HIS 112Chapter 23

From Roosevelt to Wilson in the Age of Progressivism

Progressivism

Reform movement that politically tried to find solutions to problems of the cities, states, and the nation

Used experts

Some examined a person’s environment and tried to explain how the environment influenced human development

Culturally, artists were inspired to take a fresh look at their world as wellProgressives wanted to humanize and regulate the work placeWanted businesses to change their ways voluntarily; if not, then laws could be passedProgressives had their own pet projects -- ridding U.S. of prostitution and drunkeness

Rise of Professional Associations and Societies

400 formed between 1890 and 1920

These associations tried to set standards for individual professions and have them accepted by law

Examples:American Medical Association (AMA)

Set up educational requirements and minimum standards

Bar Association created examining boards for lawyers

National Education Association, 1905, created a teacher certification program

National Association of Settlements begun by social workers in 1911

National Association of Manufacturers, 1895

U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 1912

By working as individuals and as part of a group, these educated professionals had an impact on society

Social-Justice Movement

Social-Justice movement begun by social workers and lawyersThey wanted

Child labor lawsBetter working conditions for womenImproved housingBetter parksMore playgroundsNursery schools

They pressured government agencies to get things done

Had conferences and put out the magazine Survey to present a comprehensive program of reform

Purity Crusade

Those wishing to remove the evils of drink from American society

Women’s Christian Temperance Union, WTCU formed in the 1870s joined

The Anti-Saloon League in 1893 to abolish alcohol

By 1916, 19 states were dry; however, these groups worked for a national law

They got it finally with the 18th Amendment or the Volstead Act that took effect in January of 1920

It prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors

It was known as Prohibition

It did not work

Those who worked to get rid of prostitution had limited success

1910 – The Mann Act stated that one could not take a girl over state lines for illicit purposes

1915 – most states banned brothels

Women’s Suffrage

Women were active in society

Women were getting college educations ; 5,000/year after 1900

Many worked to help women and children

Many became involved with women’s suffrage because they wished to influence elected officials

To portray a united front, 2 women’s suffrage groups joined together

The National Woman Suffrage Association

And the American Woman Suffrage Association

By 1910, women could vote only in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, & Idaho

19th Amendment

Women get the right to votePassed by Congress in 1919Ratified in 1920How?

Through the efforts of Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt, Anna Howard Shaw, Alice Paul, and Lucy BurnsPlus women’s active participation in war effort during World War I

Other Achievements of Progressives

They were successful on state level getting laws passed that limit the number of hours women could work

Laws passed regulating child labor

John Dewey re-shaped the way children were taught

He emphasized personal growth, free inquiry, and creativity

Some judges, like Judge Ben Lindsey, believed a child’s environment could him into crime, so he sentenced child offenders to education and good care

Socialists following the teachings of Karl Marx influenced the formation of the American Socialist Party in 1877

1901, Eugene Debs, its leader, ran for president in 1900, 1904, & 1908 and got many votes but not enough

Progressives pressed for more education, mental institutions, and jailsMaryland passed the first workers’ compensation law in 1902By 1916, 2/3 of all states insisted on insurance for victims of factory accidentsCities worked to eliminate corruption

Robert M. La Follette

Reform governor of Wisconsin

Served 3 terms in Congress in 1880s

1901 became governor of Wisconsin

Created the “Wisconsin Idea”Asked academics to come up with new solutions to old problems

Set up an industrial commission to regulate factory safety and sanitation

Improved education

Adopted workmen’s compensation

Practiced resource conservation

Lowered railroad rates and raised railroad taxes

Started a state income tax

Theodore Roosevelt (g. 1901-1908)

Became president after the assassination of Robert McKinley

Had been vice president

Was a progressive

Rich

Spent time in west when young to regain his health

Was a N.Y. State Assemblyman, N.Y. City Police Commissioner, U.S. Civil Service Commissioner, N.Y. Governor, Vice President of U.S.

Fought in Spanish-American War in Cuba, Rough Riders

Brought new energy to the White House

Enlarged the office of Presidency that affected the balance of power

Settled strikes and defended worker’s right to organizeFelt corporate behavior should be regulatedBroke trusts and monopolies but didn’t wish to destroy corporationsWon the presidential election of 1904Got Hepburn Act passed in1906 that gave ICC more authority

Got Elkins Act passed in 1903 that stiffened penalties against railroad rebates to favorite shippers

Read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and got the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act passed in 1906

Backed some opportunities for black Americans

Denounced lynching

Had Booker T. Washington visit the White House

Conservation

Teddy Roosevelt appointed Gifford Pinchot as the nation’s first professional forester1905, Pinchot was named head of the new U.S. Forest ServicePinchot was for conservation, the wise use of natural resourcesAlthough Roosevelt was more of a preservationist, he went along with PinchotPreservation – let it alone, don’t touch nature

Pinchot and Roosevelt were for the planned , regulated use of the nation’s forests for public and commercial purposesT. Roosevelt supported the National Reclamation Act of 1902

This earmarked money from the sale of public lands for water management in the southwest; set up The Reclamation Service to plan irrigation projects

T. Roosevelt set aside 200 million acres of public land as national forests, mineral reserves, and potential water power sitesRoosevelt created 53 wildlife reserves, 16 national monuments, and 5 new national parksThis helped the public to think about the environment

Election of 1908

Roosevelt refused to run

It was William Howard Taft (R) vs. William Jennings Bryan (D)

Taft won

As President Taft:Approved a conservative tariff bill

Abandoned reformers in the House

Fires Gifford Pinchot

Taft lost the support of the progressivesRoosevelt was sorry he’d recommended Taft as a presidential candidateRoosevelt was so disappointed that he challenged Taft in the 1912 election as the candidate of the newly- formed Bull Moose Party

Election of 1912

William Howard Taft (R)

Woodrow Wilson (D)

Theodore Roosevelt (Bull Moose)

Eugene Debs (Socialist)

Woodrow Wilson was the winner

Woodrow Wilson

An academic who taught history at Princeton

President of Princeton

Governor of New Jersey

Son of a minister

Felt monopolies should be broken and there should be an open marketplace

Wished to protect and regulate businessSupported

Clayton Anti-Trust Act that outlawed quasi-monopolistic practices such as price discriminationFederal Trade Commission investigated corporations and issued cease and desist orders against unfair trade practices

Federal Reserve Act of 1913 established a centralized banking system with control over the amount of money in circulation

Underwood Tariff of 1913 promoted free competition by drastically reducing or eliminating tariff duties; it also introduced the graduated income tax

Wilson also won the election of 1916

His slogan was he kept out of war meaning World War I that began in Europe in 1914; however, we entered the war in 1917

Progressive Era in Perspective

The material comforts enjoyed by the large majority of Americans meant that reform couldn’t be sustained indefinitely

Opposition to reform weakened the impact of many progressive initiatives

Progressives did refashion the American way of thing and it challenged the old ways of approaching problems to the nation