Module Two Notes: The Progressive Era (1890-1920) and Related Topics

Quiz and Extra Credit details

• Quiz timing for Module 2: Quiz number one will open next Monday at the end of class and must be completed by Thursday night at 11:59 PM. The window is all of Monday afternoon, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. This pattern of quizzes and deadlines will recur throughout the semester.
• Extra credit opportunities: Whenever the history club has an event, there will be extra credit. An email with details was sent this morning and includes an upcoming event with the choir.
• Upcoming History Club event:
  • Title: the pope black? (provocative/unclear title; expectations for a provocative talk)
  • Speaker: Visiting professor from SUNY Oswego; main speaker followed by a panel discussion
  • Location: Room 345, in the central building’s big lecture hall
  • Refreshments: Free drinks, snacks, sometimes pizza
• How to earn extra credit:
  • Attend the event
  • Sign the attendance sheet
  • Write a two-paragraph reflection:
  • Paragraph 1: Summary of what the event was about
  • Paragraph 2: Personal thoughts, what you learned, your assessment of the presentation, subject, speaker, etc.
  • Print and hand in to the instructor
• Timing for History Club participation: Monday during college hour, right after class, i.e., around 03:45 PM
• Credit impact:
  • 10 points will be added to your lowest quiz score in the first half of the course
  • The 10 points are added to the lowest quiz score excluding zeros (a zero means you keep the zero)
  • If your lowest quiz score is, for example, a 60, this could raise the score up to a higher number (i.e., improvement via extra credit)
  • Expect two or three events offering extra credit in the first half of the course
• You will receive an email with all the information.
• Any questions about extra credit? (No questions in the transcript.)

Module two overview: The Progressive Era (1890–1920)

• Timeframe and core characterization
  • The Progressive Era spans from $1890$ to $1920$ and is described as a period of extraordinary social activism and political reform.
  • Public issues forced a profound expansion of government and presidential leadership roles.
  • Progressives believed the era presented a democracy crisis due to the unregulated urban industrial revolution of the post-C Civil War era, with explicit concerns about poverty, child labor, unsafe food, and dangerous working conditions.
• Core goals and beliefs of progressives
  • They argued for bold action by churches, charitable organizations, and especially by government expansion at all levels (local, state, federal).
  • Major concerns: political corruption, economic inequality, unregulated industrialization, unplanned urbanization, and the power of large corporations.
  • Aim was to regulate capitalism, not overthrow it; many were Christians or Christian moralists who framed reforms as moral duties.
• Political reforms and the state role
  • Progressives insisted governments at all levels must become more active in addressing urban-industrial growth problems.
  • They sought to curb the power of powerful corporations that dominated the economy and corrupted politics.
• Liberalism vs revolution
  • Progressives were liberals of the era, supporting increased government power to regulate business and promote welfare, not radical overthrow of capitalism.
  • They drew on diverse backgrounds, including Christians, reformers, and members of both major parties.
• Contrast with modern progressivism
  • In the early 21st century, progressivism is often associated with the far left of the Democratic Party and with socialist labels (e.g., Bernie Sanders as a self-described socialist; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a democratic socialist).
  • The early 20th century progressive movement was broader and more mainstream, with cross-party support (e.g., Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican; Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat).
• Members and diversity of the movement
  • Progressives included men and women from all political stripes: Democrats, Republicans, Populists, socialists, labor unionists, business leaders, and others.
• Flaws and contradictions within progressivism
  • Despite reform goals, progressives often held racial and ethnic prejudices and exhibited social and intellectual snobbery (many were upper-class whites).
  • Leadership did not consistently pursue racial equality; some leaders, including Roosevelt and Wilson, held racist views.
• Framing and analysis: social vs political progressivism
  • The course plans to distinguish social progressivism (focus on social welfare, housing, living standards) from political progressivism (focus on governance, regulation, anti-corruption).

Origins and catalysts

• Panic and economic context
  • The Progressive movement was ignited by the economic depression of the $1890s$, specifically the Panic of $1893$, which led to massive layoffs (roughly $25 ext{ extpercent}$ of the workforce).
  • Despite the period’s high per-capita income around $1900$, poverty remained widespread: around $82,000,000$ people in the US, of which approximately $10,000,000$ lived in abject poverty.
• Per-capita income and poverty paradox
  • In 1900, the US posted one of the highest per-capita incomes in the world, with the average American earning about $428$ per year, yet poverty was concentrated among urban migrants, immigrants, and rural-to-urban workers.

