The Progressive Era

Origins and Goals of Progressivism

  • The Progressive Era aimed to address Gilded Age injustices by restoring economic opportunity and correcting social wrongs.

  • The movement focused on four key goals:

    • Protecting Social Welfare: Organizations like the YMCA and Salvation Army provided community services. Florence Kelley advocated for labor rights and helped form the National Child Labor Committee. Jane Addams established Hull House in 1889 to assist immigrants.

    • Promoting Moral Improvement: The Prohibition movement, led by the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and the Anti-Saloon League, sought to ban alcohol.

    • Creating Economic Reform: Prompted by the 1893 Panic, leaders like Eugene Debs organized the American Socialist Party. Muckrakers, such as Ida Tarbell, used journalism to expose corporate corruption in companies like Standard Oil.

    • Fostering Efficiency: Scientific management and the introduction of assembly lines (e.g., Henry Ford) increased production efficiency.

Political and Election Reform

  • Activists successfully campaigned for greater citizen participation in government via:

    • Initiatives: Bills originated by the people.

    • Referendums: Direct votes by citizens on initiatives.

    • Recall: Removal of public officials by popular vote.

    • Seventeenth Amendment: Ratified in 1913, it established the popular election of senators.

Women’s Suffrage and Activism

  • Women organized to address social issues including labor, education, and temperance despite being unable to vote.

  • National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was lead by figures such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Carrie Chapman Catt.

  • Tactics included lobbying, picketing, and civil disobedience by activists like Alice Paul.

  • Nineteenth Amendment: Ratified in 1920, it granted women the right to vote.

Theodore Roosevelt and the Square Deal

  • Theodore Roosevelt (TR) became president in 1901 following the assassination of William McKinley.

  • His "Square Deal" platform focused on the "3 C's":

    • Control of Corporations: TR used the Sherman Antitrust Act to break up harmful monopolies.

    • Consumer Protection: Influenced by Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, TR pushed for the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act.

    • Conservation: TR worked with John Muir to set aside 148 million acres of forest reserves and establish national parks.

Civil Rights

  • Despite general Progressive reforms, little progress was made regarding Civil Rights.

  • Booker T. Washington focused on vocational training at the Tuskegee School.

  • W.E.B. Du Bois advocated for immediate equality and helped form the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) in 1909.

Progressivism under Taft and Wilson

  • William Howard Taft: Won the 1908 election but split the Republican Party due to his cautious approach, leading to the formation of the Bull Moose Party (Progressive Party) under TR.

  • Woodrow Wilson: Won the 1912 election and implemented the "New Freedom" platform:

    • Sixteenth Amendment: Legalized a graduated federal income tax.

    • Federal Reserve System: Established 12 districts with central banks to regulate the banking system.

    • Antitrust Regulation: The Clayton Antitrust Act (1914) strengthened anti-monopoly laws, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was created as a watchdog agency.