Progressive Era and Labor Unions

Farmers and Regulations

• Populist Movement:
  • Focused on farmers' issues.
  • Advocated for federal regulation of railroads.
  • Sought to bring silver back into circulation to help raise prices for farmers' goods.

Labor Unions

• Core Issues: All labor unions fought for the same basic rights:

  • Wages
  • Hours
  • Working conditions
  • Later, they also addressed child labor.

• Key Labor Unions:

  • Knights of Labor:
    • Represented all workers, regardless of skill level, race, gender, or immigration status.
  • American Federation of Labor (AFL):
    • Primarily represented white, skilled laborers.

• Strikes:

  • Purpose: To achieve higher wages, better working conditions, and reduced working hours.
  • Key Strikes:
    • Carnegie Homestead Strike
    • Pullman Strike
  • Public Perception: Strikes were generally viewed negatively by the public due to associated violence. Employers often hired Pinkerton detectives to violently break up strikes.

Progressive Movement

• Main Aims:

  • Political Reforms: Addressing political corruption.
  • Business Regulation: Breaking up trusts and monopolies.
  • Social Justice: Addressing issues like poverty and overcrowding.
  • Redistribution of Wealth: Reducing the gap between the rich and poor.

• Monopolies:

  • Definition: When a small number of businesses control a large percentage (e.g., 90%) of the market, leading to unfair control over prices, wages, and conditions.
  • Example: Rockefeller's control over the oil business.
  • Goal: To promote competition and fair consumer markets.

• Political Corruption:

  • Boss Tweed:
    • Example of political corruption and machine politics.
    • Bribery and intimidation of voters to maintain control.
    • Supported immigrants and those in poverty in exchange for votes.
  • Political Machines:
    • Initially set up to support and run campaigns, but became corrupt through bribery and intimidation.

• Social Injustice:

  • Issues: Overcrowding, poor sanitation, pollution, and crime in cities.
  • Need for: Improved urban conditions and sanitation.

• Redistribution of Wealth:

  • Objective: To address the significant gap between the rich and poor.

Populism vs. Progressivism

• Populism:

  • An actual political party.
  • More radical in protests.
  • Primarily focused in the South.
  • Emerged during times of distress, particularly for farmers.

• Progressivism:

  • A political idea or movement.
  • Less radical than populism.
  • Emerged during times of prosperity, aiming to distribute wealth more broadly.

• Similarities: Both movements fought for:

  • The working class.
  • Social welfare.
  • Breaking up big business.
  • Ending political corruption.

Socialism

• Definition: Redistribution of wealth through heavy taxation of the upper class.

• Pros:

  • Benefits those who receive redistributed wealth.

• Cons:

  • Higher taxes for the upper class.
  • Potential limits on individual earnings.
  • Analogy: Taking points from A students and distributing them to F students so everyone passes.

Muckrakers

• Role: Investigative journalists who exposed industries and social problems.

• Examples:

  • Ida Tarbell: Exposed Rockefeller's unethical treatment of workers.
  • Jacob Riis: Documented living conditions in cities through photography.
  • Upton Sinclair: Exposed unsanitary practices in the meat-packing industry.

• Impact: Led to social reforms, government regulations, and improved food and drug safety (e.g., health inspectors, expiration dates, labels).

Temperance Movement

• Goals:
  • Promote moral values and combat alcohol consumption.
  • Encourage church attendance and address moral issues.
  • Key role in advocating for Prohibition.
  • Often associated with women's rights movements, particularly the fight for suffrage.

Women's Suffrage

• Nineteenth Amendment: Granted women the right to vote.
  • A significant success of the progressive movement.

Political Reforms

• Objective: To combat political corruption and Boss Tweed-style politics.
  • Initiative: Voters propose laws and get them on the ballot.
  • Recall: Allows voters to remove corrupt officials before the end of their term.
  • Direct Primaries: Voters directly choose party representatives, reducing the influence of bribery.

Trust Busting

• President Theodore Roosevelt: Known as the "Trust Buster" for his efforts to break up monopolies and promote fair competition.

• Antitrust Acts: Legislation aimed at breaking up trust companies.

Success of the Progressive Movement

• Progressive Presidents: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and William Howard Taft all supported progressive policies.

• Key Achievements:

  • Amendments: Passage of key amendments to the Constitution.
    • Prohibition (though later repealed).
    • Women's suffrage (19th Amendment).

Failures and Limitations

• Discrimination: The progressive movement largely ignored issues of discrimination.

• African Americans:

  • Continued disenfranchisement through poll taxes and literacy tests.

• Immigration:

  • Restrictions on immigration, limiting the expansion and diversity of the country.

• Prohibition:

  • Controversial and ultimately unsuccessful, leading to the passage of the 21st Amendment, which repealed Prohibition.