1. Progressivism Fixin’ Stuff Dat’s Wrong Wit’ Society

2. The Gilded Age  “Gilded” literally means that the surface of something is covered in gold  It’s gold on the outside…  But not on the inside  “The Gilded Age” refers to the idea that American society looked prosperous but was suffering from a huge array of social ills in reality.  There were the super rich and the very, very poor

3. Politics in the Gilded Age  The North and West were largely Republican  The South was largely Democrat  Many people worried that the super rich influenced government too much  “Corruption” refers to the idea that politicians were being paid to do what certain people wanted them too  Voter fraud and the “Spoils System” were also forms of corruption

4. “The Spoils System”  “To the victor belongs the spoils”  In other words, “I’ll hire my buddies and my supporters when I get in office…  even if they’re not qualified.”  “patronage” is another word for the spoils system

5. More Spoils System  Many people hired for public jobs had no skills  One court reporter couldn’t read or write  Some stole public money

6. Early Reform Attempts  Rutherford B. Hayes looked into corruption  James Garfield (1881) tried to make government jobs on the basis of merit  He was shot dead by an angry job seeker  Chester Arthur attempted to do away with the spoils system  The Pendleton Act created the Civil Service Commission to create exams for those attempting to hold federal jobs

7. Interstate Commerce Act  Railroads were big, powerful companies  Congress is empowered by the Constitution to regulate interstate commerce  Interstate Commerce Commission formed to regulate the railroads

8. Sherman Anti-Trust Act  Prohibited businesses from trying to limit or destroy competition  Was not used against the big companies at first  Often used against striking labor unions (by striking they were “limiting” competition)  After the turn of the century it was used against monopolies

9. The Boss System  “Bosses” were powerful local officials who ran cities, counties, and states like feudal lords  They did favors for the poor, especially immigrants  It was expected that the poor would return the favor by voting for them  The most famous was Boss Tweed, who cheated NYC out of $100 million.

10. Thomas Nast Cartoons

11. More Thomas Nast

12. Muckrakers  Muck is dirt and other yucky stuff  Muckrakers were reporters who exposed the “muck” of local governments, the corruption  Jacob Riis – showed how awful the tenements were  Ida Tarbell – exposed the unfair practices of Standard Oil (Rockefeller’s Company)  Upton Sinclair – exposed the disgusting practices of the meatpacking industry in The Jungle (1906)

13. The Progressives  By 1900 reformers were calling themselves the “progressives”  “progressive” sounds like…  “progress”  Different progressives wanted different things

14. Progressive Reforms  Government corruption  The environment  Housing  Child labor  Women’s rights  Racial violence  Saving men from department stores  Did you really write that last one?

15. Political Reforms  The Wisconsin Idea – a series of reforms in Wisconsin including lower railroad rates  Primary elections – elections held by a political party to choose their candidate

16.  Initiative – the right of voters to draft a bill for the state legislature’s consideration

17. More Reforms  Referendum – a question on the ballot on which voters can decide directly

18. Recall  The ability to remove an elected official from office

19. More Reforms  Lowering tariffs  Graduated income tax – a tax scale which taxes people differently according to their income  1913 – the Sixteenth Amendment established a graduated income tax  1913 – the Seventeenth Amendment provides for the direct election of senators

20. McKinley is Assassinated

21. Teddy Roosevelt  A sports enthusiast  A “Rough Rider” in the Spanish-American War  A member of the New York State Legislature  A Governor of New York  Head of NYPD  A member of the Civil Service Commission  Assistant Secretary of the Navy  Vice President

22. Roosevelt’s Stance  Some trusts are bad but some aren’t  Break up the bad ones but keep the good ones  Bad ones are those that play dirty  He busted up Northern Securities Co.  1904 the Supreme Court ruled that NSC had violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890  He went after Standard Oil and American Tobacco as well  He also supported labor in a clash between coal miners and mine companies in Pennsylvania  He became known as a “trustbuster” but Taft, his successor, broke up twice as many

23. The Square Deal  The idea that everyone should have an opportunity to succeed  Railroads ended up as a real target for Roosevelt  1906 Congress gives the ICC the power to set Railroad rates

24. Teddy and the Trusts

25. Meatpacking Reform

26. The Food and Drug Act  Required that ingredients be listed on packages  Prohibited false advertising claims

27. Conservation and National Parks

28. William Howard Taft  Broke up more trusts than Roosevelt  Faced criticism from Progressives  Raised tariffs  Fired Gifford Pinchot

29. Woodrow Wilson  Wanted to encourage small business  “New Freedom”  Signed the Federal Reserve Act  Helped create the Federal Trade Commission  Lowered Tariffs  Signed the Clayton Antitrust Act in 1914