America Seeks Reforms in the Early 20th Century The Progressive Era America Seeks Reforms in the Early 20th Century

Progressivism and Its Champions Industrialization helped many but also created dangerous working environments and unhealthy living conditions for the urban poor. Progressivism-a reform movement that addressed many of the social problems that industrialization created.

ORIGINS OF THE PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT

The “Culture Wars”: The Pendulum of Right v. Left Christian Evangelical Movement 2nd Great Awakening Social Gospel 1920s Revivalism 1950s Revivalism CONSERVATIVE REVOLUTION CIVI L WAR Antebellum Reforms [1810s-1850s] Populism [1870s-1890s] Progressivism [1890s-1920] New Deal [1930s-1940s] Great Society & 1960s Social Movements 5

WHO WERE THE PROGRESSIVES?

Progressives are categorized in the following ways: Muckrakers- journalists who “raked up” or exposed the filth of society Ida Tarbell Upton Sinclair Populism- another type of progressivism, mainly a rural movement of farmers Social Gospel- applied Christian teachings to social and economic problems. Believed society must take responsibility for those who are less fortunate

Origins of Progressivism As America entered the 20th century, middle class reformers at the municipal, state, and national levels addressed the problems of the Gilded Age, including: Economic inequities Environmental issues Social welfare Working conditions Rights for women and children

Four Goals of Reformers Protect social welfare Promote moral development Secure economic reform Foster efficiency

1. Protect Social Welfare Industrialization in the late 19th century was largely unregulated. Employers felt little responsibility toward their workers. As a result, settlement houses and churches served the community and organizations like the YMCA and the Salvation Army took on service roles. Salvation Army Shelter

The settlement house movement began in the late 1880’s and lasted up through the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Middle-Class educated women and men volunteers lived and worked in settlement houses. Settlement houses were often converted residential buildings in poor urban neighborhoods. By 1910 there were over 400 settlement houses in the U.S. The goal was to improve the lives of poor families by providing amenities and services that were not provided by government. They offered clubs, classes, social gatherings, playgrounds, arts programs, sports and summer camps, clean milk stations, well-baby clinics and other innovative programs. Settlement workers saw their mission as social reform. The settlement houses became laboratories for developing new techniques and offering training in the new field of social work.

JANE ADDAMS AND ELLEN GATES STARR WERE THE CO-FOUNDERS OF HULL- HOUSE WHICH WAS THE CUTTING EDGE OF REFORM FOR THE NATIONS IMMIGRANTS AND POOR. ELLEN GATES STARR JANE ADDAMS

2. Promote Moral Development Some reformers felt that the answer to society’s problems was personal behavior. They proposed such reforms as prohibition. Groups wishing to ban alcohol included the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)

Prohibition/Temperance Progressive women also fought in the Prohibition movement, which called for a ban on making, selling, and distributing alcoholic beverages. Reformers thought alcohol was responsible for crime, poverty, and violence. Two major national organizations led the crusade against alcohol. The Anti-Saloon League The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), headed by Frances Willard, which was a powerful force for both temperance and women’s rights

Prohibition cont Evangelists like Billy Sunday and Carry Nation preached against alcohol, and Nation smashed up saloons with a hatchet while holding a Bible. Congress eventually proposed the Eighteenth Amendment in 1917, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcohol. It was ratified in 1919, but was so unpopular that it was repealed in 1933.

3. Secure Economic Reform The Panic of 1893 prompted some Americans to question the capitalist economic system. As a result, some workers embraced socialism. Eugene Debs organized the American Socialist Party in 1901. Debs encouraged workers to reject American capitalism

The Unions cont IWW In 1905, the Industrial Workers of the World formed to oppose capitalism, organizing unskilled workers that the American Federation of Labor ignored. Under William “Big Bill” Haywood, the IWW, known as Wobblies, used traditional tactics like strikes and boycotts but also engaged in radical tactics like industrial sabotage. By 1912, the IWW led 23,000 textile workers to strike in Massachusetts to protest pay cuts, which ended successfully after six weeks. However, several IWW strikes were failures, and, fearing the IWW’s revolutionary goals, the government cracked down on the organization, causing dispute among its leaders and leading to its decline a few years later.

Muckrakers Criticize Big Business Though most Progressives did not embrace socialism, many writers saw the truth in Debs’ criticism. Investigative journalists, known as “Muckrakers,” exposed corruption in business. For example, Ida Tarbell exposed Standard Oil Company’s cut-throat methods of eliminating competition.

4. Fostering Efficiency Many Progressive leaders put their faith in scientific principles to make society better. In industry, Frederick Taylor began using time and motion studies to improve factory efficiency. Taylorism became an industry fad as factories sought to complete each task quickly.

Cleaning Up Local Government Efforts at reforming local government stemmed from the desire to make government more efficient and responsive to citizens. Some believe it also was meant to limit immigrants’ influence on local governments.

Regulating Big Business Under the progressive Republican leadership of Robert La Follette, Wisconsin led the way in regulating big business and implementing the Wisconsin Idea – a partnership between government and the experts at the University of Wisconsin. Direct primary elections; limited campaign spending Commissions to regulate railroads and oversee transportation, civil service, and taxation Robert La Follette

LEWIS HINE In 1907, the National Child Labor Committee gave Hine his first assigned project. Hine was to photograph New York tenement homework. In 1908, the NCLC provided Hine with a monthly salary and assigned him to photograph child labor practices. For the next several years, Hine traveled extensively, photographing children in mines, factories, canneries, textile mills, street trades and assorted agricultural industries. Hine’s photographs alerted the public to the fact that child labor deprived children of childhood, health, education and a chance of a future. His work on this project was the driving force behind changing the publics attitude and was instrumental in the fight for stricter child labor laws. By the early 1900’s, 28 states had laws regulating child labor. The majority of photos in the section on John Spargo were taken by Lewis Hine

Protecting Working Children As the number of child workers rose, reformers worked to end child labor. Children were more prone to accidents caused by fatigue. Nearly every state limited or banned child labor by 1918

Efforts To Limit Hours The Supreme Court and the states enacted or strengthened laws reducing women’s hours of work. Progressives also succeeded in winning worker’s compensation to aid families of injured workers.

Election Reform Citizens fought for and secured such measures as secret ballots, referendums, and recalls. Citizens could petition and get initiatives on the ballot. In 1899, Minnesota passed the first statewide primary system.

Referendum-allows voters to approve or reject a law proposed or passed by government Recall-allows the people to remove an official from office

Secret Ballot Direct Primary-preliminary election in which a party's candidates for public office are nominated by direct vote of the public

Direct Election Of Senators Before 1913, each state’s legislature had chosen U.S. senators. To force senators to be more responsive to the public, Progressives pushed for the popular election of senators. As a result, Congress passed the 17th Amendment in 1913.