1. Progressivism
Meaning: progress, meaning to move forward. People in this era wanted to apply new ideas to improve society and move it forward.

3. Origins of Progressivism
Makeup:
Lasted from 1890s through WWI
Came from many walks of life
All political parties
All social classes, ethnic groups, & religions
Leaders: Emerged from the growing middle class
Dissatisfied Industrial Workers
A few wealthy Americans

4. Changing Face of Industrialism
Conditions were better
Economy reached full capacity
Farm prices rose 50%
Unemployment dropped
However, industrialization and Urbanization had created troubling social and political problems.
Wanted to use logic and reason to make society work in a more efficient and orderly way.
Make government more responsive to people’s needs
Eliminate abuses of big business
Millions of Americans still suffered from poverty and disease.
Racism raged against African-Americans in the North and South
Increasing hostility against immigrants from the southern and eastern Europe, Mexico and Asia

5. Henry Ford

6. The Innovative Model T
Large scale business and mass production, and the automobile led the way
1895-only four cars on the roads, by million
Explosive growth sparked mass production of autos
Henry Ford-1903
Introduced a series of methods the revolutionized production, wages, working conditions, and daily life
Ford-40 years old, tried farming-hated it.
During the 1890s worked as an engineer for Detroit’s Edison Company
At first he concentrated on building luxury and racing cars.
In 1904, Ford set the world’s land speed record –more than 90 mph.
1903-he sold his first ford car

7. Ford Pioneers Mass Production
Early in the century
Only wealthy could afford cars
Automobile seen as a symbol of class division
Wilson: “to the countryman cars are a picture of arrogance of wealth”
Model T-1908-$850
4 cyl, 20 hp, “Tin Lizzie”
Hired “scientific management”
Looked to the meat packing plants for new techniques
Came up with “assembly lines” (1 car-93 mins. 1/10th the time)
Have a student make a sandwich- time them
Divide students into 4 lines-make assembly line-time them (bread, lettuce, meat, cheese, tomato bread)

8. The Automobile Changes America
Cutting the time
Dropped the sales price
1916-$350, 1927-$290
% owned cars
% owned cars
Innovation
8 hour workday
$5.00 per day
wage
Sat. & Sun.
OFF
CAR CULTURE
The Gas Station
Encouraged growth of the oil industry
Federal Aid Roads Act-1916
Set the framework for road building
Federal govt paid ½ the cost of building roads
states had built hundreds of highways, organizing them into a numbered system
Route 66-CA to IL

9. Managing the Machines
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire – Mar 1911
Management focused on speed and product, not the workers.
Jobs became not only monotonous but dangerous.
In the early 1900, the US had the highest rate of industrial accidents in the world. Long hours, poor ventilation, hazardous fumes, and unsafe machinery threatened not only workers’ health but also their lives.
Each year some 30,000 workers died on the job, while another ½ a million were injured.
Near closing time on Saturday afternoon, March 25, 1911, a fire broke out on the top floors of the Asch Building in the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. Within minutes, the quiet spring afternoon erupted into madness, a terrifying moment in time, disrupting forever the lives of young workers.
Terrified seamstresses raced to the exits to try and escape but the door were closed and locked by the company to prevent theft.
By the time the fire was over, 146 of the 500 employees had died.
Many of the Triangle factory workers were women, some as young as 15 years old. They were, for the most part, recent Italian and European Jewish immigrants who had come to the United States with their families to seek a better life. Instead, they faced lives of grinding poverty and horrifying working conditions. As recent immigrants struggling with a new language and culture, the working poor were ready victims for the factory owners.
After the blaze, outraged Progressives intensified their calls for reform
New York passed laws to make workplaces safer, and other cities and states followed suit. Many states also adopted workers’ compensation laws, which set up funds to pay workers who were hurt on the job.

10. Progressive Programs