The Progressive Movement 1900 -1920 An Outgrowth of

The Progressive Movement 1900 -1920 An Outgrowth of the Populists

What is progressivism? 4 Definition: a movement beginning in the 1890 s, that aimed at solving political, economic, and social problems

Differences between… 4 Populism… 4 Progressivism… 4 mainly in rural areas 4 centered in cities 4 poor, uneducated 4 middle-class, well- people joined party 4 considered radical ideas (bordered on socialism) 4 movement ultimately failed educated people 4 stuck with mainstream ideas 4 the movement succeeded!!!

So how did the Populists help? 4 Populist party identified the social problems 4 Made the American public aware of issues – debt-ridden farmers – exhausted factory workers – corrupt business leaders – corrupt politicians 4 But the public did NOT agree with the Populists’ suggested solutions

Then how did Progressivism work? 4 Goals were more realistic – make the existing system work better – not a complete overhaul of society – willing to compromise 4 Wanted Gov’t to have a greater role in protecting the well-being of citizens – Public safety issues 4 Additionally, the economy was strong

The Muckrakers 4 Journalists inspired by the Progressive Movement to expose corruption in business & politics 4 Jacob Riis – “How the Other Half Lives” – The horror of NY tenement slums – 1890 4 Upton Sinclair – “The Jungle” – 1906 – Chicago meat packing plants 4 Marie & Bessie Van Vorst – “The Woman Who Toils” – factory conditions - 1903

Magazines got the word out 4 Cheaper production methods meant inexpensive magazines – Mc. Clure’s & Cosmopolitan most popular 4 Lincoln Steffens of Mc. Clure’s wrote a series on city governments – “The Shame of the Cities” - 1904 4 Ida Tarbell investigated Standard Oil for 6 years before articles appeared in Mc. Clure’s

Progressive Leaders 4 Jane Addams – Founded Hull House in Chicago – Settlement house 4 Samuel M. “Golden Rule” Jones – Mayor of Toledo, OH – Started playgrounds, Kindergarten, adult school 4 Seth Low – Brooklyn Mayor, later of NYC – President of Columbia U. – Improved police dept & civil service syst.

More Leaders… 4 Frances Perkins – Consumer advocate – Appalled by Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, 1911 • Killed 146, mostly women – 1 st female in Cabinet under FDR – Sec of Labor 4 Hiram W. Johnson – CA Gov. then Senator – 8 hour day for women, child labor laws, RRs 4 Robert M. “Fighting Bob” La. Follette – WI Gov. then Senator - “Wisconsin Idea” • Reforms in taxes, RRs, banks, conservation

Jane Addams, 1860 - 1935 4 Founded Hull House in Chicago – Settlement house – Cared for sick, children, fed poor, adult school 4 Served on Chicago’s Board of Ed & more 4 Public speaker & writer, peace activist 4 Pres of Women’s Internat’l League for Peace 4 Won Nobel Peace Prize in 1931

Samuel M. “Golden Rule” Jones 4 Immigrant from Wales, worked in factory since age 10, saved $$ then opened business 4 1897 ran for Mayor of Toledo, OH, on the “Golden Rule Platform” & won 4 Started playgrounds, city golf course, free kindergartens, adult night school, homeless shelter 4 Doubled wage for city workers to $1. 50/day 4 Business disapproved, re-elected until his death in 1904

Seth Low – Mayor / Civic Leader 4 Affluent background, Columbia University 4 1878, est. Bureau of Charities in Brooklyn 4 1880, ran & won job of Mayor (2 terms) 4 Improved schools & city work offerings 4 1890 - President of Columbia U – Established adult education program & improved graduate program 4 1901 beat Tammany Hall to be Mayor of NYC – improved police dept & civil service system

Frances Perkins 4 Mount Holyoke Hull House Columbia U. master’s degree in social work 4 1910, head of NY Consumers’ League 4 Appalled by Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in 1911 – Factory fire that killed 146 – mostly women – Owners had locked fire escapes 4 Worked in NY agencies inspecting workplace safety – took lawmakers to see conditions 4 1933 – 1 st female in Cabinet – Sec. of Labor

