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THE PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT Libertyville HS
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Impact of 1896 Election New campaign style Ascendancy of industrial over agricultural Beginning of the end of era of high voter turnout Decline of party and rise of interest groups
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William McKinley: 1896-1900 OOhio lawyer BBelieved in high tariff (increased to 50%!!) GGovernor of OH and US representative GGreatest pro business admin in US history PPanic of 1893 ended; prosperity reigned GGold Standard Act of 1900 FForeign affairs
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Election of 1900 McKinley & T. Roosevelt (R) Bryan & Adlai Stevenson (D) Campaign Economic times were good R slogan: “Four More Years of the Full Dinner Pail” D issues: silver and US imperialism Results McKinley: 292 ECV / 7.2 million Bryan: 155 ECV / 6.3 million
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McKinley’s Second Term 9/6/01: McKinley was assassinated in Buffalo, NY Leon Czolgosz 2 nd gen. Polish immigrant Anarchist beliefs Assassination story Last words: “I killed the President because he was the enemy of the good people – the good working people. I am not sorry for my crime.”
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Theodore (“Teddy”) Roosevelt Born to great wealth Author, historian, hunter, naturalist, soldier, explorer Congressman, governor of NY, Ass’t Sec’y of the Navy Capitalist, but also known as a “trust buster” (anti- corruption) Leader of Progressive Party, and a Reform minded GOP First Progressive Era Pres.
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Problems facing America, 1900 Political system problems Corruption in gov’t City machines Wanted to increase political participation Economic problems Unfair tax burden Working conditions Hostility toward unions
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Problems facing America, 1900 Economic Problems, cont. Business consolidation Between 1897 and 1904, 4,227 firms merged to form 257 corporations The largest merger consolidating nine steel companies to create the U.S. Steel Corp. (Andrew Carnegie) By 1904, 318 companies controlled about 40 percent of the nation's manufacturing output One firm produced over half the output in 78 industries Social problems Living conditions of urban poor Gap between rich, poor Pollution
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Goals of the Progressive Movement Improve American life Increase social justice Women African & Native Americans Increase economic justice Increase political participation Fix problems of industrialization, urbanization Only thing big enough to take on big business was gov’t
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Members of the Progressive Movement Middle Class Urban professionals Middle management Concerned about urban poor, big business Also concerned about worker led revolution Farmers Populist Party ideas Break up monopolies (gov’t control of RRs) Low tariff, easy credit Middle Class Family Farm Family
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Members of the Movement Workers (unionized) Women Advocates for many different progressive changes Women’s suffrage Social welfare (“Hull House”) Temperance Journalists “Muckrakers” Highlighted economic, social ills Led to governmental action Upton Sinclair (“The Jungle”) Jacob Riis (“How the Other Half Lives”) Lincoln Steffens (machine politics)
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Progressive Solutions: Politics Political participation Direct election of Senators (17 th Am) Women’s Suffrage (19 th Am) Increased civil service Campaign limits Secret ballot Machine politics City Commission City manager Initiative / referendum Recall of elected official 1900 NYC Polling place
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Progressive Solutions: Economic “Trust busting” (monopoly) Trust: business entities that controlled a market, colluding to set prices, wages, etc Roosevelt (44 trusts), Taft (90 trusts) were both trust-busters Pro labor legislation Child labor laws – no more than 10 hours / day Food & drug inspection Meat packers Pharmacy companies
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Progressive Solutions: Social Environment / Pollution (Roosevelt) Transferred forests to the U.S. Forest Service Trees had to be planted as well as harvested Withdrew millions of acres of public land from sale to protect resources Used public land sale revenues to build dams, canal systems Temperance & Prohibition (18 th Am)
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