12.1 backgrouo of tbe reformers Progressive Era Notes

America at the Turn of the 20th Century

• Many Americans anticipated better times in the new century, hoping to recover from the Panic of 1893.
• A renewed hope emerged that life could be improved and made fairer for more people.

The Spirit of Reform: Progressivism

• A new spirit of reform emerged called progressivism.
• This spirit of reform aimed to address mistreatment by large corporations and factories.
• Reformers fought to:
  • Decrease the length of the workday.
  • Make factories safer.
  • End child labor.
  • Create a safety net for injured workers.
• Reformers worked to expose the graft and greed of political machines in big cities.
• They aimed to show how the system was manipulated to cheat taxpayers and enrich criminals. They worked to bring down bosses and replace them with honest men.
• Reformers also targeted monopolies, particularly the railroads, which made it difficult for Western farmers to earn a living by setting freight rates so high that farmers paid more to transport crops than they earned from them.
• The Grange movement and the Farmers' Alliance advocated for government regulation of railroads
• Populism sought to address the economic problems of farmers and factory workers through political means.
  • Populists successfully elected candidates to local and state offices and made some changes.
  • However, they were defeated on a national level by big business and money, leading to the end of the party after the election of 1896.
  • The economy remained on the gold standard, and many financial problems remained unresolved.

The Progressives

• A new breed of reformers, the progressives, emerged with a positive mood.
• The progressives aimed to protect others and share their prosperity and attacked the bankers, the business tycoons, and the railroads with great fervor.
• Progressives believed in:
  • The power of truth: If the American people knew the truth, they would make the right changes.
  • Government intervention: Following Alexander Hamilton's idea that the government should act powerfully to increase national wealth and improve living standards.
  • The Social Gospel Movement and the duty of Christians to improve society.
  • Scientific research, statistics, and education.
  • The importance of women's participation in reforming society.
  • The goodness and decency of ordinary citizens.
  • The need for thoroughly democratic governments that respond to the wishes of the people.
  • The need for honest and efficient government officials who can be easily removed if they do not perform their jobs correctly.
  • Government action to control greedy special interest groups, regulate corporations, and improve conditions for weaker members of society.

Goals of the Progressives

• The goals of the progressives can be summed up in four areas.

Promoting Social Welfare

• The Social Gospel Movement and the settlement house movement initiated societal reforms, but more needed to be done.
• Organizations like the YMCA opened libraries, sponsored classes, and built recreational facilities.
• The Salvation Army provided help for the poor through soup kitchens and childcare nurseries and shared values of hard work and temperance with the immigrant poor through slum brigades.
• Settlement houses inspired young progressives to work in communities to support people in need.
• Florence Kelly (social worker):
  • Started out in Hull House in Chicago.
  • Became chief inspector of factories for Illinois.
  • Helped pass the Illinois Factory Act in 1893, which prohibited child labor and limited working hours for women.
  • This act became a model for other states.

Promoting Moral Reform

• Morality was seen as key to improving people's lives.
• Progressives started programs to uplift poor immigrants and city dwellers and improve their personal behavior.
• Prohibition: Banning alcoholic beverages.
  • The temperance movement expanded.
  • The Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) had 245,000 members by 1911.
  • They carried out raids on saloons and distilleries and became active in starting schools, helping those in prison, and working for women's voting rights.

Creating Economic Reforms

• The Panic of 1893 led progressives to question laissez-faire government policies regarding business regulation.
• Writers like Henry George and Edward Bellamy spoke out against capitalism.
• Bellamy described capitalism's competition as brutal and cowardly.
• Eugene V. Debs promoted socialism.
  • Organized the American Socialist Party in 1900 to spread the idea of community ownership and shared profits.
  • Socialism would level the playing field for all Americans.
  • Most progressives distanced themselves from socialism but agreed with many of its ideas.
  • They called for regulation or breakup of monopolies and trusts.
  • Progressive journalists investigated companies like Standard Oil, US Steel, and major railroads.

Fostering Efficiency

• Scientific management: Frederick Taylor's concept from Principles of Scientific Management (1911).
• Taylor encouraged industry to find ways to make the workplace more efficient to increase worker productivity, produce more goods, and make manufactured goods more affordable.
• Some factory owners sped up workers, while others, like Henry Ford, developed the assembly line.
• Henry Ford reduced workday to 8 hours and raised pay to 5.00 a day.
• Progressives tried to apply efficiency ideas to government.

Conclusion

• The progressives initiated a new spirit of reform in America.
• They addressed issues to improve conditions for the average person and brought about many changes in society.
• They had a great effect on federal, state, and local governments.
• Their mood remained positive, and they worked to push America into the twentieth century.

Temperance Movement & Anti-Saloon League

• The temperance movement had both supporters and opponents.
• The Anti-Saloon League, founded in 1895, worked to close saloons.
• Many immigrants frequented saloons for cheap meals and community services.
• League supporters felt they were saving America by combating the mixture of foreign cultures, alcohol, and machine politics.

Henry Ford's Assembly Line

• Henry Ford's assembly line produced over 1,200 cars a day.
• His innovation increased production and lowered the cost of the Model T, but workers had to work hard to keep up.
• Ford paid a high wage of 5 a day in 1914, but the work was demanding.

Check Your Understanding

• Populism: Tried to deal with the economic problems of the farmers and the factory workers from the political side.