1. Progressive Era,

2. The Progressive era Progressive Era – The period from about 1890–1920
Progressives were not a single unified movement. Their reforms fell into three categories:
Social
Economic
Political
Common themes:
Democracy
Efficiency
Regulation
Social justice

3. Progressive Beliefs Some common basic beliefs of the Progressives:
Government should be more accountable to its citizens.
Government should curb the power and influence of wealthy interests.
Government should have expanded powers to become more active in improving the lives of its citizens.
Governments should be more efficient and less corrupt.

4. Igniting Reform
Populism was one antecedent of Progressive reform, as was civil service reform and socialism.
Many writers and journalists (“muckrakers”) influenced public opinion about reform.
Some respected writers and muckrakers:
Jacob Riis
Upton Sinclair
Lincoln Steffens
Ida Tarbell

5. Social and Moral Reform
Those pursuing social justice advocated a variety of tactics.
The Women’s Christian Temperance Movement is a good example of the diversity of interests of social reformers.
Some of the greatest gains are in the area of labor laws, especially for children and women.
The Supreme Court rulings on labor are erratic.
1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire added impetus to worker protection efforts.
Moral reformers advocated Sunday closing laws and Prohibition.

6. An Expanded Role for Government
Progressives sought more social welfare programs to help ensure a minimum standard of living.
Many of the earliest Progressive reforms were made at the municipal level
Other important reforms were initiated by Progressive governors, such as Robert La Follette of Wisconsin

7. Progressive Political Reforms

8. Progressive Era Legislation
Authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroad rates.
Hepburn Act, 1906
Banned interstate shipping of impure food and deliberate mislabeling of food and drugs.
Pure Food and Drug Act, 1906
Required federal inspection of meat processing to ensure sanitary conditions.
Meat Inspection Act, 1906
Cabinet department created to promote the welfare and employment of working people.
Department of Labor, 1913
Gave Congress the power to levy an income tax.
16th Amendment, 1913
Provided for the direct election of senators.
17th Amendment, 1913
Created Federal Reserve System of government banks to supervise private banks and provide a flexible money supply.
Federal Reserve Act, 1913
Conservation act created to administer the nation’s parks.
National Park Service, 1916
Prohibited the manufacture and sale of liquor. (Repealed in 1933)
18th Amendment, 1919
Granted women full suffrage.
19th Amendment, 1920

9. Reform Under TR
Theodore Roosevelt was the first Progressive president, active in:
Labor relations
“Trust busting”
Railroad regulation
Public health
Conservation
Referred to his programs as a “Square Deal” for Americans

10. Reform under tr: labor relations
1902 Coal Strike – TR doesn’t wait for the strike to get violent, as previous presidents had done.
Doesn’t always side with business.

11. Reform under TR: Trust Busting
Used Sherman Act to bring 25 anti-trust cases.
1902 – Northern Securities Company (railroads)
1905 – Swift and Company v. United States (meat packing)
Formation of Bureau of Corporation (1903) would lead to other important “trust busting” in post-TR years.

12. Reform under TR: Railroad Regulation
Elkins Act (1903) prohibited rebate practices.
Hepburn Act (1906) extended the authority of the ICC.

13. Reform under TR: Public Health
Meat Inspection Act (1906) established oversight of the industry as well as sanitation standards.
Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) required accurate branding and elimination of harmful ingredients.

14. Reform Under TR: Conservation
Conservation movement had begun in 1886 with the founding of the Audubon Society.
With his head of Forestry, Gifford Pinchot, TR championed systematic management of natural resources.
Newlands Reclamation Act (1902) to provide water to arid Western states.

15. Taft’s Presidency Pledged to carry on TR’s progressive program
Did NOT appoint Progressives to his Cabinet
Added tariff increases Progressives didn’t want
Angered conservationists
Taft became very unpopular

16. Turmoil in the Republican Party
Roosevelt criticized Taft & proposed the New Nationalism, which called for:
business regulation
welfare laws
workplace protection for women and children
income and inheritance taxes
voting reform
Progressives left the Republican Party & formed the Progressive Party or Bull Moose Party

17. The Election of 1912 A Four-Way Election Republican Party
William Howard Taft
Progressive Bull Moose Party
Theodore Roosevelt
Socialist Party
Eugene V. Debs
Democratic Party; with the Republican Party split between Taft and Roosevelt, Wilson won
Woodrow Wilson

18. Wilson’s Policies as President
Tariff reduction
Clayton Antitrust Act (1914) strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act
Created the Federal Trade Commission & Federal Reserve System

19. The Limits of Progressivism
Did little for tenant or migrant farmers
Did not pursue social justice reforms
Continued the Jim Crow practice of separating the races in federal offices
By 1916, replaced by concerns about World War I

20. Preparing the Way for Suffrage
Women activists demanded suffrage in 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention in New York
Two tactics to pursue the right to vote:
Fight for a constitutional amendment for suffrage
Work to win voting rights on the state level
In 1872, in an act of civil disobedience, Susan B. Anthony insisted on voting and was arrested

21. A New Generation
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) in 1890.
Carrie Chapman Catt led the movement from 1900 to 1904 and again after 1915.
In March 1913 Alice Paul and Lucy Barns organized a parade of 5,000 women in Washington, D.C.
Paul created the Congressional Union.

22. Victory for Suffrage
Chapter 11, Section 4
The Nineteenth Amendment (1920), granting women the right to vote, was the last major reform of the Progressive Era.