US History ELP Unit 4
The Progressive Era Progressive Eras Emergence Social and Economic Changes
Key Question 4 How did the Progressive Era emerge and contribute to the social and economic change?
Progressive Movement Was a movement that set out to fix many of the injustices in the United States. Government Corruption Prohibition African American Rights Women’s Suffrage
Corruption Whiskey Ring Internal Revenue Collectors and other officials were taking kick backs from Whiskey Companies In return Whiskey companies would not have to pay taxes on their product
Political Cartoon Each ring around the barrel is another form of corruption Tammany Ring Canal Ring Indian Ring Sign in the back I beg to repeat that these fraudes on the government shall be proded to the very bottom
More Corruption Political Machine A group that controlled the activities of a political party in a city Offered services to voters and businesses in exchange for political or financial support
Even More Corruption Graft Illegal use of political influence for personal gain For example if the city signed a contract with a construction company to build a city building that company would charge more then the actual cost and give that money back to the politician
The Most Corrupt Boss Tweed (William M. Tweed) Head of the most powerful Political Machine in NYC EX: New York County Courthouse should have only cost $3 million but city was charged $13 million Thomas Nast a political cartoonist helped to make the public aware of the Tweed Ring
Tammany Hall – Headquarters for Boss Tweed
Boss Tweed, “ As long as I count the Votes, what are you going to do about it?
Progressive Movement Protect social welfare – living/working conditions (women and children) Promoting moral improvement Ex: Prohibition – banning alcohol Economic Reform – changing the way we do business Muckrakers – writers who wrote about the corruption of business Efficiency – using all of your resources properly
Rise of Roosevelt Tough Guy – “Rough Rider” With a soft side “Teddy Bear” Modern President – always in the news “Square Deal” – Roosevelt's policies to help the average person
Teddy Roosevelt Looked out for the everyday American Attacked Monopolies (where one person controls an entire industry) Food safety
The Jungle – Upton Sinclair Wrote about meat industry and working conditions Particularly looked at safety of food. Upton Sinclair is considered a muckraker Book was read by Theodore Roosevelt Roosevelt realized he needed to address what he read in the book.
More Progressive Regulation Meat Inspection Act – clean and good quality Pure Food and Drug Act – accurate labels so people know what they are eating
William Taft Department of Labor created under Taft 8 hour working day Supported the elimination of child labor
Prohibition Ban on making, distributing, consuming, and transporting alcohol.
Reasons Damaged Health Caused Poverty Men spent all there money on alcohol, gambling and prostitutes. Led to Crime Bars and Saloons gave America a bad image.
Crime Rates Rise Biggest reason for rise. Unemployment Rose (mainly because prohibition) Illegal bars and saloons double Large coast line makes smuggling alcohol easy. Police pulled off covering other crimes to cover prohibition Law was taking bribes.
Law Enforcement Federal Prohibition Bureau Policed prohibition Did not scare bootleggers Stopped 5% of alcohol
Bootleggers Where did America gain most of there illegal alcohol? Canada Great Lakes made transporting Alcohol into the US easy. Chicago became biggest importer
Rise of the Gangster Lucky Luciano – Father of modern organized crime. Meyer Lansky – Luciano Accountant opened many speakeasies primarily for gambling.
Rise of Gangsters Al Capone – Bugs Moran Rival Considered a Modern Day Robin Hood Bugs Moran – Al Capone’s Rival. (N. Chi.) Capone killed 7 of his men in St. Valentine Day Massacre
Gangsters Leaders Hard to catch Never really got hands dirty Had his workers do the killings and bootlegging
Alcohol Safety Alcohol Poorly Made Alcohol Poisoning rose by 400% Poor Taste Some believe you could run cars on illegal alcohol Added fruits and flavoring (called Pansies) Drinks still exist
Prohibition Comes to An End Great Depression Prohibition became even more unpopular Repealing prohibition create jobs Ended in 1933
African Americans and the Progressive Movement
Post Civil War Slaves were granted full citizenship and rights. What gave ex-slaves these rights? 13 th, 14 th, and 15 th Amendment
Right to Vote People did not like African Americans voting Tried to stop them from voting Literacy Tests – Pass a test to vote Poll Taxes – Pay a tax to vote Grandfather Clause – If your grandfather voted then you get to vote African Americans did not have the ability to do any of these things
Ku Klux Klan Believed in white supremacy and anti- immigration Used terror as a means to intimidate
Racism Racism – treating someone differently because of the color of their skin
Jim Crow’s creation Plessy v. Ferguson – created the idea that you could separate the races as long as both races had equal access schools, neighborhoods, waiting rooms, public facilities etc…… Segregation – separating the races
Early African American Leaders Booker T. Washington and the Tuskegee Institute Believed African Americans needed to gain skills to offer America William Du Bois and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Believed African Americans needed to be given equal rights NAACP created to fight for equal rights
Other Responses Marcus Garvey Back to Africa Movement Garveyism inspired later movements A. Philip Randolph Fought to end segregation during and after WWII Leader in March on Washington
Women’s Suffrage
47 Seneca Falls, New York 1848 In the early 1800s, many women were involved in the abolition (anti-slavery) and temperance (no alcohol) movements A group of women and men gathered at a conference in Seneca Falls, NY in 1848 This conference was led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott Conference attendees wrote the Declaration of Sentiments
48 Fifteenth Amendment, 1871 Granted African-American men the right to vote Disappointed many women who thought African-American men and women would be enfranchised together African Americans were split over whether men should get vote before women
49 Before 1910 National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) Big leaders: Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton Two big strategies: Try to win suffrage state by state Try to pass a Constitutional Amendment (but this would need to be ratified by 36 states – or three-fourths)
Susan B. Anthony In the late 1800s, Susan B. Anthony tried several times to introduce an Amendment bill for women’s suffrage, but it was always killed in the Senate. Susan B. Anthony
Anti-suffragists Those who opposed extending the right to vote to women were called anti-suffragists. Many anti’s were women. Political cartoon mocking anti’s: “O Save Us, Senators, from Ourselves!”
52 Beliefs of Anti-Suffragists Women were high-strung, irrational, and emotional Women were not smart or educated enough Women should stay at home Women were too physically frail; they would get tired just walking to the polling station Women would become masculine if they voted
Map of Women’s Suffrage Before 1920
54 The Next Generation Elizabeth Cady Stanton died in 1902 Susan B. Anthony died in 1906 But in the early 1900s many young, middle-class women were going to college and joining the suffrage movement Many working-class women also joined the cause, hoping the right to vote would help improve working conditions
55 Safe or Sorry? Carrie Chapman Catt led the National American Woman Suffrage Association. She believed in: Careful state-by-state strategy Supporting President Wilson even though he didn’t outright support suffrage because Democrats were a safer bet than Republicans Acting ladylike so as not to embarrass the movement
56 National Woman’s Party Alice Paul led the NWP and believed in more aggressive strategies: Focused on passing a Constitutional Amendment Adopted un-ladylike strategies from British suffragettes (e.g. heckling politicians, picketing) Refused to support President Wilson if he wouldn’t support woman suffrage NWP members were arrested for picketing in front of the White House. They were put in jail, went on a hunger strike, and were force-fed.
57 19 th Amendment, 1920 Tennessee was the 36 th state to ratify, and it passed by only 1 vote. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Progressive Amendments 16 th - Tax people based on income. 17 th - Gave people the right to elect senators. 18 th - Prohibition 19 th - Women’s Right to Vote