1. Essential Question:
How did progressives bring reform to urban & state governments?

2. Government Reform
City, state, & national governments were in need of reform:
Corrupt political machines controlled city governments
Monopolists used their wealth to influence politicians, encourage monopolies, & fight labor laws
Political positions were gained based on patronage not merit
Corruption scandals plagued the national government
Quick Class Discussion: What problems existed within the city, state, & national governments?

4. Urban Government Reform
In the 1880s, reformers began to demand change in city gov’ts:
Reformers tried to end patronage (appointment based on loyalty) by passing the Pendleton Act which required merit-based exams
Reformers tried to make gov’t more efficient & break the power of machines by shifting power to city commissions & managers

5. After a hurricane destroyed the city of Galveston, Texas…
Natural disasters sometimes played an important role in prompting reform of city governments. In 1900, a hurricane and tidal wave almost demolished Galveston, Texas. The politicians on the city council botched the huge relief and rebuilding job so badly that the Texas legislature appointed a five-member commission of experts to take over. Each expert took charge of a different city department, and soon Galveston was rebuilt. This success prompted the city to adopt the commission idea as a form of government, and by 1917, 500 cities had followed Galveston's example. Another natural disaster—a flood in Dayton, Ohio, in 1913—led to the widespread adoption of the council-manager form of government. Staunton, Virginia, had already pioneered this system, in which people elected a city council to make laws. The council in turn appointed a manager, typically a person with training and experience in public administration, to run the city’s departments. By 1925, managers were administering nearly 250 cities.

6. …politicians created the 1st city commission gov’t
Rather than 1 mayor making all decisions, a committee oversaw different aspects of local government
Politicians in Galveston, Texas created the 1st c after a hurricane ruined the city
…politicians created the 1st city commission gov’t

7. Other cities adopted this model, but added a trained city manager to carry out the day-to-day operation of government
Some cities created their own government-run water, gas, electricity utility companies
These changes were much more efficient & less corrupt than traditional city gov’ts

8. Progressive Reform in the States
Progressive reformers impacted state governments too:
Most states created commissions to oversee state spending
States began regulating railroads & other big businesses to help workers & promote competition
States passed laws limiting work hours for children & women

9. Progressive Reform in the States
The most significant state reform was governor Robert La Follette’s “Wisconsin Idea”:
Used academic “experts” from the University of Wisconsin to help create state laws
Wisconsin was the 1st state to create an income tax, form industrial commissions, & regulate railroads

11. Progressives helped make state governments more democratic
State of Texas
Recall:
Citizens can vote to remove an elected official
Initiative:
Citizens can put an issue on a state ballot & vote to make it a law
Referendum: Citizens vote to increase taxes for new programs

12. Progressive Reform in the States
Progressives helped make state governments more democratic:
Most states had direct primary elections to allow voters to choose candidates, not parties
In 1912, the 17th Amendment was ratified which allowed for the direct election of Senators by the people

13. Direct Primary Elections

14. National Progressive Reform: Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, & Woodrow Wilson

15. President Theodore Roosevelt
VP Theodore Roosevelt became president after the assassination of William McKinley in 1901
TR was a different kind of president
He thought the gov’t ought to take responsibility for the welfare of the American people
His agenda of progressive reform was called the “Square Deal”

16. Theodore Roosevelt: A “Modern” President
TR was committed to a series of reforms:
Breaking up harmful monopolies (called “trustbusting”)
Regulating businesses such as railroads & the meat industry
Conservation of natural resources
“It is the duty of the president to act upon the theory that he is the steward of the people, and…to assume that he has the legal right to do whatever the needs of the people demand, unless the Constitution or the laws explicitly forbid him to do it”

17. Trustbusting
During the Gilded Age, Congress passed a series of laws designed to keep big business in check:
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was formed in 1886 to regulate railroads
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act in 1890 made it illegal for companies to restrict trade
But neither of these laws were strict enough to control monopolies

18. Trustbusting
Roosevelt saw the benefit of efficient monopolies, but wanted to control bad trusts:
In 1902, the gov’t ordered the Northern Securities Company (a giant railroad monopoly) broken up because it violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act
The Roosevelt administration “busted” 25 trusts in 7 years

