1. The Rise of Progressivism
Chapter 17 Sections 1 and 2
The Rise of Progressivism

2. The Goals of Progressivism
Progressive movement- reformers exposing the unsafe working conditions, living conditions, and poor food conditions during this time period, Progressives wanted to restore the economy and better the lifestyle of the nations poor.
Four Goals:
- protecting social welfare
- promoting social improvement
- creating economic reform
- fostering efficiency

3. Protecting Social Welfare
Need to help the poor that have suffered through industrialization
Social Welfare- The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) opened things like libraries and swimming pools, Salvation Army ran soup kitchens and had “slum brigades” to go in and educate the poor in the slums.
Florence Kelly inspired by settlement houses was an advocate for improving the lives of women and children

4. Promoting Moral Improvement
Reform to encourage moral responsibility
Prohibition (no alcohol)
Women’s Christian Temperance Union (1874) led by Frances Willard - Starts in Mid West by 1911 has 245,000 members, becomes less religious based.
-largest women’s group in US History,
-schools for immigrant children, better prisons/asylums, and women’s suffrage
Anti-Saloon League (1895)- close saloons because they were bad for society.
Bars and saloons part of the immigrant community most cultural practices involve alcohol, strongly opposed by immigrant population

5. Economic Reform
Severe economic panic in 1893 created questions about the capitalist system
Some Americans begin to favor socialism- Socialist party in U.S. started by Eugene v Debs in 1901
Looked at uneven balance between big business, government and your average person
Journalists writing about the corruption were called muckrakers (Ida Tarbell, Upton Sinclair

6. Jacob Riis: How the Other Half Lives

8. Fostering Efficiency
Many Progressive leaders rely on experts and scientific principles to make society and the workplace more efficient
Fredrick Winslow Taylor began using time and motion studies to help make things more efficient by breaking tasks into smaller simpler parts.
Assembly lines work well but not all workers can work at the same rate and many workers come and go quickly mostly due to injuries sustained by fatigued workers
Assembly line “perfected” by Henry Ford- makes Model T affordable
Workers don’t have to work as long to get the same amount of product (can pay workers less)

9. Government Reform Fairer taxes, publicly run public utilities
Robert M. La Follette Wisconsin governor later a senator in – major target, railroad reform
National Child Labor Committee was formed in 1904
- Children often used because they would work for lower wages and their small hands made them more capable of working with the small parts and tools
- Usually just about every family member had to work in order to take care of the family
- Keating- Owen Act passed in 1916, act prohibits transportation across state lines of goods produced with child labor- two years later supreme court rules this law unconstitutional as it interferes with states rights

10. Working Hours
Muller vs Oregon (1908): limits a woman’s work day to 10 hours
Bunting vs Oregon (1917): 10 hour work day for men
Worker’s Compensation is established (different per state) - aids the families of workers who were hurt or killed on the job

11. Election Reform Secret Ballot: Initiative- Bill started by the people
Referendum- vote on the initiative
Recall - remove public officials from office by forcing them to face another vote
17th Amendment, direct election of senators
Government reform brings more attention to the women’s suffrage movement

12. Women in the Workforce
Life for women on the farms out west had not changed much most of the traditional way’s of life for women were still in place
Women in cities had more opportunities for finding jobs due to the industrial growth – even though there was a significant difference in wages between women and men
Domestic work- in 1870 about 70% of working women were servants, mostly African American and immigrant women

13. Women lead Reform
Many women becoming active in public life attended one of the new women's colleges
- Vassar- 1865
- Smith and Wellesley in 1875
Women’s suffrage = right to vote
Led by Susan B. Anthony