1. Drive for Reform
Essential Question: What areas did progressives think were in need of the greatest reform?

2. Progressivism Progressive Party ●Made up of all social classes
●Common belief that urbanization and industrialization had caused social and political problems
●Wanted state and federal governments to address issues plagued by the poor
●Wanted logic and reason used to make society work more efficiently
●Wanted abuses of big business and corrupt government eliminated

3. Progressive Party con’t
●Proclaimed the Sherman Anti-Trust
Act was ineffective
●Motivated by religious faith
●Fought for better working conditions, living conditions and social welfare
●Famous Progressive Governors
●Theodore Roosevelt—NY
●Woodrow Wilson--NJ

4. Progressive Reforms Pushes Bible teachings (Social Gospel)
●Leads to shorter work week and end of child labor
Pushes fed. Gvmnt to limit power of corporations and trusts
Gets the county gvmnt to purchase public utilities so that electric, gas, and water companies can not charge unfair prices
●Called natural monopolies

5. Progressive Reforms con’t
Election reforms—allows people to control the government more
●Direct primaries: citizens vote for nominees for elections
●initiatives: ability for citizens to propose a new law on a ballot. Initiatives get on the ballot through petitions
●recall: citizens can remove public officials during voting
●Referendum: citizens approve or reject laws by legislatures
●17th Amendment: direct election of Senators

6. Progressive Approaches
Fix housing—settlement housing—community
center that provides social services
●Jane Addams—leader for settlement housing
●Opened Hull House in Chicago for women
Eliminate child labor—created Children’s Bureau in 1912
1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, NYC
●Women couldn’t escape fire because they were locked in
●Killed 146 people—some jumped from windows
●After this, progressives get NYC to make safety laws and
provide workers comp.
●Got 10 hour workday for factory workers—overruled by
SC in Lochner v. NY: Laws setting time limits are
unconstitutional
●Can work more, but must be compensated ie: overtime pay

7. Muckrakers Journalists exposing social turmoil in America
●Lincoln Steffens: editor at McClures magazine—showed social conditions of the time
●1903 wrote: The Shame of the Cities—uncovers political corruption
●Jacob Riis: How the Other Half Lives (1903): shows how immigrants typically lived in NYC
●Ida Tarbell: History of Standard Oil—exposes Rockefeller
●Naturalist novels (new novels): novels that portrayed human misery and struggle
●Upton Sinclair: The Jungle—showed unsanitary conditions of industry

8. Muckrakers