Unit 2: Populists and Progressive Reform Movements

Populism (Populist Party) GR 5.3 (Farmers organize against ‘injustice”) Populism- a movement of farmers and labor organized into the “Populist Party”. (They are considered a “Third Party”) Problems faced by farmers: Debt, deflation,Civil War “greenbacks” taken out of circulation, (money in short supply), railroad monopolies Populist Party Platform- Bi-Metallism- using gold and silver to increase money supply and lower value of money ( which could reduce farm debt) and raise prices. direct election of Senators-to take back control from big business Secret ballot (private voting) Graduated income tax They grew in power during the early 1890’s Their champion was William Jennings Bryan - noted for his presidential campaigns and his “Cross of Gold” speech

The Cross of Gold Speech

The Progressive Movement Ch 9, Progressivism: An early 20 th century reform movement seeking to return control of the government to the people, to restore economic opportunities, and to correct injustices in American life The 4 goals of the Progressives  Protecting Social Welfare  Promoting Moral Improvement  Creating Economic Reform  Fostering Efficiency

Goal #1 of Progressivism 1. P rotecting social welfare  help relieve urban problems (Social Gospel and settlement houses)  Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA)- opened libraries, sponsored classes, and built exercise facilities  Salvation Army- fed poor people, cared for children,  Illinois Factory Act of prohibited child labor and limited women’s working hours (model for other states )

Progressive Goal number 2: 2. Promoting moral improvements  The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) founded in Chicago 1873, promoted the goal of prohibition (went into saloons, singing, praying, and urging owners to stop selling alcohol  The Anti-Saloon League formed in 1895  Prohibition (18 th Amendment) the sale and consumption of alcohol was prohibited  (Prohibition angered many immigrant groups, many of which had customs which included the consumption of alcohol)

Progressive Goals 3 and 4 3. creating economic reform  Panic of 1893 Americans to question capitalism  American Socialist Party formed 1900 (Eugene Debs)  Journalists wrote about the corrupt side of business, they were known as “muckrakers” (examples: Ida Tarbell, Upton Sinclair, Lincoln Steffens)  “The Jungle”(book by Upton Sinclair)-regulation and monitoring of meat industry (Pure Food and Drug Act, Meat Inspection Act)  Child Labor Laws- numbers of children industrial workers reduced from 2 million in 1910 to 1 million in Fostering efficiency  scientific management- an application of science principles to increase efficiency in the workplace  workers became more productive and the amount of goods and services available to people increased.  1913, Ford Motor Company enhanced efficiency by introducing an assembly line  Ford also reduced workdays to 8 hours and paid $5 a day. Twice that of other industrial jobs

Progressives wanted truth in advertising and consumer safety.

More Progressivism (political reform) Progressives opposed government corruption and corrupt “political bosses” and “political machines”. They wanted to return “power to the people” Initiative- a bill on the voting ballot that is originated by the people, rather than the lawmakers Referendum- the voters/people are allowed to approve or reject a law that the legislature had passed Recall- the voters/people have the opportunity to reject and remove an elected official Constitutional Amendments Supported by Progressives: 16th- Progressive (graduated) Income Tax (1913) 17th- Direct Election of US Senators (1913) 18th- Prohibition ((1919) 19th- Women’s Suffrage- (women had fought for this for 70 years, women had gained the right to vote in several western states earlier). (1920)

Life in the city and the Progressives Urban reform (end political corruption) Urban planning (make the cities more “liveable”)

Progressive Era Presidents Theodore Roosevelt- 26th president ( ) Became president at the age of 42, the youngest president to hold office Took over as president after McKinley was assassinated Progressive reforms known as “Roosevelt’s Square Deal” pg Broke apart 40+ trusts “The Trust Buster”

Progressive Era Presidents William Howard Taft- 27th president ( ) Roosevelt’s Secretary of War, Teddy declared that Taft should be his successor. Previously a lawyer, after he was president, he became a professor of law at Yale Later became a supreme court justice Busted 90 Trusts-(more than Teddy Roosevelt)

Progressive Presidents continued - Election of 1912 In the 1912 election all the candidates would be considered “progressives”(Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft) Woodrow Wilson- 28th president ( ) Economic progressive…. Federal Reserve System created Graduated Income Tax Women’s suffrage attained during his term in office (although he was initially unsupportive)

The end of the Progressive Movement With the start of WWI(1914) the progressives Era ended Social reform took second stage as attention was focused on the war.