1. The Progressive Era
Reform shifts from the farm to the city and climbs the ladder of government from the local to the state and then to the national level.

2. I. The Problems of the 1890’s Huge Gap between rich and poor
Tremendous economic and political power of the rich
Wealthy were insesative and flaunted their wealth before a poorer public

3. The movement…
Began at the local level as a response to social and economic issues
The general belief – government is responsible for the organization and efficiency of society.

4. Progressivism and Its Champions
Industrialization helped many but also created dangerous working environments and unhealthy living conditions for the urban poor.
Progressivism, a wide-ranging reform movement targeting these problems, began in the late 19th century.
Journalists called muckrakers and urban photographers exposed people to the plight of the unfortunate in hopes of sparking reform.
Jacob Riis
Danish immigrant who faced New York poverty
Exposed the slums through magazines, photographs, and a best-selling book
His fame helped spark city reforms.
Ida Tarbell
Exposed the corrupt Standard Oil Company and its owner, John D. Rockefeller
Appealed to middle class scared by large business power
Lincoln Steffens
Shame of the Cities (1904) exposed corrupt city governments
Frank Norris
Exposed railroad monopolies in a 1901 novel

5. I. Problems of the 1890’s (cont.)
Industrial workers hideously poor, living in squalor and working in dangerous conditions
Jacob Riis’ How the Other Half Lives (1890)
Little concern for Black America

8. II. Progressive Reformers

9. A. Streams of Reform The “Social Gospel” movement
--Walter Rauschenbusch: Christianity and the Social Crisis (1907)
Settlement House Workers
--Jane Addams, Hull House in Chicago (1889)
Americans of “Old Wealth”

10. A. Streams of Reform (cont.)
Young, socially-conscious lawyers
Investigative Journalists
-- “Muckrakers”
--Lincoln Steffens, Ida Tarbell, and Upton Sinclair
Small businessmen

11. B. Features of Progressive Reform
Desire to remedy problems through government initiative
Reliance on “experts”
-- Robert Lafollette’s “Wisconsin Idea”
Wanted reform not revolution
Stressed the importance of efficiency in reform
--Frederick W. Taylor

12. B. Features of Progressive Reform (cont.)
Want to bring order out of chaos
--Creation of NAACP in 1910
--Federal Budget (1921)
Desire to make politics more democratic
Desire to make businessmen more responsible for problems

14. B. Features of Progressive Reform (cont.)
Desire to make society more moral and more just
Desire to distribute income more equally
Desire to broaden opportunities for individual advancement
Women were active in progressivism
--Suffragettes like Susan B. Anthony

15. B. Features of Progressive Reform (cont.)
Infiltrated both political parties
-- Republican “insurgents”
Middle-class reform movement
Operated on all three levels of government

16. III. Sample Progressive Reforms

17. A. Political Reforms
Tried to put more power into the hands of the people
Innovative changes in city government
--city managers and commission model
The Direct Primary
Initiative, Referendum and Recall
The Secret Ballot
Direct Election of Senators and the Vote for Women

18. B. Social Reforms Child labor laws Ten-hour work days
--Muller v. Oregon (1908)
--Bunting v. Oregon (1917)
Prohibition initiatives
Moral Purity campaigns
--Mann Act (1910)

19. B. Social Reforms (cont.)
Minimum safety standards on the job
Minimum standards for housing codes
“City Beautification” movement
Immigration Restriction
Eugenics
--Buck v. Bell (1927)
Little Help for Blacks
--NAACP (1909)
-- “Birth of a Nation” (1915)
Buck v. Bell, 274 U.S. 200 (1927), was the United States Supreme Court ruling that upheld a statute instituting compulsory sterilization of the unfit, including the mentally retarded, "for the protection and health of the state." It was largely seen as an endorsement of negative eugenics—the attempt to improve the human race by eliminating "defectives" from the gene pool.

20. IV. Progressive Amendments to the Constitution
Progressive reliance on the law
16th Amendment (1913)—federal income tax
17th Amendment (1913)—direct election of senators
18th Amendment (1919)—prohibition
19th Amendment (1920)—vote for women

21. V. Presidential Progressivism: Theodore Roosevelt
Great drive, energy and exciting personality
TR’s interests and early years
NYC police commissioner
Spanish-American War experience
-- “Rough Riders”
Political Rise from NY Governor to Vice-President

22. A. First Term as President (1901-1904)
McKinley’s assassination
Offered energetic national leadership
Cast every issue in moral and patriotic terms
--The “Bully Pulpit”
Master Politician
Modest goals for his “accidental” presidency

23. B. “Trust-Buster”? TR’s attitude toward Big Business
Wants to regulate in order to get businesses to act right
The “Square Deal” (1902)
Making an example of the Northern Securities Co.
The Elkins Act (1903) and the Bureau of Corporations

24. C. Second Term as President (1905-1909)
More vigorous progressivism
Hepburn Act (1906)
Federal Meat Inspection Act (1906)
Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)
Conservation Policy
--Preservation vs. Conservation

25. VI. “A Tough Act to Follow”: The Presidency of William Howard Taft (1909-1913)
The Election of 1908
Taft’s political experience
Taft’s weight
Not a dynamic politician
Never completely comfortable as President

26. VI. Presidency of Taft (cont.)
Controversy over the Tariff
More conservative than TR, but also more trust suits
The “Ballinger-Pinchot” Affair
Growing tension with Teddy Roosevelt

27. VII. The Election of 1912 Growing split within the Republican Party
Creation of the “Bull Moose” Party
Progressive Party Platform: “New Nationalism”
Democrats drafted Woodrow Wilson
Results of the Election

28. VIII. Democratic Progressivism: The Presidency of Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
Wilson’s early life and political career
True progressive and dynamic speaker
Sympathetic to small businessmen
Could be a stubborn, moral crusader and ideologue

29. A. “New Freedom” Wilson’s brand of progressivism
Wants to recreate the “golden age” of small American businesses
Wilson wants to open channels for free and fair competition
Historic Jeffersonian approach to federal power

30. B. Key Wilsonian Legislation
Underwood Tariff Act (1913)
Federal Reserve Act (1913)
Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914)
Federal Trade Commission (1914)

31. C. Congressional Progressivism After 1914
Wilson was not a strong progressive when it came to social reform
Congress takes over the progressive agenda
Appointment of Brandeis to Supreme Court
Examples of congressional progressive legislation after 1914
--Federal Highways Act (1916)

32. IX. The Waning of the Progressive Movement
Progressive movement peaks by 1917
Success of the movement led to its decline
Advent of World War I also hurt progressive activism
Progressives themselves began to weary of their reform zeal—as did the nation as a whole
Ironically, voter participation has steadily declined since the election of 1912