Concepts, actors, and terms in the progressive era

• The mugwumps and patronage reform
  • Mugwumps were upper-middle-class or upper-class white reformers who opposed the patronage system (rewarding party loyalists with government jobs regardless of qualifications).
  • They argued that government jobs should be based on merit and should address urban issues like crime, electricity access, clean water, mass transit, and garbage collection.
• Settlement houses and social gospel
  • Settlement houses, notably Hull House (founded 1889 in Chicago by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr), provided a range of services: health clinics, nurseries, employment bureaus, education, arts, and recreation; aimed at helping immigrants and the poor; emphasized equal treatment of residents regardless of race.
  • The social gospel argued that religious institutions must address social justice and economic inequality; leaders like Washington Gladden and others promoted Christian socialism as a means to unite classes through shared moral obligations.
• The role of religion in reform
  • Religious activism linked ethics, economics, and social policy; leaders argued that economic questions were inherently moral questions and that helping the poor was a Christian duty.
• Women’s movement and suffrage
  • The late 19th/early 20th century saw a rising women’s suffrage movement with internal divisions: one faction focused on a single issue (voting rights), another sought broader women’s issues (pay equity, divorce rights, etc.).
  • Founding groups in 1869 included Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (National Woman Suffrage Association) fighting for constitutional amendments for voting rights and improvements for abused women.
  • The American Woman Suffrage Association (founded by Julia Ward Howe and Lucy Stone) pursued a broader strategy focused on voting rights as a primary issue.
  • In 1890, the two groups merged into the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA).
  • The western states led suffrage advances: as early as 1890, Wyoming granted full voting rights to women; Utah, Colorado, and Idaho followed; by 1912, additional western states including Kansas, California, Arizona, Oregon, and Washington granted women's suffrage; no eastern state granted full voting rights until New York in 1917; the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified on $1920$, guaranteeing voting rights regardless of sex.
  • Result: the 1920 ratification added roughly $9,500,000$ women to the voting rolls, making women about $40 ext{ extpercent}$ of the electorate.
• Temperance and prohibition
  • The temperance movement grew in the $1870s$, led by women and supported by Protestant churches, portraying alcohol as a social and political corruption risk and a threat to family stability.
  • Election day practices often involved sponsored meals and drink, which could be used to influence or buy votes; alcohol was seen as both a social evil and a symbol of political corruption.
  • The Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was founded in $1874$ by Frances Willard; WCTU pushed for an eight-hour workday, women's voting rights, and other reforms.
  • The Eighteenth Amendment (ratified in $1919$) prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol (note: consumption remained legal in some contexts, e.g., home production). The Eighteenth Amendment is the Prohibition Amendment; the subsequent Eighteenth Amendment is specifically the Prohibition era rule.
• Muckrakers and investigative journalism
  • Muckrakers were investigative journalists who exposed political corruption and corporate wrongdoing, helping to mobilize public opinion for reform.
  • Roosevelt coined the term muckraker in $1906$, warning against dwelling on filth while also benefiting from their public exposure and allyship.
  • The “golden age of muckraking” began in $1902$ with McClure’s Magazine, which published a series of investigative pieces by authors like Lincoln Steffens (political corruption), Ida Tarbell (Standard Oil abuses), and Ray Stannard Baker (labor and industry issues).
  • Tarbell’s multi-part series on John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil exposed monopolistic practices and collusion; the series consisted of 19 parts and cost about
  • The Tarbell series emphasized a pivotal question: "What are we going to do about it?" to readers, catalyzing public interest in reform.
  • McClure’s Magazine helped popularize the muckraker model and supported the broader progressive agenda; however, some periodicals faced corporate capture or advertiser boycotts over time, showing the fragility of reformist media.
• The era’s broader media and public opinion dynamics
  • The muckrakers’ work informed the public and supported policy reforms—from antitrust enforcement to labor protections, consumer safety, and environmental protections.
  • The period emphasized the importance of an informed citizenry for democratic accountability.
• The “sources” and historical framing
  • The industrialization and urbanization of America, along with economic depression, spurred progressivism as a response to social chaos and perceived governance failures.
  • Early 20th-century reformers were not seeking to overthrow capitalism but to reform it through regulation and social safety nets.

