1. The Progressive Reform Era

2. What were the goals of the Progressives?
To meet the challenges presented by industrialization and urbanization
To break up the monopolies and restore competition
To break the power of political machines and improve democracy
To improve the quality of life for the people of the United States

3. What were the characteristics of the Progressives? Who were they?
Urban, middle class
Men and women
Democrats and Republicans
Well educated
Believers in capitalism (not socialism)
Pragmatic – simple solutions to complex problems
All levels of government
Attempted a variety of reforms
Optimistic

4. Muckrakers
Journalists who attempted to expose the evils of big business and corrupt government
The purpose of their reports was to educate the people about a problem and to encourage them to take action
They were not in the business of “sensationalizing” the news

5. Upton Sinclair was a Socialist; who said that he “aimed at the country’s heart, but instead, hit them in the stomach” The Jungle
Exposed the evils in the meatpacking industry
Resulted in the passage of the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act

6. Ida Tarbell – A History of Standard Oil
to expose the ruthless practices of John Rockefeller

7. Jacob Riis – A Muckraking Photojournalist
Immigrant from Denmark
Worked as a police reporter and photographer
Most famous work: How the Other Half Lives

8. Five Cents Lodging

9. Children Sleeping in Mulberry Street

11. Girls on a Stoop

12. Home of an Italian Rag Picker

13. Tenement Yard

14. Room in a Tenement Flat

15. Cityscape

16. A New York City Peddler

17. A Ludlow Street Sweatshop

18. Bandit’s Roost 59 ½ Mulberry Street

19. Men’s Lodging Room in West 47th Street Station

20. Women’s Lodging Room in West 47th Street Station

21. Lincoln Steffens – The Shame of the Cities
Told of the political corruption in Philadelphia

22. Frank Norris – The Octopus
told of the struggle against the railroad monopolies