progressive era - MEGAA

Upton Sinclair

• The Jungle (muckraker)

Ida Tarbell

• The History of the Standard Oil Company (muckraker)

• exposed Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company (said it was unethical)

Lincoln Steffens

• The Shame of the Cities (muckraker)

• wrote in the newspaper for NY Evening Post

Teddy Roosevelt

• 26th president (1901-1909)

• progressive president

• the only gov during progressive era to be president

• youngest president to hold office at 42

• “square deal”

William Taft

• 27th president (1909-1913)

• cant please any faction in his own party (republicans), has lots of difficulty:

  • tariffs

  • “dollar diplomacy” = $ influence abroad instead of military power

  • conservation

  • appointments

  • politics

Robert LaFollette

• most renowned reformer gov of Wisconsin

• was a gov & US senator

Jane Addams

• social reformer

• founded Hull House (Settlement House)

Eugene V. Debs

• big leader of socialist party

• founded American Railway Union

• 1894 Pullman railcar strike

Booker T. Washington

• main leader of the AA community & Black Elite

• founder of Tuskegee Institute

• Atlanta Compromise = vision for AA progress

  • works for immediate self-improvement

  • educated in manual labor jobs (mechanic, farming, etc.)

  • adopt standards of white middle class

W.E.B. DuBois

• civil rights leader

• harvard-educated sociologist & historian

• The Souls of Black Folks

• accused Washington of encouraging segregation

  • advocated for pursuit of higher education (“trained elite”)

• supporters merged w progressive whites to form the NAACP

Carrie Chapman Catt

• women suffragist

• president of the NAWSA

progressivism

• improve/progress society thru political, economic, & social changes

• supports gov involvement

• advocated for civil rights, labor protections, & environmental sustainability

muckrakers

• investigative journalism

• expose corruption or social injustices

• Teddy gets a lot of credit for the name: muck = society’s problems & scandals

• ex: Upton Sinclair, Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens

bully pulpit

• ability to use powerful public position to influence public

• Teddy’s assumption that popularity & personality can advance many of his programs

  • platform to promote his agenda

  • Teddy called the presidency this

assembly line

• created by Henry Ford in 1913

• manufacturing process/tasks split & divided

trusts

• control ~80% of US industry

• combo of businesses under leadership of select group of ppl (ex: Disney)

  • trend towards monopoly

  • acquire all aspects of that business

square deal

• domestic programs promised by TR

• 3 major goals (3 C’s)

  • conservation of natural resources

  • control of corporations

  • consumer protection

• aimed to curb power of big businesses (RR, food, oil)

referendum

• allows ppl to vote on initiatives

initiatives

• bills originated by the ppl

recall

• allows voters to remove an elected official thru petition & special election

Settlement House

• address problem of crowded immigrant neighborhoods

• famous Settlement House = Hull House (1889) Jane Addams

  • staffed by members of middle/upper class - try to help immigrant families adapt

  • big avenue for college women to pursue and creates a new profession: social work

women’s suffrage

• women entering emerging professions

• societal roles are changing

• 1910 states begin granting right to vote → 19th amendment (1920)

the jungle

• exposed unsanitary labor conditions in the meatpacking industry

• plight of immigrant workers / worker exploitation

• author: Upton Sinclair

the shame of the cities

• exposed political corruption in major cities

• author: Lincoln Steffens

pure food & drug act

• ban sale of misbranded/bad food & drugs

• led to the creation of the FDA (food & drug admin) to guarantee safety & purity of all food products & pharmaceuticals

• required truthful labels & federal inspection of meatpacking

  • set standards for cleanliness & labeling

meat inspection act

• supports the Pure Food & Drug Act

• to ensure meat products processed in sanitary conditions + safe to eat

• gives USDA authority to inspect it

sherman antitrust act

• promote fair competition in marketplace

• gives gov power to investigate & break up trusts/monopolies

• TR files 44 suits under this act

Interstate Commerce Act

• attacks the ICC (interstate commerce commission)

• to regulate RRs and ensure fair rates

  • no price discrimination

  • no secret rebates

  • no special treatment

elkins act

• no rebates (secret discounts) / regulates rate increases

• fair pricing

hepburn act

• limits free rail passes

• gov sets max limit

17th amendment

• direct election of US senators

19th amendment

• gave women the right to vote

social gospel

• do the best u can for the largest amt of ppl

• religious and social reform (US Protestantism)

  • Christian ethics on social issues

• Salvation Army = social welfare, org w loose military structure

• YMCA = athletics, libraries, classes (keep u busy)

NAACP

• national association for the advancement of colored ppl

• civil rights org founded by WEB DuBois

  • his supporters merged w progressive whites to form this group

northern securities co

• powerful RR trust

  • wanted to monopolize rail traffic & reduce comp

• TR sued them under the Sherman Antitrust Act

  • successful & publicized

  • went up to supreme court; they dissolved

• teddy = “trust buster”

PA coal miner’s strike

• 100k+ minters (led by UMWA)

  • want: $+, shorter workdays, union recognition

  • lasts for months → dwindling coal supply

• TR intervenes = threatens to seize the mines → negotiation between labor & management

UMWA

• united mine workers of america