Progressivism and Reform Notes
Progressivism and Reform
Objectives of Progressivism
Understand the causes of Progressivism and compare it to Populism.
Know the role of journalists and novelists in the Progressive Movement.
Learn about social reforms that Progressives tackled.
Explain what Progressives aimed to achieve through political reforms.
Key Terms
Progressivism: A movement for social justice and reform.
Muckraker: Journalists who exposed social problems.
Lincoln Steffens: Exposed political corruption in cities.
Jacob Riis: Documented poor living conditions through photography.
Social Gospel: Applied Christian ethics to social problems.
Settlement house: Community centers for the urban poor.
Jane Addams: Founded Hull House, a famous settlement house.
Direct primary: Voters directly choose candidates.
Initiative: Citizens propose laws.
Referendum: Citizens approve or reject laws.
Recall: Voters remove officials from office.
Upton Sinclair: Wrote about unsanitary conditions in The Jungle.
Seventeenth Amendment: Direct election of senators.
The Progressive Era Begins
Industrialization, urbanization, and immigration caused social problems.
Progressivism emerged in the 1890s, seeking social justice through new ideas and efficient government.
Progressive ideas led to lasting reforms.
The Progressive Movement included diverse people from all backgrounds.
Many Progressive leaders came from the middle class.
Industrial workers and wealthy Americans also joined the movement.
Progressive Beliefs and Influences
Progressives believed industrialization and urbanization caused social and political problems.
They wanted to fix problems through reforms.
They encouraged laws to help the poor.
Progressives wanted to use logic and reason to improve society.
Many sought social justice, motivated by religious faith.
Progressivism was similar to Populism, both wanting to eliminate corrupt government and address big business abuses.
Progressivism was led by middle-class people who believed educated leaders should use modern ideas to improve society.
Populism consisted mostly of farmers and workers.
Progressive Goals
Some Progressives focused on political reform.
Many women wanted the right to vote.
Others wanted honest government.
Reformers targeted corrupt city officials in political machines.
Bosses relied on city workers' loyalty and helped people to maintain voter loyalty.
Corrupt government and city growth caused problems like poor services and unsafe living conditions.
Dishonest business owners and politicians controlled services and grew rich through bribes.
Some Progressives focused on government; others on big business.
Wealthy industrialists created big companies that limited competition.
Middle-class Progressives wanted the government to break up trusts and create economic opportunities.
They felt the Sherman Antitrust Act was not effective.
Business leaders argued big companies were more efficient and feared government regulation.
Other Progressive reformers focused on the class system.
Motivated by faith, they wanted to reduce the gap between rich and poor and improve conditions for laborers.
They wanted to improve city slums and create social welfare laws.
The Impact of Muckrakers
Socially conscious journalists exposed the need for reform.
Their reports uncovered many issues in America.
Theodore Roosevelt called these writers muckrakers.
The muckrakers' articles appeared in magazines and newspapers, prompting reforms.
Journalists Uncover Injustices
Lincoln Steffens exposed political corruption in The Shame of the Cities.
His reports showed how corrupt politicians won elections and affected city life.
Jacob Riis photographed poor living conditions in tenements in How the Other Half Lives.
Ida Tarbell reported on John D. Rockefeller's ruthless methods in The History of Standard Oil.
Others highlighted the need to improve schools or warned of family breakdown due to working mothers.
John Spargo focused on the lives of child workers.
Novelists Highlight Social Issues
Fiction writers put a human face on social problems and used the naturalist novel.
Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie followed a small-town girl in urban Chicago and New York.
Frank Norris’s The Octopus showed the Southern Pacific Railroad’s control over California farmers.
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle revealed unsanitary conditions in Chicago's stockyards, leading to food safety regulations.
Frances Ellen Watkins' Iola Leroy portrayed the struggles of black Americans.
Reformers Impact Society
Muckrakers increased support for Progressivism.
Progressive activists promoted laws to improve living conditions, health, and schools.
They urged government to regulate businesses and volunteered to help people, believing in social planning.
