Module 7-1: Progressivism and Social Reform

Adapted Text from Exploring American Histories, Third Edition by Nancy A. Hewitt and Steven F. Lawson

Module 7-1: Progressivism and Social Reform

Learning Targets

• By the end of this module, you should be able to:

  • Explain how Progressive Era journalists critiqued political corruption, social injustice, and economic inequality.

  • Explain how reformers, from the middle and upper classes, including many women, worked to effect social changes in cities and among immigrant populations.

  • Explain how some progressives advocated expanding participation in government.

  • Explain how progressives sought to regulate the economy and generate moral reform.

Thematic Focus

• Work, Exchange, and Technology

• Politics and Power

• Social Structures

• Labor upheaval, government corruption, immigration, and rapid industrialization transformed the lives of most Americans by the last decade of the nineteenth century.

• Many Americans pursued reform measures in response to the challenges posed by a rapidly modernizing economy and society.

Historical Reasoning Focus - Comparison

• Compare the varied problems facing the nation as identified by reform-minded Americans and the solutions they recommended.

The Roots of Progressivism

• Desire for Reform:

  • Many Americans believed national reforms were necessary at the turn of the twentieth century. Motivations varied:

  • Altruistic concerns.

  • Fear that immigrants and racial minorities would contaminate the cities’ middle-class inhabitants with disease, crime, and threats to traditional cultural norms.

• Opposition to Laissez-Faire Capitalism:

  • Progressives sought to regulate monopolies and limit corporate trusts. Advocated for an income tax to give citizens more say in government.

• Influences on Reformers:

  • Influenced by pragmatism and the social gospel.

  • Most support came from the middle class.

Investigative Journalists - Muckrakers

• Role in Reform:

  • Muckrakers boosted the desire for reform by exposing corruption in government and the shady operations of big businesses.

  • Topics included child labor, life insurance fraud, drug abuse, and prostitution.

Female Progressives and the Poor

• Role of Women in Reform:

  • College-educated women, often excluded from the workforce, became leaders in social reform.

  • Jane Addams and Ellen Starr established Hull House to promote social reform.

  • Women’s clubs supported settlement houses and social work initiatives.

• African American Women in the Progressive Era:

  • Formed their own clubs, sponsoring daycares and trainings.

  • The National Association of Colored Women (NACW) had 1,000 clubs and 50,000 members by 1916.

Advocacy for Workers' Rights

• Creation of Women's Unions:

  • The National Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL) was established in 1903 for higher wages and improved working conditions.

  • Supreme Court ruled in Muller v. Oregon (1908) in favor of a ten-hour workday for women.

• Social Welfare Initiatives:

  • Children’s Bureau established in 1912 to collect sociological data and create social welfare measures.

  • Congress passed the Shepherd-Towner Act in 1921.

Divergent Views on Women's Legislation

• Charlotte Perkins Gilman:

  • Criticized protective legislation, promoting women’s equal opportunities and independence.

Women's Suffrage Movement

• Formation of National American Woman Suffrage Association (1890):

  • By 1918, women could vote in fifteen states and Alaska.

  • Suffragists encompassed diverse groups with varied arguments about women's rights and political influence.

• Alice Paul:

  • Founded the National Woman’s Party and proposed an Equal Rights Amendment in 1923.

Preliminary Map Analysis: Women's Suffrage in the West

• Suffrage Trends:

  • Western states were pioneers in women's suffrage, but restrictions on voting for Black, American Indian, Mexican American, and Asian American women persisted.

Opposition to Women's Suffrage

• Both males and females opposed women's suffrage, fearing disruption of traditional family structures and racial tensions.

• The Nineteenth Amendment was passed by Congress in 1919 and ratified in 1920.

Women’s Campaigns for Suffrage

• Tactics Used:

  • Suffragists employed education advocacy, protests, and rallies to gain support.

Racial Equality in Progressivism

• By 1900, white supremacy in the South effectively disenfranchised most Black voters through violence and Jim Crow laws.

• Booker T. Washington's Views:

  • Advocated for the accommodation and moral development of African Americans within a segregated society.

• Ida B. Wells:

  • Countered Washington’s stance advocating for active resistance against racial violence and inequality.

• W.E.B. Du Bois:

  • Urged African Americans to demand first-class citizenship and a liberal arts education.

Native American Advocacy

• Voice of American Indians:

  • Activists like Carlos Montezuma called for structural changes to support Indian welfare.

  • Zitkala-Sa highlighted injustices in boarding schools.

Morality and Social Control During Prohibition

• Temperance Movement:

  • Middle-class reformers sought to embody morality in lower-class communities via the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).

• Prohibition's Impact:

  • The Eighteenth Amendment imposed prohibition in 1919; repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933.

Anti-Vice Legislation

• White Slave Trade Act (Mann Act) of 1910:

  • Targeted prostitution, leading to early forms of police action.

Juvenile Delinquency Reform

• Establishment of Juvenile Courts:

  • Reformers sought alternatives to punitive measures.

• Margaret Sanger:

  • Advocated for contraception as a means of family planning.

AP® Writing Historically: Short-Answer Question Practice

• Example questions assessing understanding and interpretation of women’s suffrage and racial equality initiatives in Progressivism.

End of Module Overview

• Overview on how the Progressive Era created lasting reform movements across social spectrums, supported by legislative changes and grassroots activism.