The Progressive Movement

Late 1800’s, Early 1900s

What do you see here? What problems does this indicate that “progressives” want to improve? What do you think caused these problems?

A reform movement to cure the problems created by the INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Unsanitary, crowded, corrupt CITIES Poor WORKING CONDITIONS Liquor Abuse A few wealthy industrialists (e.g. Rockefeller,

Carnegie) with a high % of POOR POLITICAL CORRUPTION – “Machines”

Who were they? EDUCATED, WHITE ANGLO-SAXON PROTESTANT REFORMERS (Mostly) - WASPs

4 goals:

Help the POOR Promote MORALITY Improve the WORKPLACE (Efficiency, etc.) Improve GOVERNMENT (More Efficiency, etc.)

Goal # 1 of Progressives:Help the POOR

•Salvation Army: -soup kitchens, nurseries, “slum brigades” – MORAL COMPONENT TOO•Jane Addams’ – Hull House in Chicago (1889) – Childcare, help for women & Immigrants, reformers met there

What do you think she was saying to these women?

Goal # 1: Help the POOR (cont.)

•Idea of an income tax was proposed…

•GOAL: distribute income more evenly (and embarrass Republicans) – “Soak the Rich”

RESULT: 16TH Amendment: 1st Income tax (1913 – Taft/Wilson)

“Progressive” Tax – Higher Income = Higher tax

Issue Today? Bush Tax Cuts

Goal #2 of the progressives: Promote MORALITY

best way to help people…

•- Teach them to be more MORAL

•Best way to do that…

No More Drinking!!!!!

W.C.T.U.: Women’s Christian Temperance Union – Largest Women’s Group in History

•Pushed for Ban on drinking

•women’s right to vote

Morality…Continued

RESULTS: 18th Amendment (1920) – Ban on Drinking 19th Amendment (1920) – Women can vote…

– Alice Paul & WCTU

Morality for men in the “outside world” but also…

&

AND….YWCA

What do you see here? Why does this look dangerous? Why do you think children were valued as workers based on this?

“I want to learn to read but I can’t if I’m working all the time…”

Goal #3 of the progressives:Make the WORKPLACE better

Child Labor – BIG PROBLEMChild Labor was limited (by 1912 – ¾ of all states banned it)

What do you see here? What do you think happened?

Also…women’s labor was Dangerous (Triangle Factory- 146), Underpaid(1/2) Progressive movement attempted to make

improvements for women at work AND:

Better Education (Radcliffe, Smith, Wellesley)! THE right to vote!

NAWSA – Carrie Chapman Catt– tried state legislatures, courts and then …

-Got RADICAL – ALICE PAUL – Hunger Strikes, Round the clock pickets of Whitehouse-AMENDMENT TO CONSTITUTION (19TH) – 1920 – WOMEN COULD NOW VOTE

Upton Sinclair

Goal #3 Make the WORKPLACE/Business better (

MUCKRAKERS: Investigative reporters who criticize big business – Do we have these today? 60 Minutes…RESULT

•Upton Sinclair: “The Jungle” – horrors of meatpacking industry

Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food & Drug Act (FDA created)

T. Roosevelt took action

John D. Rockefeller

Developed a huge monopoly and trusts in the Oil industry – Standard Oil through SKETCHY practices

Muckrakers to the RESCUE (insert superman music)…

Ida Tarbell: Reported on the abuses of capitalism and Big Business – particularly Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company (Trusts/Monopoly)

What the heck are trusts & monopolies and all this stuff all about? (see next slide…)

What is a capitalism? Why is it sketchy?

What do you see in this slide?

Goal #3 of the progressives:Make the WORKPLACE/Businesses better (Cont.)

Vs.

                                                         

Govt. Vs. Business

Trustbusters (Govt.) vs. Industrialists (Business)Trust: Secret agreements between companies

– knock out competition…- creates a…

Monopoly - 1 company controls industry then jack up prices (Rockefeller & Carnegie)

Trustbusters – Teddy Roosevelt used Sherman act to bust up Trusts & monopolies -and offer “SQUARE DEAL” for common folk

Also a Trustbuster….TAFT Broke twice as many trusts as Roosevelt Instituted 8 hour workday

Why were they going at it?

Same reason why Congress went after Bill Gates recently…

Monopoly = less competition = bad for consumer

Industrialist argument: Laissez Faire Gov’t (“Hands Off” business = Good for business growth Problem with this…?

Goal #3 of the progressives:Make the WORKPLACE/Businesses better (Cont.)What the heck is all this laissez-faire, capitalism stuff?

Eugene Debs, Socialists and Unions say …

Eugene, Socialists, and Unions would say…Businesses Can’t be trusted Eugene Debs: 1st Socialist Candidate for prez

What is a socialist? (see handout)

Trade Unions:Groups of Unified workers that can obtain more worker rights than businesses

–Knights of Labor – “brotherhood” – pooled unions together but….

–Unions Labeled as radical and didn’t work out because of HAYMARKET Bombing …also…

…The Pullman Strike (1894): Gov’t against Unions

Samuel Gompers and AFL (Amer. Fed. Of Labor) – success of bigger/industry wide unions & NOT AS RADICAL

Eventually, won support in government through…

Teddy Roosevelt & John L. Lewis (Union Organizer)

Goal #3 of the progressives:Make the WORKPLACE better (cont.)

More EFFICIENT WORKPLACE:

Scientific Management (Taylor):Apply science to business

FORD – pay twice the amount for boring wk

Galveston Hurricane - 1900

San Fran Earthquake of 1906

How well do you think the government respond to these disasters (think Katrina)?

Fightin’ Bob Lafollette

Goal # 4 of Progressives:Make GOVERNMENT better

       Robert La Follette – “Fighting Bob” – DROVE BUSINESS OUT OF POLITICS (RAILROAD)• 

Direct Primaries !!!!!!(Wisconsin Idea) – The people could elect political candidates …not corrupt POLITICAL MACHINES

And more efficiency in…

People should have more of a say in Gov’t!!!

Goal # 4 of Progressives:Make GOVERNMENT better(Cont.)

Result on State Level:

Recalls (Ahhhnold!)Initiatives (Petitions)Referendums (Vote No/Yes on #1)Secret Ballots (Australian

Ballot)

17th Amendment – Senators are elected by the people rather by the (often corrupt) state governments (Yeah “Fightin’” Bob!)(Are we fighting this stuff today? You betcha… McCain-Feingold Bill/DeLay)Also, Anti-political machine legislations (NO KICKBACKS, NEPOTISM, CRONYISM, ETC.)

National Result:

Teddy’s other big progressive action: CONSERVATION LAND -Yosemite, etc(.…not a hippie but…loved to camp!)

Appointed Experts (Pinchot/Muir): Way to make gov’t better and more EFFICIENT

Taft went against this

Led to…

…Republican Party split…Dems Win

Woody Wilson’s Progressivism

Woody Wilson’s Progressivism – “New Freedom”

CLAYTON ANTI-TRUST ACT (Wilson ALSO a trustbuster)

FTC – “watchdog of business” Federal Reserve Bank – 12 of them! 16th Amend.- Income Tax

Review:

Help the POOR (Income tax, Salvation army, Hull House, etc)

Promote MORALITY (No Drinking/More Christianity)

Improve the WORKPLACE/Business (Efficiency, Improve for women & Children, Teddy)

Improve GOVERNMENT (More Efficiency, Less Corruption, People have more of a say)

Was their progress during the progressive movement?

Did the progressive movement embody a shift from personal responsibility and morality to government taking responsibility for peoples’ actions?