The Progressive Era

Conservation Reforms - It was an effort to save the natural resources, and its beauty. Because of the rapid industrialization, the natural beauty was getting lost. Several acts like…

  • The 1916 Congressional bill to establish the National Park Service.
  • Led to the creation of the National Parks Service.
  • Leading advocate: John Muir.

The Square Deal - Roosevelt sought a “Square Deal” for capital, labor, and the public. The “Three C’s”:

  • Corporate regulation
  • Consumer protection
  • Conservation

Pure Food & Drug Act - It was created in 1906 and banned the interstate shipping of impure food & mislabeling of food and drugs

Hepburn Act - Authorized the interstate commerce commission to regulate railroads

Meat Inspection Act - Passed in 1906. It stated that the preparation of meat shipped over state lines would be subject to federal inspection. Part of the Progressive reforms, which helped out the consumer.

Department of Commerce & Labor - Established in 1903 to investigate activities of corporations, settle disputes between capital and labor

(10 years later it was split 2)

New Nationalism Platform in 1912 Election - Teddy R’s plans for business regulation, welfare laws, workplace protection for women and children inheritance taxes, and voting reform

Topic 2: President Woodrow Wilson - Anika

New Freedom Platform - favored trust-busting, small enterprise, entrepreneurship, and a return to free competitive economy w/o monopolies; strong on states’ rights

Underwood Tariff Bill - One of the most important ideals for progressives was to lower tariffs in order to lower the power of trusts. They also believed lowering tariffs would increase international trade, as well as ensure competitive prices.

  • Due to the bill, the tariff dropped average tariff rates from 40 percent to 25 percent
  • Many commodities were made tax free such as sugar, steel rails, coal, and wood.
  • Many of taxes on imported products reduced

Federal Reserve Act (1913) - created a federal system of government banks to survive private banks and to provide a flexible money supply

Federal Trade Commission Act (1914) - Wilson & Congress created the FTC in 1914 to order firms to “cease and desist” the practice of business tactics found to be unfair… this was used to enforce the Clayton Antitrust Act

Clayton Antitrust Act - strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act by stating specific activities big business could not do. Many holding companies were banned; big businesses could not prevent their buyers from purchasing from competitors, it also legalized labor unions. Courts could no longer prevent workers from striking.

Workmen's Compensation Act - Provides workers with compensation coverage for employment-related injuries and occupational diseases.

Child Labor Acts (1916) -

  • Keating Owen Act (1916): Limited the working hours of children and prohibited the interstate sale of goods produced by child labor. (struck down by Sup. court)
  • 1919→Tried to impose heavy tax on products of child labor, 10% tax on businesses that hired children (Struck down by Sup. court)

16th Amendment - granted Cong. the ability to tax based on income, distributing burden properly

17th Amendment - mandated the direct election of U.S. senators by popular vote within each state, diminished influence of party bosses & political machines

18th Amendment - prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages in the United States; repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933

Topic 3: Women

Florence Kelly -

  • Women rights activist.
  • Believed: women were hurt by the unfair prices of goods that were needed for home.
  • Founded the National Consumers League (NCL) in 1899.
  • Helped form the Women's Trade Union League: another group that tried to improve female workers factory conditions.
    • The WTUL pushed for federal laws that set:
      • a minimum wage
      • 8 hour work day.

Jane Addams -

  • 1889: opened Hull House
    • a settlement house in Chicago that grew to include 13 buildings and inspired college-educated, middle-class women to become social workers.
    • helped new immigrant women with… to make them productive citizens
      • job skills
      • education
      • art programs

Alice Paul -

  • social activist
  • organized women for recruitment for members
  • In 1917 formed the National Woman's Party (NWP),
    • Used public protest marches.
    • 1st group to march with picket signs outside the White House.

Mother Jones - focused on improving working conditions & organized many different labor unions

  • Jones was best known for her organizing unions in the mines of West Virginia & Colorado and was a founding member of the International Workers of the world

Ida Tarbell - Published expose on standard oil company, described Rockefeller’s unethical practices to crush competition

-Standard oil was broken up because it was now considered “bad trust”

National American Women’s Suffrage Association -

  • founded in 1890
  • helped women win the right to vote
  • Headed by Susan B Anthony and Cat
  • major women's rights organization

19th Amendment - granted women’s suffrage

  • prohibits citizens from being denied the right to vote based on gender.