Hiram W. Johnson 4 U of CA – Berkeley, lawyer 4 Assist. District Attorney in San Francisco – Famous trial of political boss Abe Ruef – Took over case when DA was shot in courtroom 4 1910 – Governor of CA – 2 terms – 8 hour work day for women, limits on child labor, worker’s compensation system – Regulated RRs & began on public utilities 4 Ran as VP candidate for Progressives in 1912 4 Served as CA’s US Senator until death in 1945

Robert M. “Fighting Bob” La. Follette 4 WI farm U of Wisconsin – lawyer – DA 4 At 30, won seat in House of Reps (3 terms) – Lost seat in 1890 – as he was not yet a reformer 4 Ran for governor several times & won in 1900 - (3 terms) – started using German ideas 4 Began the “Wisconsin Idea” – reform program – 1 st state income tax & corporate tax – Regulated RRs, banks, lobbying, & conservation 4 Served as US Senator until death in 1925

Reforms to City Government 4 Two news types of city gov’t- neither perfect 4 City Commission – Board of citizens (5 -7) elected to run the city – Met in evenings, so kept other jobs – Galveston, TX 1 st used this after 1900 huricane 4 City Manager – Hired professional with background – Paid well, so not able to be bribed – Dayton, OH 1 st used manager after 1913 flood

Changes to State Governments 4 Goal was to increase voters’ participation 4 Initiative – allowed voters to propose & present a bill to the legislature – Force them to deal with difficult issues 4 Referendum – public voted on bills from the legislature – usually controversial ones 4 Recall – allowed voters to remove an official from office before next election

More Political Changes 4 Primary System – party members get to nominate their party’s candidates for office – Just like today’s process 4 Secret ballots – used for voting – All states by 1910 4 1907, Congress banned corporate donations in all federal elections – Not still used today

Business reforms 4 Business licenses – required to operate a business within city limits – simplest – Basic info & pay a fee – If business cheated customers, city could refuse to renew license 4 Regulation of public utilities – Could take them over – not always practical – Most created public commissions to oversee & set rates – still like this today

Court battles over reforms 4 Holden v. Hardy, 1898 in Utah – Ruled that law limiting hours of miners was constitutional – 1 st law that limited hours 4 Lochner v. New York, 1905 – Law limiting hours of bakers unconstitutional – Not seen as “dangerous” place to work 4 Muller v. Oregon, 1908 – Argued by Boston lawyer – Louis D. Brandeis – Upheld law special protections for women at work led to laws to protect children

Didn’t always go Progressives’ way 4 After 1912, Massachusetts passed 1 st minimum wage law, others followed suit 4 Then the Supreme Court struck down several of these laws in various states 4 Court also upheld businesses’ right to have yellow dog contracts – Employee pledges to never join a union

Constitutional Amendments 4 16 th – Income Tax , 1913 – Federal gov’t could tax people’s incomes 4 17 th – Direct Election of Senators, 1913 – The voters now elected the Senators, not the state legislatures 4 18 th – Prohibition, 1919 – Banned alcohol – Appealed to by social reformers • Women’s Christian Temperance Union • Anti – Saloon League

Women’s leaders… 4 Florence Kelley – National Consumers League (NCL) 4 Margaret Sanger – American Birth Control League 4 Ida B. Wells – Nat’l Assoc of Colored Women (NACW) 4 Women’s Suffrage movement – Carrie Chapman Catt, Alice Paul

th 19 Amendment 4 Women’s suffrage, 1920 4 Finally accomplished – 1 st proposed in 1848 at Seneca Falls Convention – Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Lucretia Mott 4 “Susan B. Anthony Amendment” 4 Slogan: “How Long Must Women Wait For Liberty? ” 4 Women voted in 1920 Presidential election

Unions on the rise… 4 Progressives’ focus on working conditions helped unions fight for improvements 4 Many factories = closed shops – Must join union to work there 4 AFL – American Federation of Labor – Samuel Gompers 4 ILGWU- Internat’l Ladies Garment Workers Union 4 IWW – Industrial Workers of the World – Controversial - William Haywood – “Wobblies”

Progressives & African Americans 4 Mixed results overall on obtaining equality 4 W. E. B. Du. Bois- 1 st African Am to receive a Ph’D from Harvard, taught at Atlanta Uni – Became strong critic of Booker T. Washington – Believed in education & political action 4 NAACP – National Association for the Advancement of Colored People – Created to end racial discrimination – still today – Guinn v. US – case overturned grandfather clauses