The Progressive Era

APUSH Notes: The Progressive Era (1890–1917)

I. Definition of Progressivism

Progressivism = Broad reform movement aimed at correcting economic, political, and social problems caused by:

  • Industrialization

  • Urbanization

  • Immigration

  • Political corruption

  • Corporate monopolies

Core belief: Government should intervene to protect the public welfare.

II. Major Goals of Progressives

1. Political Reform

Goal: Reduce corruption and increase democracy.

Key Reforms:

  • 17th Amendment (1913) → Direct election of senators

  • Initiative → Citizens propose laws

  • Referendum → Citizens vote on laws

  • Recall → Remove elected officials

  • Direct primaries → Voters choose party candidates

  • Secret ballot → Prevent voter intimidation

Example:

  • Robert La Follette – Wisconsin reforms ("Wisconsin Idea")

2. Regulation of Big Business

Goal: Limit monopolies and protect consumers.

Problems:

  • Trusts (Standard Oil, U.S. Steel)

  • Unsafe food/drugs

  • Railroad rate abuses

Important Laws:

  • Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)

  • Meat Inspection Act (1906)

  • Strengthened Sherman Antitrust Act

Muckrakers Exposing Corruption:

  • Ida Tarbell – Standard Oil exposé

  • Lincoln Steffens – City corruption

  • John Spargo – Child labor

  • Upton Sinclair – The Jungle

III. Labor Reform

Problems:

  • 9–10 hour workdays

  • No sick leave or vacation

  • Low wages

  • Child labor (15% of kids worked in 1910)

Reform Efforts:

  • Workers’ compensation laws

  • Child labor laws

  • Factory safety laws

  • Minimum wage (women in some states)

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire (1911)

  • 146 workers (mostly immigrant women) died

  • Exposed unsafe factory conditions

  • Led to stricter safety regulations

IV. Women in the Progressive Era

Settlement House Movement

  • Jane Addams founded Hull House (Chicago)

  • Helped immigrants with education, childcare, housing

Suffrage Movement

  • 19th Amendment (1920) → Women gained right to vote

Organizations:

  • Women’s Trade Union League

  • National Consumers League

  • WCTU (temperance movement)

V. Temperance and Prohibition

  • Anti-Saloon League

  • 18th Amendment (1919) → Banned alcohol

  • Repealed by 21st Amendment (1933)

VI. Progressive Political Leaders

Hiram Johnson

  • Initiative, referendum, recall

  • Women’s suffrage

  • Workers’ compensation

Hazen Pingree

  • Fought utility monopolies

  • Lowered public service costs

Tom L. Johnson

  • Regulated streetcar fares

  • Improved meat and milk inspection

VII. Social Gospel Movement

Belief: Wealthy have moral duty to help poor.

Key figure:

  • Walter Rauschenbusch

Promoted:

  • Shorter workdays

  • Higher wages

  • Social justice through Christianity

VIII. Socialist Influence

  • Socialist Party of America (1900)

  • Eugene V. Debs ran for president (1912)

  • Supported public ownership of utilities and railroads

IX. Intellectual Foundations

John Dewey

  • Education reform

  • Schools as tools for democracy

William James

  • Pragmatism → Truth based on experience

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

  • Law should adapt to social change

X. Racial Issues (“Along the Color Line”)

This was the nadir of race relations.

  • Segregation (Jim Crow laws)

  • Disenfranchisement (poll taxes, literacy tests)

  • Plessy v. Ferguson → “Separate but equal”

  • Lynching widespread

Black leaders:

  • Booker T. Washington → Gradualism, economic focus

  • W.E.B. Du Bois → Immediate equality, NAACP

  • Ida B. Wells → Anti-lynching campaigns

XI. Constitutional Amendments of the Progressive Era

  • 16th Amendment (1913) → Income tax

  • 17th Amendment (1913) → Direct election of senators

  • 18th Amendment (1919) → Prohibition

  • 19th Amendment (1920) → Women’s suffrage

Big APUSH Themes (Exam Focus)

  • Expansion of federal power

  • Rise of democracy

  • Government regulation of capitalism

  • Women’s increased public role

  • Tension between reform and racism

  • Efficiency vs. worker rights

  • Middle-class reform leadership