Progressive Reforms Chapter 21

The Progressive Reforms Section One

Fighting Corruption  Progressive Reformers focused on urban problems  They believed the government and big business were taking advantage of the people

Politics during the Gilded Age can best be characterized as corrupt Political machines strongly influenced city, county, and even federal politics in the late 1800s.

 Led by political bosses they often offered favors in exchange for votes  Bosses accepted bribes from tenement landlords  And Kickbacks from contractors  Overcharged on the bill giving a percentage to the boss  l

 Boss Tweed  Tammany Tweed was the NY boss  After winning the election he rewarded his supporters with jobs  Stole 200 million dollars  Stuffed ballots  Bribed officials

Fighting the Spoils System  Rewarding political supporters with jobs and favors  Most who received these jobs were unqualified  With the passing of the Pendleton Act the Civil Service Commission set up a competitive examinations  Job seekers now had to be qualified  l

Political Power to Citizens  Following the example of western states, the government began to give power to the voters  The Recall allowed voters to remove unsatisfactory officials from office

The 17 th Amendment  Senators were elected by state legislators  These legislators were often controlled by bosses  With the 17 th Amendment - citizens could now vote directly for senators that would represent their interests

Controlling Business  During the late 1800’s people believed businesses became too big  Forming monopolies  The Sherman Antirust Act  First law against monopolies  l

The New Reformers  Many believed that businesses should be owned by the government for the good of the people  They were alarmed that so much wealth resided with so few  Americans decided that government should regulate instead of control

Muckrakers Expose Problems  Muckrakers exposed injustice and corruption  Journalists that brought these issues to the public’s attention  l

 Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle  Originally written to arouse sympathy for the workers  It shocked the American public  The Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act

Women and Progressives Section Two

Women’s Roles Change  Thanks to smaller families, kids at school, and new technology opportunities opened up to women  The new woman  Educated, up-to- date, with hobbies  l

The Fight for Suffrage  After the Civil War the 15 th Amendment passed allowing African Americans men to vote  Women were looking for the same right  Suffragists were men and women who fought for women’s suffrage

 Some groups resisted women’s suffrage- including some women  Thought it might upset the “natural” balance  In 1919 the 19 th Amendment was passed giving women the right to vote

The Temperance Crusade  A movement began to fighting the use of alcohol  Strongly supported by Protestant churches  Looked to link alcohol and poverty, violence, and unemployment

Radical temperance fighter Carry Nation stormed saloons and smashed bottles with an axe in the 1890s. Temperance efforts led to the Eighteenth Amendment (1919), banning the production, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages.

Progressive Presidents Section Three

The Progressive Presidents American presidents in the early 1900s did a great deal to promote progressive reforms.

Theodore Roosevelt called his reform policy the Square Deal Theodore Roosevelt called his reform policy the Square Deal Roosevelt desired to balance the interest of the consumers, laborers, and business people Roosevelt desired to balance the interest of the consumers, laborers, and business people Theodore Roosevelt

Conservation Conservation Roosevelt strongly supported conservation, the protection of nature and its resources. Roosevelt strongly supported conservation, the protection of nature and its resources. Some preservationists wanted to protect nature to save its beauty. Some preservationists wanted to protect nature to save its beauty.

Roosevelt responded by Doubling the number of national parks and created wildlife reservations Adding 150 million acres of public land Regulated businesses use of natural resources

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft  Taft supported the 16 th Amendment  Allowed congress to tax people’s income  Hoped to be used to support the poor  l

Excluded from Reform Section Four

 During the 1800’s the majority of Americans were white, Protestant, and native born.  Those that were not often suffered from discrimination  Unequal treatment because of race, religion, ethnic background, or place of birth

Anti-Catholicism  Being non-protestant, Catholics were targeted for discrimination  Some believed that there would be a Catholic overthrow of the government

Anti-Semitism  Many Jews fled there home countries to escape discrimination only to find it again in America  Landlords, employers, and schools discriminated against Jews  In addition, many Jews from eastern Europe were doubly discriminated against as Eastern Europeans were also seen as “foreign”

Anti-Asian Policies  Discrimination was also based upon race  The Chinese Exclusion Act prevented Chinese from immigrating to the US  Some tried to force Japanese children to attend their own schools  The Gentlemen’s Agreement with Japan slowed Japanese immigration into the US

 Discrimination Against African-Americans  4/5 of lived in the south  Usually restricted to their own neighborhoods, schools, parks, restaurants, and cemeteries  Plessy vs. Ferguson legalized segregation

 The Ku Klux Klan sought to restore white, Protestant America  Founded after the Civil War  Re-established in 1915  They preyed on all minorities but especially African-Americans