Block 3 - Progressive Reform

Great Railroad strike of 1877

• Cause: The strike began after major railroad companies cut workers' wages for the second time in a year amid a severe economic depression.

• Conflict: It was the first major nationwide strike in US history, spreading across the country and stopping rail traffic. State militias and federal troops were deployed to suppress the strike, resulting in widespread violence and the deaths of approximately 100 people.

• Result: After about 45 days, federal troops crushed the strike. Although it failed to achieve its immediate goals, the event demonstrated to workers the importance of organized unions, significantly boosting the national labor movement.

Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)

• What it did: The first U.S. law (1890) aimed at banning trusts and monopolies to promote competition.

• Its flaw: Vague language made it weak, and it was initially used against labor unions instead of corporations.

• The fix: Later strengthened by the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914.

Social Gospel

• Core Idea: A Protestant Christian movement from the late 19th century that urged followers to focus on the salvation of society, not just individual souls. It called on Christians to challenge social, political, and economic injustices like poverty and inequality.

• Goal: To apply Christian principles to solve modern social problems and enact the "kingdom of God on Earth." This was a direct response to the hardships created by industrialization and urban growth.

• Limitations: The movement had significant "blind spots," as most of its advocates ignored the struggles of women, African Americans, Native Americans, and other oppressed groups.

Theodore Roosevelt

• "Trust Buster": He was the first president to actively go after monopolies, famously suing J.P. Morgan's Northern Securities railroad trust. He believed in regulating "bad" trusts that were corrupt, rather than breaking up all large corporations.

• Increased Regulation: Roosevelt expanded federal power over the economy by signing laws like the Hepburn Act, which gave the government the authority to regulate railroad rates.

• New Nationalism: In the 1912 election, he ran as a Progressive "Bull Moose" Party candidate. His "New Nationalism" platform called for powerful federal regulation of the economy to ensure fairness.

Muckrackers

• Definition: Journalists who exposed corruption, poverty, and unsafe business practices. The term was coined by Theodore Roosevelt.

• Key Examples: Jacob Riis (How the Other Half Lives, 1890) exposed urban slum conditions; Upton Sinclair (The Jungle, 1906) exposed meatpacking dangers, leading to the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act.

• Impact: Published in magazines like McClure's and aroused public demand for reform by exposing political corruption and corporate wrongdoing.

McClure’s

• Leading Muckraking Magazine: McClure's was the most important magazine that published muckraking journalism, exposing political corruption and corporate wrongdoing.

• Key Journalists: Featured famous investigative reporters like Ida Tarbell (exposed Standard Oil) and Lincoln Steffens ("The Shame of the Cities").

• Started the Movement: The January 1903 issue of McClure's essentially launched the muckraking movement that defined Progressive Era journalism

Jacob Riis

• NYC journalist who published How the Other Half Lives (1890), exposing horrible slum conditions.

• Used photography to document urban poverty, giving readers an unflinching view of the squalor.

• Led to reform: His book sparked housing reforms in New York and other cities and helped establish the idea that society had responsibility for alleviating poverty.

Meat Inspection Act 1906

• Passed in 1906 alongside the Pure Food and Drug Act.

• Direct result of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle (1906), which exposed unsanitary and unsafe conditions in meatpacking plants.

• Sinclair's goal backfired: He wanted to reveal labor exploitation to build support for socialism, but the public reacted to the disgusting food conditions instead.

Pure Food and Drug Act 1906

• Passed in 1906 alongside the Meat Inspection Act.

• Direct result of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle exposing unsanitary conditions in industrialized food production.

• Responded to problems created by the "invisibility" of food production for urban consumers, which had enabled unsafe conditions.

Women’s clubs

• Flourished in late 1800s/early 1900s - some focused on intellectual development, others on philanthropic activities; increasingly looked outward to communities and political issues.

• Key organizations: General Federation of Women's Clubs (formed NYC 1890) and National Association of Colored Women (formed Washington DC 1896) were significant for suffrage campaigns.