Notable figures and institutions mentioned

• Amos Pinchot (progressive attorney and reformer in New York City): argued that political corruption was destroying public trust in government.
• Teddy Roosevelt (President; Republican): nickname for the muckrakers and a key progressive era leader; coined the term muckraker; supported antitrust enforcement and workers’ protections.
• Woodrow Wilson (President; Democrat): progressive era leader with a different political stance but shared aims of expanded government regulation.
• Hull House (Hull House, 1889, Chicago): settlement house founded by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr; expanded services and served hundreds of thousands by 1911; promoted social services and equal treatment.
• Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr: founders of Hull House; champions of settlement house movement and social services.
• Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (National Woman Suffrage Association, 1869): early leaders advocating constitutional voting rights.
• Julia Ward Howe and Lucy Stone (American Woman Suffrage Association): pursued the single-issue suffrage strategy.
• National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA): formed by the merger of earlier suffrage groups in 1890.
• Frances Willard (WCTU founder, 1874): led temperance activism and broader social reform.
• John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil: targeted by Ida Tarbell’s investigative reporting; emblematic of monopolistic practices.
• Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, Ray Stannard Baker: muckraking journalists who exposed corruption and corporate abuses.
• Jacob Riis: photojournalist whose work portrayed urban poverty in New York City; his photo essays helped expose living conditions of the poor and immigrant communities. Roosevelt’s administration benefited from relationship with muckrakers.
• McClure’s Magazine (launched early 1900s): platform for muckraking journalism that publicized reform issues.

Specific historical dates and numbers (with LaTeX formatting)

• Progressive Era timeframe: $1890-1920$
• Panic and depression context: Panic of $1893$; depression lasted $1893-1897$; about $25 ext{ extpercent}$ of the workforce lost jobs
• Population and poverty in 1900: population around $82{,}000{,}000$; $10{,}000{,}000$ in abject poverty
• Per-capita income in 1900 (approximate): $428$ dollars per year
• Muckraking milestones:
  • McClure’s Magazine expansion of muckraking: started prominent investigative journalism in $1902$
  • Tarbell’s Standard Oil series: around a five-year, $50{,}000$ dollar investigation
  • The term muckraker coined by Theodore Roosevelt in $1906$
• Women’s suffrage milestones:
  • Wyoming granted full voting rights to women in the $1890$s; subsequent western states followed (Utah, Colorado, Idaho in the $1890s$); by $1912$, five additional states (including California, Kansas, Arizona, Oregon, Washington) granted voting rights
  • New York granted full suffrage in $1917$; the Nineteenth Amendment ratified in $1920$; estimated addition of $9{,}500{,}000$ women to the electorate in $1920$; women accounted for roughly $40 ext{ extpercent}$ of the electorate
• Temperance and Prohibition milestones:
  • WCTU founded in $1874$; generalized reform including eight-hour workday and women’s suffrage
  • Eighteenth Amendment ratified in $1919$; prohibited manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol (consumption not restricted by amendment itself)

Connections and implications

• Ethical and political implications
  • Progressives grappled with the tension between reformist aims and racial/class biases; reformism often excluded or marginalized non-white populations and poorer classes.
  • The era demonstrates the complexity of reform: expanding government power while balancing concerns about civil rights and social justice.
• Real-world relevance
  • The muckraking journalism model demonstrated the power of the media to shape policy and public opinion, a precedent for modern investigative reporting.
  • Settlement houses and social gospel-inspired programs laid groundwork for later social welfare policies and urban public services.
• Foundational principles and legacy
  • The Progressive Era set the stage for later 20th-century reforms in antitrust enforcement, labor rights, consumer protection, environmental policy, and women’s rights.

Recap: how the module ties together

• The era was born from economic disruption and rapid urbanization, and it produced a broad, sector-spanning reform impulse.
• Key mechanisms included government reform, regulatory frameworks, labor protections, and strengthened civic institutions—often powered by cross-partisan support and new media strategies.
• Ongoing debates about how to balance reform with inclusion and how to translate broad social goals into concrete policy persisted, shaping subsequent political discourse.

Reminders for upcoming sessions

• Friday focus: political progressivism (to continue the discussion on governance, regulation, and the political dimension of reform).
• Review the distinctions between social and political progressivism and prepare to discuss examples of both from the period.
• Prepare for class discussion about the role of media (muckrakers) in shaping policy and public opinion.

Quick reference glossary

• Mugwumps: reform-minded, elite, anti-corruption advocates who favored merit-based civil service and questioned patronage.
• Settlement houses: community centers offering social services to urban poor and immigrants, exemplified by Hull House.
• Social gospel: religious-based movement arguing for social justice and economic reform as moral imperatives.
• Muckrakers: investigative journalists who exposed corruption and abuses in politics and business.
• NAWSA: National American Woman Suffrage Association, umbrella for suffrage groups; spearheaded the push for federal suffrage, culminating in the Nineteenth Amendment.
• WCTU: Women’s Christian Temperance Union, a major force behind temperance and broader social reforms.
• Prohibition (Eighteenth Amendment): banned manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol; a major reform outcome of the era.