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.