The Progressive Movement

Problems of Industrialization Unskilled labor Low morale Low wages Child labor

Robber Barons or Philanthropist? Those who gained their riches at the expense of the poor and the working class Lavish lifestyles of the wealthy at this time fed criticism Many spent freely to show off their wealth Public criticism and sense of social responsibility led the wealthy to use part of their wealth to aid society

Excesses of the Gilded Age – Income disparity, lavish lifestyles – Practices of robber barons

Vanderbilt Mansion

Rockefeller Mansion

Dangerous Working Conditions

Long hours, low wages, no job security, no benefits

Company towns

Employment of women

Progressive Movement

Progressive Movement Created to solve the problems caused by Industrialization

Goals of the Progressives Government controlled by people Guaranteed economic opportunities through government regulation Elimination of social injustices

Progressive accomplishments in local governments… New forms to meet needs of increasing urbanization

In state governments… Referendum Initiative Recall

Referendum Process that allows citizens to approve or reject a law passed by their legislature

Initiative Petition-based law

Recall Procedure that permits voters to remove public officials from office before the next election

In elections Primary elections Direct election of U.S. Senators (17th Amendment) Secret ballot

In child labor… Muckraking literature describing abuses of child labor Child labor laws

Muckrakers Journalists who uncover wrongdoing in politics or business

Strikes and Labor Unions

Knights of Labor Secret brotherhood of skilled workers Goals: Unity of all workers 8 hour day Equal pay for men and women

Haymarket Square Riot Chicago 1886 Workers strike for an 8 hour day 26 people die as a result

American Federation of Labor Samuel Gompers started Goals: Better working conditions Higher wages 8-hour day No child labor tenement reform

American Railroad Union Eugene v. Debs leader Union that united all workers on the RR

Industrial Ladies’ Garment Workers Union 1909 Tried to improve working conditions for women in sweatshops

Organizations formed in response to labor laws Knights of Labor American Federation of Labor (Samuel Gompers) American Railway Union (Eugene V. Debs) International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union

Strikes in response to labor laws Haymarket Square Homestead Strike Pullman Strike History channel Homestead In response to financial reverses related to the economic depression that began in 1893, the Pullman Palace Car Company, a manufacturer of railroad cars, cut the already low wages of its workers by about 25 percent but did not introduce corresponding reductions in rents and other charges at Pullman, its company town near Chicago, where most Pullman workers lived. As a result, many workers and their families faced starvation. When a delegation of workers tried to present their grievances about low wages, poor living conditions, and 16-hour workdays directly to the company’s president, George M. Pullman, he refused to meet with them and ordered them fired.  llman Strike, (May 11, 1894–c. July 20, 1894), in U.S. history, widespread railroadstrike and boycott that severely disrupted rail traffic in the Midwest of the United States in June–July 1894. The federal government’s response to the unrest marked the first time that an injunction was used to break a strike. Amid the crisis, on June 28, President Grover Cleveland and Congress created a national holiday, Labor Day, as a conciliatory gesture toward the American labour movement. The ARU’s president, Eugene V. Debs, predicted that, once the switchmen refused to add or remove Pullman cars from trains, the railroads would fire them and try to replace them with nonunion workers, and that in turn would lead other union members to walk out in solidarity, thus bringing more and more trains to a halt. The scenario played out as Debs had predicted. On June 27, 5,000 workers left their jobs and 15 railroads were tied up. By the next day, 40,000 had walked off, and rail traffic was snarled on all lines west of Chicago. On the third day, the number of strikers had climbed to 100,000, and at least 20 lines were either tied up or completely stopped. By June 30, 125,000 workers on 29 railroads had quit work rather than handle Pullman cars. The ARU had few locals in the East or the Deep South, but the boycott seemed remarkably effective everywhere else.

Gains from labor laws Limited work hours Regulated work conditions

Anti-trust laws Laws to regulate business during the Progressive Movement

Sherman Anti-trust Act Prevents any business structure that “restrains trade” (monopolies)

Clayton Anti-trust Act Expands Sherman Anti-Trust Act; outlaws price-fixing; exempts unions from Sherman Act

Suffrage The right to vote

Leader in the fight for women’s suffrage Susan B. Anthony Leader in the fight for women’s suffrage

Gave women the right to vote 19th Amendment Gave women the right to vote