICE PAUL – Hunger Strikes, Round the clock pickets of Whitehouse-AMENDMENT TO CONSTITUTION (19TH) – 1920 – WOMEN COULD NOW VOTE

Upton Sinclair

Goal #3 Make the WORKPLACE/Business better (

MUCKRAKERS: Investigative reporters who criticize big business – Do we have these today? 60 Minutes…RESULT

•Upton Sinclair: “The Jungle” – horrors of meatpacking industry

Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food & Drug Act (FDA created)

T. Roosevelt took action

John D. Rockefeller

Developed a huge monopoly and trusts in the Oil industry – Standard Oil through SKETCHY practices

Muckrakers to the RESCUE (insert superman music)…

Ida Tarbell: Reported on the abuses of capitalism and Big Business – particularly Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company (Trusts/Monopoly)

What the heck are trusts & monopolies and all this stuff all about? (see next slide…)

What is a capitalism? Why is it sketchy?

What do you see in this slide?

Goal #3 of the progressives:Make the WORKPLACE/Businesses better (Cont.)

Vs.

Govt. Vs. Business

Trustbusters (Govt.) vs. Industrialists (Business)Trust: Secret agreements between companies

– knock out competition…- creates a…

Monopoly - 1 company controls industry then jack up prices (Rockefeller & Carnegie)

Trustbusters – Teddy Roosevelt used Sherman act to bust up Trusts & monopolies -and offer “SQUARE DEAL” for common folk

Also a Trustbuster….TAFT Broke twice as many trusts as Roosevelt Instituted 8 hour workday

Why were they going at it?

Same reason why Congress went after Bill Gates recently…

Monopoly = less competition = bad for consumer

Industrialist argument: Laissez Faire Gov’t (“Hands Off” business = Good for business growth Problem with this…?

Goal #3 of the progressives:Make the WORKPLACE/Businesses better (Cont.)What the heck is all this laissez-faire, capitalism stuff?

Eugene Debs, Socialists and Unions say …

Eugene, Socialists, and Unions would say…Businesses Can’t be trusted Eugene Debs: 1st Socialist Candidate for prez

What is a socialist? (see handout)

Trade Unions:Groups of Unified workers that can obtain more worker rights than businesses

–Knights of Labor – “brotherhood” – pooled unions together but….

–Unions Labeled as radical and didn’t work out because of HAYMARKET Bombing …also…

…The Pullman Strike (1894): Gov’t against Unions

Samuel Gompers and AFL (Amer. Fed. Of Labor) – success of bigger/industry wide unions & NOT AS RADICAL

Eventually, won support in government through…

Teddy Roosevelt & John L. Lewis (Union Organizer)

Goal #3 of the progressives:Make the WORKPLACE better (cont.)

More EFFICIENT WORKPLACE:

Scientific Management (Taylor):Apply science to business

FORD – pay twice the amount for boring wk

Galveston Hurricane - 1900

San Fran Earthquake of 1906

How well do you think the government respond to these disasters (think Katrina)?

Fightin’ Bob Lafollette

Goal # 4 of Progressives:Make GOVERNMENT better

       Robert La Follette – “Fighting Bob” – DROVE BUSINESS OUT OF POLITICS (RAILROAD)• 

Direct Primaries !!!!!!(Wisconsin Idea) – The people could elect political candidates …not corrupt POLITICAL MACHINES

And more efficiency in…

People should have more of a say in Gov’t!!!

Goal # 4 of Progressives:Make GOVERNMENT better(Cont.)

Result on State Level:

Recalls (Ahhhnold!)Initiatives (Petitions)Referendums (Vote No/Yes on #1)Secret Ballots (Australian

Ballot)

17th Amendment – Senators are elected by the people rather by the (often corrupt) state governments (Yeah “Fightin’” Bob!)(Are we fighting this stuff today? You betcha… McCain-Feingold Bill/DeLay)Also, Anti-political machine legislations (NO KICKBACKS, NEPOTISM, CRONYISM, ETC.)

National Result:

Teddy’s other big progressive action: CONSERVATION LAND -Yosemite, etc(.…not a hippie but…loved to camp!)

Appointed Experts (Pinchot/Muir): Way to make gov’t better and more EFFICIENT

Taft went against this

Led to…

…Republican Party split…Dems Win

Woody Wilson’s Progressivism

Woody Wilson’s Progressivism – “New Freedom”

CLAYTON ANTI-TRUST ACT (Wilson ALSO a trustbuster)

FTC – “watchdog of business” Federal Reserve Bank – 12 of them! 16th Amend.- Income Tax

Review:

Help the POOR (Income tax, Salvation army, Hull House, etc)

Promote MORALITY (No Drinking/More Christianity)

Improve the WORKPLACE/Business (Efficiency, Improve for women & Children, Teddy)

Improve GOVERNMENT (More Efficiency, Less Corruption, People have more of a say)

Was their progress during the progressive movement?

Did the progressive movement embody a shift from personal responsibility and morality to government taking responsibility for peoples’ actions?