Ch 17 Notes – The Progressive Era Americans fight for change…

Who are the Progressives? Goals: social welfare, protect environment, fight government corruption Put the founding ideals into practice Read quote, page 220 (Woodrow Wilson, 1913) Believed government should solve society’s problems, they became activists Urban, middle class, educated, mostly white and female

Origins… Inspired by Populism and Social Gospel Populism: rural movement, improve life for farmers and workers Social Gospel: Connected social reform and Christianity (Quote, page 221) Fought against Social Darwinism (Survival of the Fittest) Government should promote fairness, equality, democracy

Social Reforms The White Wings – hired by NYC to clean city streets Governments begin to clean cities Tenement House Act – 1901 – all tenements must have courtyard and bathrooms in all apartments Look at the before and after tenement photos on page 222 A “white wing”

Child labor and education 1890 – 4% of teenagers went to school Kids worked in factories instead of school Florence Kelley got Illinois to outlaw child labor in 1893 Kelley founds National Child Labor Committee 39 states outlaw child labor by – 500 high schools in U.S. By 1910 there were 10,000 (p.223) Judge Ben Lindsey in Denver, CO created a juvenile court system to help children instead of punishing them like adults

Working Conditions 1908 – Supreme Court ruled that states could limit working hours for women By 1916, two thirds of states had workers’ compensation laws

Reforming local government Local business was VERY corrupt Politicians sold favors and government jobs People elected progressive mayors Samuel Jones (Toledo) set a minimum wage and reformed the police dept. Tom Johnson (Cleveland) reduced streetcar prices and increased parks and playgrounds Mayor Johnson – Look at page 224

Reforming State Government Goal: take power from political parties and big businesses, return power to the people Reforms: – Secret ballot – Direct primaries: the people choose candidates – Recall of gov. officials – Direct Initiative: people can make a law without the state congress

New Governors Robert La Follette ( ), Wisconsin “Battling Bob” Limited lobbying, conserved forests, supported workers Stood up to Railroad companies to make business more fair for small companies Hiram Johnson, California Fought against Railroads, limited child labor, and created 8-hour work-day for women Robert La Follette

Fighting Social Inequality Difficult for women to create change because they could not vote Triangle Shirtwaist fire proved this Women first demand voting rights in 1848, Seneca Falls Convention in NY Women form National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the first president of NAWSA 1898 – four western states gave women suffrage By 1918 women voted in 15 states Jeannette Rankin was first woman in the House of Representatives, from Montana, 1916

African Americans fight for equality Voting rights denied by poll taxes, literacy tests, and intimidation Booker T. Washington founded the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama Encouraged blacks to gain respect through education and hard work W.E.B. Du Bois and others formed the NAACP to fight for voting rights and end segregation , Du Bois edited The Crisis, an NAACP journal Ida B. Wells-Barnett organized protests against lynching

Turn to pages People on the left will read about Booker T. Washington People on the right will read about W.E.B. Du Bois