Chapter 23 - The Progressive Reform Movement

Progressivism

• A widespread reform movement
• Reformers were mostly part of the middle class + were educated
• Wanted to expand federal government power, end corruption, and improve the quality of life
• Ended the Gilded Age + improved the Indian Bureau & Freedmen’s Bureau

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Social Gospel

• Arose with the 2nd Great Awakening
• ^^Placed more emphasis on social activism^^
• Young, educated women helped the urban needy in large cities

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Jane Addams

• 1889 - Founded Hull House to help poor European immigrants
• An important leader in the history of social work and women's suffrage in the United States and advocated for world peace
• Supported women’s suffrage, Prohibition, and pacifism

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Hull House

• 1889 - Founded by Jane Addams
• Founded during the settlement house movement
• ^^Used to assimilate immigrants, including teaching them hygiene and the English language^^
• Services included a day care, education, and medical care
• Allowed women to become more politically involved

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Hazen Pingree

• A four-term Republican mayor of Detroit and the 24th Governor of the U.S. State of Michigan
• Focused on breaking up grafts and creating municipal utility companies
• During the Panic of 1893, he managed relief programs and public works projects

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Tom Johnson

• Democrat

• ^^An American industrialist, Georgist politician, and important figure of the Progressive Era and a pioneer in urban political and social reform^^

• A U.S. Representative from 1891 to 1895 and Mayor of Cleveland for four terms from 1901 to 1909

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William James

• A philosopher who believed in the ideas of pragmatism
• 1890 - Wrote Principles of Psychology
• Believed in American cultural values like individuality, spontaneity, etc.
• Opposed Transcendentalism

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John Dewey

• ^^An American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform^^
• Believed in functional reality
• Thought that children should explore knowledge and form conclusions on their own
• 1916 - Wrote Democracy and Education

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Muckrakers

• Coined by Roosevelt
• Journalists and photographers who exposed corruption in society during the Gilded Age, especially among large corporations
• Motivated Progressive reforms

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Lewis Hine

• ^^Photographer of child labor and proved the horrible conditions that children worked in^^
• Motivated the formation of anti-child labor laws

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Jacob Riis

• A Danish-American social reformer, "muckraking" journalist and social documentary photographer
• Contributed significantly to the cause of urban reform in America at the turn of the twentieth century
• 1890 - Wrote How the Other Half Lives

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Lincoln Steffens

• Published McClure’s Magazine
• ^^1902 - Wrote The Shame of the Cities, which attacked machine politics and corruption^^
• Advocated for Progressive reforms

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Ida Tarbell

• Published muckraking works in McClure’s Magazine
• 1902-1904 - Wrote The History of the Standard Oil Company, which was a muckraking piece exposing the corruption of Standard Oil
• Disagreed with women’s suffrage

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Robert La Follette

• An American lawyer and politician
• ^^Represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the 20th Governor of Wisconsin^^
• Advocated for reforms in Wisconsin
• 1924 - Ran as a Progressive Party candidate
• Founder of the Wisconsin Idea

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Wisconsin Idea

• Founded by Robert La Follette
• A philosophy embraced by the University of Wisconsin System (UW System) that holds that university research should be applied to solve problems and improve health, quality of life, the environment, and agriculture for all citizens of the state
• Believed that the middle class should be ruled by an educated elite
• The people should rely on the government to find solutions to everyday problems

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Theodore Roosevelt

• A civil service reform commissioner who served as an Spanish-American War soldier and president
• Advocated for national Progressive reform
• ^^1912 - Ran as part of the “Bull Moose” Progressive Party^^
• Was nationalistic and imperialistic
• Advocated for the building of the Panama Canal

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Square Deal

• Roosevelt’s Progressive agenda
• 3 C’s: Control corporations, consumer protection, and conservation of natural resources
• Trustbusting large, corrupt corporations
• Passed the Pure Food & Drug Act + Meat Inspection Act

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Elkins Act

• 1903
• Rebates were discounts on large shipments, which forced farmers to pay more
• ^^If railroads or their customers unfairly used rebates, they were fined^^

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The Jungle

• 1906 - Written by Upton Sinclair
• Exposed worker hardships and horrible conditions in meat-packing slaughterhouses
• Advocated for consumer protection and increased regulations

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Hepburn Act

• 1906
• Outlawed railroads giving free passes as favors to avoid regulations
• ^^Fortified the powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) and strengthened federal regulation of railroads^^

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Pure Food and Drug Act

• 1906
• Forbade impure + wrongly labeled food and drugs
• The first of a series of significant consumer protection laws which was enacted by Congress in the 20th century and led to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration

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Meat Inspection Act

• 1906
• ^^Factories were prone to sanitary regulations and surprise inspections^^
• Resulted in the price of meat increasing

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Hetch Hetchy Valley

• 1913 - A large dam was built in this valley
• Angered John Muir and the Sierra Club because of its negative impacts on the environment

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John Muir

• Naturalist and conservationist
• ^^1892 - Founded the Sierra Club^^
• Good friends with Roosevelt because of their mutual love for conservation

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BIG PICTURE

• Progressivism ended Gilded Age corruption
• Progressives originated from social workers
• Broad spectrum of different reformers
• Investigations → Exposed corruption → Reform
• Roosevelt + Square Deal

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