Progressive Era Reforms and Impact

7.4 The Progressives

Essential Question: Compare the goals and effects of the Progressive reform movement.

Industrialization, Immigration, and Urbanization

  • By 1900, industrialization, immigration, and urbanization resulted in significant social and economic changes, creating widespread concern that these changes needed to be addressed through government action.

Origins of Progressivism

  • Definition: A diverse movement consisting of individuals and groups that aimed to build a better society.

  • Key Groups Involved:

    • Protestant church leaders

    • African Americans

    • Union leaders

    • Feminists

  • Era of Progressivism: Lasted through the presidencies of:

    • Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)

    • William Howard Taft (1909-1913)

    • Woodrow Wilson's first term (1913-1917)

  • End: Movement largely ended with the U.S. entry into World War I.

Who were the Progressives?

  • Demographics:

    • Middle-class men and women living in urban areas.

  • Concerns:

    • Fearful of the holding power of wealthy elites and the associated corruption of political machines.

  • Occupational Background:

    • Doctors, lawyers, ministers, storekeepers, office workers, and middle managers.

Religion During Progressivism

  • Numerous Protestant denominations preached against vice, emphasizing social responsibility, the importance of caring for the poor, and the necessity of honesty in public life.

  • The Social Gospel (Walter Rauschenbusch): A prominent component of the Protestant Christian reaction to urban poverty.

The Muckrakers

  • Definition: Investigative journalists who brought public attention to corruption within politics and social issues.

  • The term "muckrakers" was coined by President Theodore Roosevelt, emphasizing the role of the press in exposing corruption.

Origins of Muckraking

  • Henry Demarest Lloyd (1881): Wrote a series of articles for Atlantic Monthly attacking the practices of the Standard Oil Company and railroads.

  • Prominent Publications:

    • McClure's Magazine (1893): Known for muckraking articles by notable journalists such as

    • Lincoln Steffens: Tweed Days in St. Louis

    • Ida Tarbell: The History of the Standard Oil Company

    • Jacob Riis: How the Other Half Lives (1890)

    • Lincoln Steffens: The Shame of the Cities (1904): Gained significant attention for detailing urban political corruption.

    • Theodore Dreiser: The Financier and The Titan explored the ruthless nature of industrialists.

    • Frank Norris: The Octopus (depicted the power of railroad companies) and The Pit (focused on grain speculation).

Decline of Muckraking

  • Challenges:

    • As sensational stories became more common, it became difficult for publishers to maintain the same level of sensationalism.

    • Financial pressures from banks and advertisers prompted publishers to tone down content.

    • Corporations became more image-sensitive, leading to the emergence of public relations.

Political Reforms

  • Progressives championed various reforms designed to enhance political participation among average citizens.

Municipal Reforms

  • Australian (Secret) Ballot:

    • Mandated by states to ensure voters could mark their choices privately.

    • By 1910, all states had adopted this practice.

  • Direct Primaries:

    • Advocated by Robert La Follette of Wisconsin to remove the nominating process from party bosses and place it in the hands of voters.

    • Used in every state by 1915.

  • 17th Amendment (1913):

    • Instituted direct election of U.S. Senators by popular vote instead of selection by state legislatures.

Initiative, Referendum, and Recall

  • Initiative: Allowed voters to compel the legislature to consider a specific bill.

  • Referendum: Allowed citizens to vote directly on proposed laws as presented on their ballots.

  • Recall: Enabled voters to remove a politician from office through majority vote prior to the expiration of the official's term.

Social Welfare Reforms

  • Advocated for:

    • Improved schools and juvenile courts, revised divorce laws, safety regulations for tenements and factories.

    • Implemented a system of parole and established separate reformatories for juveniles, along with limitations on capital punishment.

  • Control of Public Utilities: Cities began taking over water, electric, and gas services.

  • Commissions and City Managers: Voters began electing heads of city departments (fire, police, sanitation) alongside the mayor.

State and National Reform

State Reform: Temperance and Prohibition

  • Reformers were split on alcohol prohibition:

    • Urban progressives showed little sympathy towards the temperance movement.

    • Rural reformers believed the prohibition of alcohol would cleanse morals and politics.

  • By 1915, "Drys" had managed to prohibit the sale of alcohol in three states.

National Reform: Roosevelt’s Square Deal

  • Gilded Age presidents had favored businesses during labor disputes (e.g.,

    • Rutherford B. Hayes during the railroad strike of 1877.

    • Grover Cleveland in the Pullman Strike of 1894).

  • Roosevelt's Balancing Act:

    • Preferred to remain neutral between business and labor.

    • During the 1902 Coal Strike, Roosevelt intervened when a miners' strike threatened winter energy supply, pressuring mine owners and union leaders to negotiate.

    • The result was a 10% wage increase and a 9-hour workday for miners, though there was no union recognition.

  • Trust-Busting:

    • Roosevelt enforced the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890), notably against the Northern Securities Company (railroad monopoly), which was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1904.

    • Initiated action against Standard Oil and over 40 other corporations, classifying trusts into "bad" (harmful) and "good" (efficient).

Railroad Regulation

  • Elkins Act (1903): Gave the ICC authority to prohibit railroads from granting rebates to select customers.

  • Hepburn Act (1906): Empowered the ICC to set "just and reasonable" rates for railroads.

Consumer Protection

  • Influenced by Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle, which exposed conditions in the meatpacking industry, leading to widespread consumer outcry.

  • Resulted in:

    • Pure Food and Drug Act (1906): Banned the manufacturing, sale, and transportation of misbranded or adulterated food and drugs.

    • Meat Inspection Act (1906): Required that federal inspectors ensure meatpacking plants met minimum sanitation standards.

