1. CH. 16-1 PROGRESSIVISM AMERICAN HISTORY
CH. 16 THE PROGRESSIVES
CH PROGRESSIVISM
AMERICAN HISTORY

2. WHAT WAS PROGRESSIVISM?
PROGRESSIVISM—a reform movement that addressed many of the social problems caused by industrialization
Progressives sought to improve living conditions for the urban poor
MUCKRAKERS—writers that “raked up” or exposed the filth of society
Most articles focused on business and political corruption

3. Ida Tarbell wrote a scathing report on Standard Oil Company and John D
Ida Tarbell wrote a scathing report on Standard Oil Company and John D. Rockefeller
Other authors wrote about insurance and stock manipulation, the exploitation of child labor, slum conditions, and racial discrimination

4. REFORMING SOCIETY 1920—more than 50% of all Americans lived in cities
As cities grew they had difficulty providing services such as garbage collection, safe housing, police and fire protecton
HOUSING REFORMS
Tenement Act of 1901 (NY State Legislature)

5. Forced landlords to install lighting in public hallways and provide a toilet for every two families
Outhouses were eventually banned from NY slums
A healthier climate was created in NY
Death rate declined dramatically over the next 15 years in NY

6. FIGHTING FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
1909—NAACP created
Ida Wells-Barnett, W.E.B. Du Bois, Jane Addams, and others
1913—protested the introduction segregation into the federal government
1915—protested the film “Birth of a Nation” because of its hostile stereotyping of African Americans

7. 1913—Sigmund Livingston, a Jewish man, founded the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
Mission was to fight anti-semetism
By 1920—the newspapers’ use of negative references to Jews had nearly stopped

8. REFORMING THE WORKPLACE
End of the 1800s—labor unions were actively campaigning for the rights of adult male workers
1893—Florence Kelley helped persuade Illinois to prohibit child labor and limit the number of hours women were forced to work
1904—Kelley helped found the National Child Labor Committee
Mission was to encourage state legislatures to ban child labor

9. Companies continued to hire children and not all states banned child labor
Kelley led a successful campaign in Oregon to limit the workday in laundries to 10 hours
Utah limited the workday in some women’s jobs to 8 hours
1900—40% of working-class families lived in poverty

10. 1912—Massachusetts became the first state to pass a minimum wage law
Congress didn’t pass a federal minimum wage law until 1938
COURTS AND LABOR LAWS
Businesses began to fight labor laws in court
Early 1900s—several Supreme Court cases

11. 1905—Lochner v. New York—USSC refused to limit to uphold a law limiting bakers to a 10-hour day because it prevented workers from make a contract with their employer
1908—Muller v. Oregon—USSC upheld a state law establishing a 10-hour workday for women in laundries and factories
The argument was that long hours ruined a woman’s health

12. 1917—Bunting v. Oregon—Extended protection of a 10-hour day to men working in mills and factories
THE TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST COMPANY FIRE
(p. 525)
500 young women employed
Factory made women’s blouses

13. At the end of the 6-day workweek, fire erupted from a discarded match
The 8th floor was ablaze and fire quickly spread to two other floors
Escape was nearly impossible
Doors were locked to prevent theft
Doors that were not locked opened inward
Flimsy fire escape broke under the weight of the panic-stricken employees
People tumbled to their deaths

14. Dozens of workers leaped from windows to escape the fire
More than 140 women and men died
As a result NY passed the toughest fire safety laws in the nation
THE UNIONS
Energetic labor unions joined the fight for better conditions

15. International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union (ILGWU)—1900—organized unskilled workers
1909—”Uprising of the 20,000”—general strike by ILGWU workers
Achieved a shorter workweek and higher wages
They attracted thousands of workers to the union

16. Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)—1905
Opposed capitalism
Leader was William “Big Bill” Haywood
Organized unskilled workers
Used traditional strategies such as strikes and boycotts
Also used radical methods such as industrial sabotage

17. 1912—IWW had 20,000 textile workers on strike in Lawrence, MA to protest pay cuts
After 10 weeks the mill owners gave in and raised wages
Several strikes were complete failures
Government cracked down on IWW’s activities
Within a few years it lost power

18. REFORMING GOVERNMENT
Progressives targeted government reform and wanted to eliminate corruption
CITY GOVERNMENT REFORMS
Cleaning up government meant taking control of it
Reforms included new rules for police, releasing debtors from prison, improved municipal services, a minimum wage, and kindergartens for children

19. 1900—hurricane hits Galveston, TX
City government can’t handle disaster
Texas legislature sets up a 5-member commission to govern the city
Commissioner were experts in their field, not party loyalists
Council-manager model began in Staunton, VA in 1908

20. The city council appointed a professional politician to run the city
STATE GOVERNMENT REFORMS
WI Governor Robert M. La Follette called for electoral reforms such as campaign spending limits
Created state commissions to regulate railroads and utilities, oversee transportation, civil service, and taxation

21. NY Governor Charles Evens Hughes regulated public utilities and pushed through a worker safety law
MS Governor James Vardaman limited the use of convict labor.
Vardaman’s reforms were marred by extreme racism

22. ELECTION REFORMS
Progressives wanted elections to be more fair and make politicians more accountable to voters
They pushed for the direct primary
Voters would choose which candidates would run in the general election
MS adopted the direct primary in 1903

23. Progressives backed the XVIIth Amendment (ratified in 1913)
Voters, not state legislatures, had the power to directly elect US Senators
Secret ballot—all candidates’ names printed on the same form—most states adopted by 1900
Progressives wanted 3 additional reforms

24. 1) the initiative—allowed citizens to put a proposed law on the ballot for public approval
2) the referendum—allows citizens to place a recently passed law on the ballot, allowing voters to approve or reject the measure
3) the recall—enables citizens to remove an elected official from office by calling a special election
These measures made politicians more accountable to the voters
THE END