Issues Affecting the Social Gospel
Many reformers, like Walter Rauschenbusch, thought Christianity should be the basis of social reform.
Rauschenbusch formed the Social Gospel by blending German socialism and American Progressivism.
By following Bible teachings, people could make society more just.
Many Protestant leaders followed Rauschenbusch’s program.
Churches provided community support.
Social Gospel adherents called for the end of child labor and a shorter workweek.
They also pushed for the federal government to limit the power of corporations and trusts.
Jane Addams Contributes to the Settlement House Movement
Progressives aimed to improve the lives of poor people in cities through settlement houses.
Settlement houses were community centers providing social services.
Most were privately funded and run by volunteers.
Workers gave classes in child care and English, and provided programs for adults.
Jane Addams opened Hull House in Chicago in 1889.
Hull House made social and economic contributions to the poor neighborhood, increasing earning power through education.
Its success inspired other women to become social workers.
By 1911, there were over 400 settlement houses.
Addams was politically active, supporting Theodore Roosevelt and helping found the American Civil Liberties Union.
She worked to improve working conditions and for women’s suffrage and world peace, sharing the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
Religious organizations like the YMCA also provided services to the urban poor.
Progressive-Era Issues Affecting Children
Progressives also tried to help children.
Florence Kelley helped ban child labor in Illinois, and other states followed.
In 1902, Kelley formed the National Child Labor Committee, leading to the U.S. Children's Bureau in 1912.
The agency examined issues affecting children's health and welfare.
In 1916, the Keating-Owens Act banned child labor, but the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional.
Congress ended child labor for good in 1938.
Progressives also improved education.
States required children to attend school.
There were debates about what children should learn.
John Dewey criticized schools for teaching memorization instead of creative thinking and wanted new subjects and practical skills taught.
Reforms in the Workplace
In the early 1900s, the United States had the highest rate of industrial accidents.
Long hours, poor conditions, and unsafe machinery threatened workers.
Each year, thirty thousand workers died, and half a million were injured.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911 killed 146 workers, leading to calls for reform.
New York passed laws to make workplaces safer, and other cities followed.
Many states adopted workers’ compensation laws.
Progressives persuaded some states to limit the workday to ten hours, but the Supreme Court ruled against such laws in Lochner v. New York (1905).
Progressive Reforms Impact Government
Progressive reformers sought to reform the political process to reform society.
They wanted to free government from political bosses and give people more control.
Reformers Change City Government
After a hurricane in 1900, Galveston, Texas, replaced its government with a five-person commission.
Each commissioner was an expert in a different area.
The commission form of government was efficient, and the city adopted it permanently.
Many other cities adopted the Galveston plan.
Dayton, Ohio, modified the plan by hiring a city manager.
The new city governments curbed the power of bosses and purchased public utilities to lower rates.
Progressive Reforms Impact Political Process
Progressives pushed for election reforms, taking up some Populist ideas.
Robert M. La Follette established a direct primary in Wisconsin.
By 1916, all but four states had direct primaries.
Progressives wanted elected officials to follow citizens’ wishes and worked for the initiative, referendum, and recall.
The initiative allowed citizens to propose laws.
The referendum allowed citizens to approve or reject laws.
The recall allowed voters to remove public servants from office.
Progressives won the direct election of senators with the Seventeenth Amendment.
Progressives and Election Reforms
Seventeenth Amendment: Senators were directly elected by voters instead of state legislatures.
State election reforms started: initiative, referendum, and recall.
States Lead the Progressive Movement
Robert La Follette of Wisconsin passed many reform laws, improving education and factory safety.
Wisconsin was called the laboratory of democracy.
Hiram Johnson of California put in place election reforms and planned for natural resource use.
Other Progressive governors included Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey.
Roosevelt developed a fair system for hiring state workers and made corporations pay taxes.
Wilson reduced the railroads’ power and pushed for a direct primary law.
Both Roosevelt and Wilson later became President and brought reforms to the White House.