Unit 2 Section 1 Part 2

A. Courts and Labor Laws  Businesses tried to fight the laws  Muller v. Oregon  -Supreme Court Decision  -established a 10 hour workday for women in laundries and factories  -later, the law included men

B. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire  Progressives also fought for safety in the workplace  About 500 women worked for the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in NY  In 1911, a fire broke out in the factory  Escape was nearly impossible  -all the doors were locked to prevent theft  -the fire escape broke, sending victims to their death  -doors opened inward instead of outward  -women began jumping out of windows  140 died

 The fire convinced the government that something needed to be done  Laws were passed to make the workplace safer

C. Reforming City Governments  Progressives also tried to clean up governments  Robert M. Lafollette  -Progressive Mayor in Wisconsin  He came up with the idea of forming commissions to oversee transportation, civil service, and taxation  -also set up a commission to regulate RR’s

D. Election Reforms  Some of the biggest reforms targeted elections  Progressives wanted to make elections fair  -also wanted to make elected officials accountable to the people  Direct Primaries  -allows voters to select a party’s candidates for public office  17 th Amendment  -allowed normal voters to elect senators  -this would undermine the power of party Bosses  Also created the idea of the secret ballot

 Finally, progressives urged states to adopt 3 measures  Initiative  -allows voters to propose laws  Referendum  -Allows voters to be the final word in accepting or rejecting laws  Recall  -allows citizens to remove an elected official from office