1. Progressive Era Notes

2. The Gilded Age

3. Gilded Age
Term from Mark Twain and means, “coated in a thin layer of gold paint”
Why did he think this era was “Gilded”?
Many problems hidden below the glitter and glam of the cities
Concerns:
Fear that industrialists and other wealthy men were enriching themselves at the expense of the public
Government corruption (dishonesty)

4. Political Reforms Remember Political Machines? Spoils System
Boss Tweed of NYC was exposed for corruption by journalists and fled the country
Spoils System
Practice of rewarding political supporters with government jobs
1883 Pendleton Civil Service Act: aim was to fill government jobs on the basis of merit
Civil Service: Government jobs that are not elected
Today ~450,000 employees

5. Controlling Big Business
In the late 1800s, big business had a big influence over politics
Railroad owners and industrialists bribed members of Congress in order to get votes
President Cleveland passed Interstate Commerce Act in 1887 which allowed the government to regulate, or put rules, on trade that crossed state lines
President Harrison signed the Sherman Anti- Trust Act in 1890 which prohibited businesses from trying to limit competition.
This didn’t work very well and ended up limiting the power of labor unions

6. New Amendments 16th Amendment 17th Amendment Graduated income tax 1913
The more you earn, the more taxes you pay
17th Amendment
Direct election of Senators
Citizens vote for senators instead of state governments, less corrupt

7. Muckrakers A muckraker is an investigative journalist Ida Tarbell
Rake up muck, or dirt
Ida Tarbell
History of Standard Oil
Exposed Rockefeller of unfair business
Jacob Riis
How the Other Half Lives
Exposed shocking images of slum life
Upton Sinclair
The Jungle
Exposed details about the meatpacking industry

8. Jane Addams
Established the Hull House in 1889 for recently arrived European Immigrants to Chicago
Focused on social, educational, and artistic programs to help assimilate and assist new immigrants

9. Progressive Presidents

10. Theodore Roosevelt
Youngest president to take office in 1901 after McKinley was assassinated
Resume
NY State Legislature
Civil Service Commission
NYC Police Commissioner
Secretary of the Navy
Rough Rider
NY Governor
Vice President
Reputation as a trust buster- person who works to destroy monopolies and trusts
Thought there were “good trusts” and “bad trusts” and set out to bust the bad ones
Government launched suits against Standard Oil Company and American Tobacco Company

11. 1902 sided with coal miners in Pennsylvania who went on strike for better pay and a shorter workday
Square Deal
Conservation of Natural Resources
TR LOVED the outdoors, so he wanted to protect it
Use resources right and don’t waste them
Formed the US Forest Service in 1905 and set aside thousands of acres for national parks
Last year, 307 million visitors to 59 parks and protected areas
Consumer Protection
Meat Inspection Act and creation of Food and Drug Administration Control of Corporations (1906)

12. Woodrow Wilson
Elected in 1912 and wanted to restore free competition among businesses
Had Congress create Federal Trade Commission in 1914 to investigate companies that us unfair practices to target their competition
Clayton Anti-Trust Act limited unfair business practices, stopped antitrust laws from being used against labor unions
Federal Reserve Act of 1913 regulated the banking industry and gave government ability to change interest rates

13. Rights of women & Temperance Movement

14. Women win the right to vote
Seneca Falls Convention 1848 marked start of organized women’s rights movement in the US
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony formed the National Women Suffrage Association which pushed for a constitutional amendment
In the late 1800s, many western states allowed women to vote on state and local issues
Contribution of women on the frontier was recognized
In the early 1900s, more women were working outside the home and support for suffrage grew
Slowly, more states allowed partial suffrage for women, but not in federal elections

15. 19th Amendment
Alice Paul and Carrie Chapman Catt began to take progressively more forceful steps in order to get the amendment passed
By 1919 the tide of support had turned in Congress and President Wilson signed the amendment, doubling the number of eligible voters

16. Temperance Movement
Renewed support for banning alcohol occurred in the late 1870s
Women’s Christian Temperance Union was formed and spoke about the evils of alcohol. She wanted to ban sale of alcohol and close saloons
Prohibition, or ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol, was the 18th amendment to the constitution in 1919
Carry Nation
Husband died of drinking too much
She would often storm into saloons with a hatchet destroying beer kegs and smashing liquor bottles