19. Theodore Roosevelt, the Trustbuster
RESTRAINT

20. Supporting Workers
In 1902, the United Mine Workers went on strike to demand higher pay & an eight-hour work day
The anthracite coal strike lasted months & threatened the nation as winter approached

21. Supporting Workers
Unlike the Gilded Age presidents, TR did not side with the owners & break up the strike
TR forced both sides to arbitrate or face gov’t seizure of the coal mine
The result was a “square deal” for both sides
The result was a “square deal” for labor (higher wages) & owners (no formal recognition of the union)

22. Regulating Business
When muckraker Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle was published, Roosevelt pushed for regulation of the meat packing industry
Congress passed the Meat Inspection Act in 1906
To ban harmful products & end false medicine claims, the Pure Food & Drug Act passed in 1906
Quick Class Discussion: Why did The Jungle generate so much outrage from Americans & politicians? Read excerpts from The Jungle

23. Unregulated Food & Medicines: The Need for the Pure Food & Drug Act

24. Conservation of the Environment
During the Gilded Age, corporations clear-cut forests & viewed America’s natural resources as endless
Roosevelt began the 1st national environmental conservation program
The gov’t protected 195 million acres as off limits to businesses
The Reclamation Service to place natural resources (oil, trees, coal) under federal protection

25. National Parks and Forests

26. The Legacy of Theodore Roosevelt
In 1908, Roosevelt decided not to run for re-election as president
TR’s presidency was important because for the first time, the national government:
Regulated big business
Protected the environment
Assumed responsibility for the welfare of workers & consumers

27. William Howard Taft
When Roosevelt decided not to run for re-election in 1908, his successor to the presidency was Republican William Howard Taft

28. The Presidency of Taft
Like TR, Taft believed that the U.S. needed progressive reform:
In his 4 years as president, Taft helped break up twice as many monopolies as Roosevelt
Created the Children’s Bureau & pushed for child labor laws
Helped create safety codes for coal miners & railroad workers

29. The Presidency of Taft
But, Taft did not always trust the gov’t to solve problems & often sided with conservative Republicans
He angered progressives when he supported a high tariff which helped monopolies
He allowed a cabinet secretary to sell 1 million acres of conservation land to businesses
Progressive politicians hoped that TR would run for president again

30. Progressives (& Roosevelt) began to view Taft as having made a mess of TR’s reforms

31. The Election of 1912
TR decided to run for president in 1912 but the Republican Party picked Taft as their candidate
TR created the Progressive (“Bull Moose”) Party
Taft was the Republican nominee & the Democrats ran a reform governor, Woodrow Wilson
Republican voters were divided in whom to support: Roosevelt or Taft

32. The Election of 1912 & the Progressive Party (Bull Moose Party)
I’m feeling as fit as a “bull moose”

33. Republicans divided by a Bull moose equals a Democratic victory!
The Election of 1912
With the Republicans divided, Democrat Woodrow Wilson won the election of 1912
Republicans divided by a Bull moose equals a Democratic victory!

34. President Woodrow Wilson
President Wilson oversaw a great wave of progressive reforms:
16th Amendment created the 1st income tax in U.S. history
17th Amendment allowed for the direct-election of U.S. Senators
18th Amendment outlawed alcohol (prohibition)
19th Amendment granted women the right to vote (suffrage)
“Progressive Amendments”
(1913) was;

35. President Woodrow Wilson
President Wilson oversaw a great wave of progressive reforms:
Created the Federal Reserve to regulate the economy by adjusting the money supply & interest rates
The Clayton Anti-Trust Act limited the ability of companies to form monopolies & protected workers’ right to strike
The Federal Trade Commission monitored unfair business practices
(1913) was;

36. The Federal Reserve System
The “Fed” regulates the amount of money in circulation to help keep the economy strong

37. The End of Progressive Reform
The Progressive Era ( ) brought major changes:
Gov’t regulation of big business
Improvements in U.S. cities
More democracy for the people
But, the outbreak of World War I in Europe distracted Americans & brought an end to the Progressive Era