The Rise of Progressivism Chapter 17 Sections 1 and 2 The Rise of Progressivism

The Goals of Progressivism Progressive movement- reformers exposing the unsafe working conditions, living conditions, and poor food conditions during this time period, Progressives wanted to restore the economy and better the lifestyle of the nations poor. Four Goals: - protecting social welfare - promoting social improvement - creating economic reform - fostering efficiency

Protecting Social Welfare Need to help the poor that have suffered through industrialization Social Welfare- The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) opened things like libraries and swimming pools, Salvation Army ran soup kitchens and had “slum brigades” to go in and educate the poor in the slums. Florence Kelly inspired by settlement houses was an advocate for improving the lives of women and children

Promoting Moral Improvement Reform to encourage moral responsibility Prohibition (no alcohol) Women’s Christian Temperance Union (1874) led by Frances Willard - Starts in Mid West by 1911 has 245,000 members, becomes less religious based. -largest women’s group in US History, -schools for immigrant children, better prisons/asylums, and women’s suffrage Anti-Saloon League (1895)- close saloons because they were bad for society. Bars and saloons part of the immigrant community most cultural practices involve alcohol, strongly opposed by immigrant population

Economic Reform Severe economic panic in 1893 created questions about the capitalist system Some Americans begin to favor socialism- Socialist party in U.S. started by Eugene v Debs in 1901 Looked at uneven balance between big business, government and your average person Journalists writing about the corruption were called muckrakers (Ida Tarbell, Upton Sinclair

Jacob Riis: How the Other Half Lives

Fostering Efficiency Many Progressive leaders rely on experts and scientific principles to make society and the workplace more efficient Fredrick Winslow Taylor began using time and motion studies to help make things more efficient by breaking tasks into smaller simpler parts. Assembly lines work well but not all workers can work at the same rate and many workers come and go quickly mostly due to injuries sustained by fatigued workers Assembly line “perfected” by Henry Ford- makes Model T affordable Workers don’t have to work as long to get the same amount of product (can pay workers less)

Government Reform Fairer taxes, publicly run public utilities Robert M. La Follette Wisconsin governor later a senator in 1906 – major target, railroad reform National Child Labor Committee was formed in 1904 - Children often used because they would work for lower wages and their small hands made them more capable of working with the small parts and tools - Usually just about every family member had to work in order to take care of the family - Keating- Owen Act passed in 1916, act prohibits transportation across state lines of goods produced with child labor- two years later supreme court rules this law unconstitutional as it interferes with states rights

Working Hours Muller vs Oregon (1908): limits a woman’s work day to 10 hours Bunting vs Oregon (1917): 10 hour work day for men Worker’s Compensation is established (different per state) - aids the families of workers who were hurt or killed on the job

Election Reform Secret Ballot: Initiative- Bill started by the people Referendum- vote on the initiative Recall - remove public officials from office by forcing them to face another vote 17th Amendment, direct election of senators Government reform brings more attention to the women’s suffrage movement

Women in the Workforce Life for women on the farms out west had not changed much most of the traditional way’s of life for women were still in place Women in cities had more opportunities for finding jobs due to the industrial growth – even though there was a significant difference in wages between women and men Domestic work- in 1870 about 70% of working women were servants, mostly African American and immigrant women

Women lead Reform Many women becoming active in public life attended one of the new women's colleges - Vassar- 1865 - Smith and Wellesley in 1875 Women’s suffrage = right to vote Led by Susan B. Anthony