SSUSH13: Evaluate efforts to reform American society & politics in the Progressive Era.

a. Describe the influence of muckrakers on affecting change by bringing attention to social problems.

The Progressive Era: Industrialization urbanization, & immigration brought many benefits, but also created many problems in society Progressive Era emerged in 1890’s: new ideas & good government could bring social justice & change

Areas of reform: Government Labor Women Poor Big business Industry African Americans Child labor

Muckrakers: Famous Muckrakers: *Upton Sinclair *Ida Tarbell Journalists & writers emphasized the need for social reform Investigative journalism revealed many problems affecting America Wrote of the ills of society (corruption) A muckraker is a tool used to clean manure out of animals stables Articles appeared in Americans’ homes & people were horrified by the conditions that were revealed to them Famous Muckrakers: *Upton Sinclair *Ida Tarbell * Jacob Riis *Lincoln Steffens

Muckrakers: Upton Sinclair: Ida Tarbell: Wrote “The Jungle” Exposed the horrible conditions in the meatpacking industry (Chicago) Led to the Meat Inspection Act: set standards of cleanliness that had to be followed Created the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to monitor facilities for their compliance with regulations Exposed the corruption within the Standard Oil Company (monopoly) Helped create investigative journalism 1911: The Standard Oil Company broken up by the courts

Muckrakers: Jacob Riis: Lincoln Steffens: Photographer for the New York Evening Sun Photographed crowded, unsafe, rat-infested tenement buildings where the urban poor lived (How the Other Half Lives) Shocked & horrified Americans Led to the creation of housing codes & sanitation departments to remove garbage & dead animals from city streets Urban centers began creating sewer & water servies Managing editor at McClure’s (magazine) Published The Shame of the Cities, a collection of articles on political corruption in Philadelphia

Tenement Slum Living

b. Examine & explain the roles of women in reform movements.

Women: Very influential in helping to bring about reform for both women & the abolition of slavery Wanted to fight for the right to vote, own property, & receive an education Helped to boost the number of women who attended college Helped to improve the lives of the poor

Susan B. Anthony & Elizabeth Cady Stanton: Women: Susan B. Anthony & Elizabeth Cady Stanton: Jane Addams: Created a settlement house (a community center that provided social services to the urban poor) Gave classes to poor mothers in child care, taught English to immigrants, had a nursery Opened the Hull House (Chicago); created the idea of a social worker Suffragettes Fought for a constitutional amendment that would grant women the right to vote Anthony voted illegally & was convicted 19th Amendment: grants suffrage to women (1920)

c. Connect the decision of Plessy v c. Connect the decision of Plessy v. Ferguson to the expansion of Jim Crow laws & the formation of the NAACP.

Jim Crow Laws: Once federal troops were removed from the South, Southern states enacted various laws at disenfranchisement (taking away the voting rights) of African Americans Jim Crow laws: kept blacks & whites segregated Enforced poll taxes, literacy tests, violence, & the grandfather clause (allowed blacks to vote if their ancestors had been able to vote) Caused widespread segregation (neighborhoods, restaurants, railway cars, cemeteries, etc.)

Plessy v. Ferguson 1896 Louisiana passed a Jim Crow law that required separate facilities on railroads. Homer Plessy (1/8 black) decided to challenge this law; he was arrested for refusing to leave a “Whites Only” railroad car Upheld the constitutionality of the Jim Crow laws Supreme Court decision that created “separate but equal” Blacks & whites were to be separated, have separate facilities, but must be equal in quality

NAACP: Widespread violence (including lynching) led to the formation of the NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Created by a group of white supporters & W.E.B DuBois Goals were to help protect African American lives, win the right to vote, & help secure their civil liberties Leaders included both blacks & white Progressives who had worked in other areas of social reform Wanted to use the courts to challenge unfair laws

d. Describe Progressive legislative actions including empowerment of the voter, labor laws, & the conservation movement.

Reforming Government: Progressives realized that government needed to be reformed in order for the rest of society to change Needed to free government from political bosses & powerful business interests Wanted to allow the people more control over their government & make government more effective & efficient in serving the public

Reforming Government: Increasing Democracy Initiative - People have the right to propose laws Referendum - People vote & have final approval on a law Recall – People can remove an official from office before their term is over 17th Amendment – Direct election of Senators (by the people)

Labor Laws: Highest rate of industrial accidents in the world Workers worked long hours, had poor ventilation in factories, breathed in hazardous fumes, worked on unsafe machinery with no worker safety protection Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire stirred many to seek reform for labor laws Helped pass laws to make workplaces safer, created workers compensation laws, limited the workday to 10 hours, eliminated child labor

Child Labor

TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FACTORY FIRE NYC 1911

Typical NYC Sweatshop, 1910

Inside the Building After the Fire

Dead Bodies on the Sidewalk

Scene at the Morgue (145 Dead)

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vus4b8FRTK M

Conservation Movement: President Theodore Roosevelt also began a Progressive conservation movement, which conserved millions of acres of wilderness lands, particularly in western states. His efforts led to the establishment of a national park system that included Yosemite in California & Yellowstone in Wyoming.