The Progressive Era

I. Reforms in the Workplace

A. After the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire, safety standards were improved

B. States created labor depts. and developed workers’ accident insurance and compensation systems

C. National Child Labor Committee worked to abolish child labor

D. Lochner v. New York (1905) said states could not set maximum working hours, but this was overturned when Muller v. Oregon (1907) decided states could limit the number of hours in a workday

II. City Reforms

A. Reformers attempted to remove corrupt city bosses and political machines from power (i.e., Tammany Hall in NYC)

B. Cities, rather than private companies, took over utilities (water, gas, electricity)

C. Some mayors provided work-relief programs, public baths, and parks

III. State ReformsA. Governor Robert LaFollette of WI began the

direct primary method of choosing nominees for elections1. LaFollette turned WI into a “laboratory of democracy”

and inspired new democratic reforms at the state level:

B. The initiative allowed citizens to introduce legislation by signing a petition

C. The referendum allowed proposed legislation to be submitted to the voters for approval

D. The recall allowed voters to demand a special election to remove an elected official from office before his/her term expired

E. Seventeenth Amendment (ratified 1913) allowed for the direct election of senators1. This helped eliminate political corruption

IV. President Roosevelt’s Square Deal

A. “trustbuster” for breaking up certain trusts (bad trusts)

B. Arbitrated Coal Strike of 1902, siding with miners

C. Consumer Protection: Meat Inspection Act: required federal

inspection of meat and set standards for cleanliness

Pure Food and Drug Act: prohibited the manufacture, sale, or shipment or impure or falsely labeled food and drugs

D. TR’s Conservation Efforts

Placed 150 million acres of land under control of U.S. Forest Service

Tripled the number of national forests, national parks, and national monuments

National Reclamation Act (1902) set aside money from sale of public lands to build dams and irrigation systems in the West

V. President Taft

A.TrustbusterB.Disagreed

with TR on Environmental policy

C.Led to Split in Republican Party

VI. 1912 Election

Candidates Woodrow Wilson - Democrat

“New Freedom” – promised to use antitrust legislation to get rid of big corporations and to give small businesses and farmers better opportunities. Supported states’ rights and limited gov’t.

Theodore Roosevelt – Progressive (Bull Moose) “New Nationalism” – wanted to increase power of federal

gov’t, decrease power of the courts, and expand the role of president; promoted social justice.

William H. Taft – Republican Eugene V. Debs – Socialist

VII. Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) Reforms during Wilson’s presidency

16th Amendment – federal income tax 17th Amendment – direct election of senators Federal Reserve Act – established a national

banking system controlled by Federal Reserve Board; regulated currency (inflation/deflation) and interest rates

Clayton Antitrust Act – outlawed unfair business practices, such as price discrimination and interlocking directorates

Federal Trade Commission – had wide investigatory powers to prosecute corporations for “unfair trade practices;” regulated big business

VIII. The Limits of Progressivism

Wilson reluctantly signed many pieces of legislation Industrial Workers of the World (IWW – “Wobblies)

were formed by William “Big Bill” Haywood to address the needs of unskilled workers

Women’s Rights (tomorrow’s lesson) Jim Crow laws - African Americans still struggled for

equality Wilson himself was very racist, segregating the federal

gov’t According to the Republican Colored Advisory Committee, “No

sooner had the Democratic Administration come into power than Mr. Wilson and his advisors entered upon a policy to eliminate all colored citizens from representation in the Federal Government” (1916).