• Mostly segregated: Few were biracial; white clubs excluded Black women, so Black women formed their own powerful networks to organize for suffrage and challenge discrimination.

temperance movement

• WCTU (Woman's Christian Temperance Union) - Founded 1874 to combat drunkenness; Frances Willard led from 1879-1898 and transformed it into a national political organization with a "do everything" policy pursuing multiple reforms (urban poverty, prison reform, eight-hour workday, child labor laws), though temperance/prohibition remained the primary focus

• Carrie A. Nation - Used "hatchetation" (destroying saloons with a hatchet) starting December 27, 1900 in Wichita, Kansas; founded a WCTU chapter but was called "unwomanly and unchristian" by WCTU leaders; described herself as "a bulldog running along at the feet of Jesus, barking at what He doesn't like"

• Reformers blamed alcohol for domestic abuse, poverty, crime, disease, and rising divorce rates - Called it a "home wrecker"; associated alcohol with cities, immigrants, and Catholics; believed abolishing alcohol would bring social progress, reduce need for prisons/asylums, and create a more just society

18th Amendment

• Approved January 16, 1919 - Banned manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors (but NOT consumption or possession); took effect January 17, 1920.

• Enforced by Volstead Act (October 1919) - Defined intoxicating beverages as those with more than 0.5% alcohol; passed over President Wilson's veto.

• Only amendment ever repealed - Repealed by 21st Amendment on December 5, 1933 after 13 years; difficult to enforce, led to rise of organized crime and speakeasies

19th Amendment

• Passed Congress June 4, 1919, formally approved in August 18, 1920 - Granted women the right to vote; Tennessee was the 36th and final state needed for ratification.

• Certified August 26, 1920 - Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby officially certified it (that's why Women's Equality Day is August 26, not August 18).

• Decades of activism - Took over 70 years from first introduction in Congress (1878) to ratification; required organizing, lobbying, picketing, and civil disobedience by multiple generations of suffragists.

WTUL

• Organized in 1903 - Alliance of working-class and middle/upper-class women; campaigned for suffrage alongside the National American Woman Suffrage Association.

• Economic focus - Members viewed the vote as a way to further their economic interests and foster respect for working-class women.

• Rose Schneiderman (leader) - Said in 1912 speech: "What the woman who labors wants is the right to live, not simply exist...The worker must have bread, but she must have roses, too".

Triangle Waist (or Shirtwaist) Company

• Fire in 1911, Manhattan - Doors chained shut to prevent unauthorized breaks; managers escaped but left 200+ women behind; rickety fire ladder collapsed; 71 injured, 146 died.

• Strike year before - 1910, workers demanded union recognition, higher wages, better safety; owners decided fire escapes and unlocked doors "too expensive," called police to break up strike.

• Owners acquitted - Max Blanck and Isaac Harris charged with manslaughter but acquitted after less than 2 hours of deliberation; continued trend of little punishment for business owners responsible for worker deaths.

Name and explain at least 6 points of social tension or problems created by the rapid and extreme changes produced by the new industrial order

1. Dangerous Working Conditions - Long hours, unsafe jobs, low pay. Triangle Shirtwaist fire killed 146 workers; doors were chained.

2. Extreme Inequality - By 1900, richest 10% controlled perhaps 90% of nation's wealth. Millions worked in poverty.

3. Loss of Worker Power - Workers became "as interchangeable as the parts they were using". Individual workers powerless against giant corporations.

4. Urban Slums - Cities failed to house populations. High rents trapped families in crowded, disease-ridden slums. Jacob Riis exposed conditions in "How the Other Half Lives".

5. Unsafe Food - "Unsanitary and unsafe conditions" in slaughterhouses. Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" led to 1906 Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act.

6. Capital vs. Labor Violence - Over 20,000 strikes/lockouts in late 19th century. Companies used militias and troops to violently break strikes; workers were killed

Name and explain at least 2 examples of progressive reform.

1. Food Safety Reform
After Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" exposed horrible meatpacking conditions, Congress passed the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906. These laws required government inspections and stopped companies from selling unsafe or mislabeled food and drugs.

2. Women's Suffrage
After decades of activism, women won the right to vote with the 19th Amendment in 1920. This gave women political power to vote on laws affecting their lives.