Muller v Oregon -

  • Made an Oregon law that limited the workday for females to 10 hours.
  • Established a precedent in 1908 to expand to the national level

Adkins V. Children’s Hospital -

  • The Supreme Court ruled that a minimum wage law for women violated the Fifth Amendment
  • As it abridged a citizen's right to freely contract labor.

Women’s Christian Temperance Union -

-Led by Francis Willard

-WCTU placed enormous pressure on states to abolish alcohol and enjoyed some success

-Most important female organization in the 19th century and one of the most powerful lobbying groups

-Also most important female suffrage group in the late 19th century

Topic 4: Lives of African Americans - Satya

NAACP - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People: sought to eradicate racial injustice, result of the Niagara Movement

W.E.B. Dubois - Founder of Niagara Movement, editor of the NAACP, researched economic discrimination, raised awareness about racial brutality, groundwork for the civil rights movement.

Ku Klux Klan - Anti-non-white, anti-semitic terrorist organization that consists of white supremecists. Started in 1865. Hate club affiliated members wore long white robes, flew the American flag, and burnt the cross. Nathan Bedford Forrest is said to have led this group but he distanced away from the accusations.

Niagara Movement - Declaration of Principles: sought economic and educational equality. Formed by Du Bois and Trotter. Broke apart b/c Trotter didn’t want women to join the movement and Du Bois was not against women joining.

Chicago Race Riot of 1919 - Triggered by a black man’s death. 23 riots, 38 people died. White gangs emerged, thousands of blacks lost their homes. Stockyards closed, brought attention to violent hate crimes and lynchings

D.W. Giffith’s Birth of a Nation -

  • A controversial film that debuted Feb. 8th 1915 in California (South), produced and directed by D.W Griffith
  • Based off the novel (klansmen)
  • Setting of the film was the American Civil war and reconstruction era
  • Written in a pro-confederate perspective
  • Contained racist messages that demeaned the portrait of African Americans
  • Glorified the KKK---> most audience was white
  • Contained blackface (white actors that painted their face black as to represent a African American)
  • Important initiative for the NAACP (led protests against the airing of the movie), membership doubled in size.

Ida B Wells-Barnett - Founder of NAACP. She was discriminated against on a train ride on the basis of the color of her skin, and she spent a majority of her life researching lynching and she wrote a book and educated others on this.

Guinn V. United States - Challenged Grandfather Clause (if Grandfather could vote prior to the civil war, one can vote, if not, one cannot vote). The Supreme Court ruled that this violated the 15th Amendment. Legal victory inspired civil rights activists.

Buchanan V. Worley - Buchanan sold land to Worley but the Louisville Ordinance prevented blacks from moving to neighborhoods where there is a white majority. Buchanan wanted his house sold, but Worley felt like it was pointless to buy a house that he would never live in, eventually the case went to Supreme Court. Court verdict: Louisville Ordinance and Kentucky Court of Appeals violate the 15th Amendment and they are unconstitutional. Marked fight against racism.

Topic 5: Potluck

“The Social Gospel” - Movement led by Washington Gladden - taught religion (Christianity) and human dignity would help the middle class over come problems of industrialization

Initiative-Referendum & Recall -

-Initiative: process of petitioning legislature to introduce a bill

- populist party platform that was adopted into progressivism

-Intended to make people more involved in political decisions

-Referendum: citizens vote on laws instead of state or national govt

-populist party platform that was adopted into progressivism

-Recall: Second election could be called by the people and could possibly remove a politician from office

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire - tragic deaths of 146 people, almost all of them young immigrant women, b/c doors locked in the factory, led to the transformation of labor law during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration

Muckrakers (Upton Sinclair, Lincoln Steffens, David G. Phillips, John Spargo, Ray Stannard Baker) - journalists that attempted to expose the evils of society

Payne-Aldrich Tariff - Signed by Taft in 1909, intended to lower tariff rates but Senator Nelson N. Alfrich of RI put revisions that raised tariffs.

-Split republican party into progressives (lower tariff) and conservatives (high tariff)

Ballinger-Pinchot Controversy - Pinchot, head of US Forest Service accused Ballinger of corruption when a private group of business people obtained several million acres of alaska public lands with rich coal deposits

  • Taft fired Pinchot in 1909
  • Republican party split between traditional “Old Guard” (opposed reform, traditional) and “New Guard” (progressive faction led by Roosevelt)