  • Conservation Efforts:

    • Roosevelt utilized the Forest Reserve Act of 1891 to designate 150 million acres as national reserves, preventing private sale.

    • Newlands Reclamation Act (1902): Funded irrigation projects in western states through the sale of public land.

    • In 1908, hosted a White House Conference of Governors to promote joint conservation efforts.

Taft's Presidency

Trust-Busting and Conservation

  • Continued Roosevelt’s progressive policies, prosecuting more antitrust cases, including against U.S. Steel.

  • Established the Bureau of Mines and expanded national forests, adding large tracts in the Appalachians.

  • Mann-Elkins Act (1910): Strengthened ICC's oversight of railroad rates and mandated regulation of telecommunication companies.

  • 16th Amendment: Authorized the federal government to collect an income tax (ratified in 1913).

Split in the Republican Party

  • Progressives were dissatisfied with Taft’s administration, particularly after the Payne-Aldrich Tariff (1909), which contradicted his promises to lower tariffs.

  • The Pinchot-Ballinger Controversy: Taft dismissed Gifford Pinchot for criticizing Secretary of the Interior Richard Ballinger, who permitted private development of public lands in Alaska, causing further rifts within the party.

Rise of the Socialist Party

  • Emerged in the early 1900s, advocating for the working class with more radical reforms than the Progressives, such as public ownership of railroads and major industries.

  • Eugene V. Debs:

    • Founder of the Socialist Party, ran for president five times and was a vocal critic of business practices, advocating for labor rights.

    • Adopted socialist views while imprisoned for the Pullman Strike.

  • Progressives sought to reform the existing system rather than overhaul it, though they incorporated some socialist ideas like public utilities and an eight-hour workday.

Electoral Context of 1912

  • Republicans:

    • Split between traditionalists and progressive factions.

    • Roosevelt formed the Bull Moose Party after losing the Republican nomination to Taft.

  • Democrat: Woodrow Wilson ran on a platform of New Freedom, emphasizing the need to diminish both governmental and corporate power in favor of smaller businesses and reduced corruption.

  • Outcome: Wilson won decisively, receiving 435 electoral votes amid a divided Republican party and gaining control of Congress.

Woodrow Wilson's Progressive Program

Presidential Leadership

  • Wilson aimed for an active and engaged presidential role in leading Congress and garnering public support for his legislative agenda.

Major Reforms

  • Tariff Reduction:

    • Underwood Tariff (1913): Resulted in significant tariff reductions and introduced a graduated income tax ranging from 1 to 6 percent.

  • Banking Reform:

    • Addressed the inflexible money supply influenced by stock market speculation through the Federal Reserve Act (1914), which established a national banking system with 12 district banks under federal supervision, allowing for the issuance of Federal Reserve Notes (dollars).

  • Business Regulation:

    • Clayton Antitrust Act (1914): Enhanced the Sherman Antitrust Act, prohibiting the prosecution of unions as trusts.

    • Federal Trade Commission (1914): New agency established to investigate and address unfair trade practices in all industries except banking and transportation.

  • Other Reforms:

    • Federal Farm Loan Act (1916): Established 12 regional banks to provide farms with loans at low-interest rates.

    • Child Labor Act (1916): Prohibited interstate commerce in products made by children under 14, though it was later deemed unconstitutional in Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918).

Women and African Americans in the Progressive Era

African Americans' Struggles

  • African Americans were frequently overlooked by Progressive leaders, with Wilson conforming to demands from Southern Democrats that favored segregation within federal institutions.

  • Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): Established the precedent of "separate but equal" that justified racial segregation.

  • Progressivism was predominantly a movement for white Americans.

Two Distinct Approaches

  • Booker T. Washington: Advocated for practical education and vocational skills for African Americans as a pathway to economic progress through the Tuskegee Institute.

  • W.E.B. Du Bois: Critiqued Washington’s stance, arguing that political and social rights must precede economic autonomy; authored The Souls of Black Folk (1903) which called for immediate equality.

Civil Rights Organizations

  • Niagara Movement (1905): Convened by Du Bois and intellectuals to formulate a strategy for the advancement of Black rights.

  • NAACP (1908): Formed by Du Bois and other members of the Niagara Movement, their mission was to abolish segregation and elevate educational prospects for African Americans, becoming the largest civil rights organization by 1920 with 100,000 members.

  • National Urban League (1911): Aimed at assisting Black migrants from the South to urban centers in the North, emphasizing “Not Alms But Opportunity.”

Women and the Progressive Movement

  • By 1900, a new generation of feminists inherited the movement from pioneers like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, collaborating with male progressives to varying success. However, some leaders, including Wilson, did not support women's suffrage.

Campaign for Women's Suffrage

  • Key organizations involved included:

    • National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA): Led by Carrie Chapman Catt, which argued that suffrage would allow women to better support their families.

  • Initially, efforts focused on state elections but gradually transitioned to pursuing a constitutional amendment for women's voting rights.

  • Militant Suffragists: Employed mass protests, parades, and hunger strikes to assert their demands.

    • Notably, Alice Paul separated from NAWSA to create the National Woman’s Party dedicated to securing a constitutional amendment for suffrage.

  • Nineteenth Amendment (1920): Ratified after women's significant contributions during WWI; granted women the right to vote in all local, state, and federal elections.

  • League of Women Voters: Established by Catt to keep voters informed of candidates and issues post-suffrage.

Additional Women's Issues

  • Advocates like Margaret Sanger pushed for:

    • Access to birth control education.

    • Educational equality.

    • Liberalization of divorce laws.

    • Reduction of workplace discrimination and recognition of property rights for women.