2021 version of The Progressive Era

Women in the Work Force

Susan B. Anthony

Leading proponent of women's suffrage (right to vote).

"I would sooner cut off my right hand than ask the ballot for the black man and not for women."

Helped establish the National American Women Suffrage Association, or NAWSA.

Higher Education

-New women's colleges.

-1/2 never married, focused on social reform.

Women and Reform

-Focused on workplace and housing reform, educational improvement, and food and drug laws.

-National Association of Colored Women

Three Approaches For Suffrage

-Looked to convince state legislatures to grant women the right to vote. By 1890, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and Idaho had granted women this right.

-Pursued court cases to test the 14th Amendment. Tried to vote 150 times in ten states.

-Lobbied to have a Constitution Amendment to grant women the right to vote. Introduced in California, but later killed.

Farm Women

-not changed from the previous century

Women in Industry

-garment trade, bookkeepers and typists.

Domestic Workers

-70% of working women

Progressive Era Review and Preview

Teddy Roosevelt's Square Deal

Cleaning Up Government

Local Government

Cities began to use the Commission style government after Galveston, Texas saw success with it after a hurricane wiped out the town.

Some city mayors introduced progressive reforms without changing how government was organized.

Fairer tax structure, lowered fares for public transportation, rooted out corruption, and set up a system of work relief for the unemployment.

Initiative- bill originated by the people rather than lawmakers.

Referendum- a vote on the initiative.

Recall- remove public officials from elected positions by forcing them to face another election before the end of their term if enough voters asked for it.

Seventeenth Amendment- Direct election of Senators.

Reform at the State Level

Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin led the way in regulating big business, pushing them out of politics- setting tax rates for railroads to match those of other businesses.

Looked to end child labor, as child labor rose due to children being more desirable for factory work due to their small hands and unskilled abilities that allowed them to be paid less than the regular worker.

Able to get a ten-hour work day for men and worker's compensation.

Reformed elections.

Seventeenth Amendment.

Federal Power

Four Goals of Progressivism

"A simple and poor society can exist as a democracy on the basis of sheer individualism... but a rich and complex industrial society cannot so exist..."

Trustbusting

1902 Coal Strike

Railroad Regulation

Accidental President and Superman

McKinley dies, leaving Teddy as President at age 42.

Leadership and publicity helped create the modern presidency- cited federal responsibility for national welfare.

Square Deal- used to describe the various progressive reforms sponsored by the Roosevelt administration.

• Rose to prominence due to his involvement in the Spanish-American War as the leader of the Rough Riders.
• Elected Governor of New York before becoming Vice President.
• Became the youngest President at age 42 after McKinley's assassination.
• Became a black belt in Judo and was blind in his left eye due to a boxing match... while he was President.
• Became known as the first "modern president"
• used personality and popularity to advance his programs
• thought federal government should assume control whenever states proved incapable of dealing with problems.
• Went on a African hunting trip after leaving office for where he collected over 11,000 specimens for the Smithsonian.

Meat Inspection Act

Pure Food and Drug Act

Conservation

NAACP

Roosevelt: One of a Kind

Health, Environment, Civil Rights

Progressive Movement- aimed to restore economic opportunities and correct injustices in American life.

Four Goals of Progressivism

1. Protecting social welfare

a. YMCA, Salvation Army

2. Promoting moral improvement

a. Prohibition

3. Creating economic reform

a. Socialism, Muckrakers

4. Fostering efficiency

a. Scientific Management

Improving Education

Science and Urban Life

City Planning

"El Trains" Elevated Trains

Skyscrapers

First Flight by the Wright Brothers

Baseball Teams

Chicago White Stockings

• Plessy v. Ferguson legalized "separate but equal"
• Jim Crow Laws
• Poll Taxes

Coney Island

The African American Experience

Pulitzer Prize

Mass Culture

Progressivism Under Taft

Gifford Pinchot- head of the U.S. Forest Service under Roosevelt.

William Howard Taft

Payne-Aldrich Tariff- compromise between two bills proposed by the houses of Congress that raised tariffs.

The Republican Party Splits

Problems in the House- A loose Cannon (Joe).

Roosevelt returns from hunting to establish the (progressive) Bull Moose Party and split the Republican Party.

Woodrow Wilson wins as a result, becoming the first Democrat to win Presidency since 1892.

Democrats Win in 1912

Republicans argued with one another. Democrats had no competition.

22%

88

42%

435

Wilson Makes Reforms

New Freedom: Antitrust Acts

Clayton Antitrust Act- prohibited corporations from acquiring the stock of another if doing so would create a monopoly, and removed labor unions from being subject to antitrust laws.

Federal Trade Commission- agency that was given the power to investigate possible violations of regulations, require periodic reports from companies, and end unfair business practices.

Limits of Progressivism

Segregation- continued under Wilson. The Capital became segregated once more. He opposed anti-lynching legislation and appointed fellow Southerners who extended segregation.

With an international conflict on the horizon, Progressivism would come to an end with Wilson's Presidency.

New Tax System

Federal Income Tax was passed in the 16th Amendment in 1913, allowing the government to tax personal and corporate income, taxing more as income increased.

Federal Reserve Act- established the Federal Reserve and divided the nation into 12 districts. The Federal Reserve was put in charge of issuing new paper money and interest rates.

Women Win Suffrage

Used techniques seen in Britain's suffrage movement to help gain suffrage in America.

1. Painstaking organization, 2. Close ties between local, state, and national workers, 3. Established a wide base of support, 4. Cautious lobbying, 5. Gracious, ladylike behavior.

The 19th Amendment would be ratified in 1920, giving women the right to vote.

The Progressive Era & Turn of the Century Life

Learning Objectives

Chapter 8/9

• 1. Define Progressivism. Through an analysis of the 17th, 18th, and 19th Amendments and the campaign against child labor, justify the use of “progressive” to define the era. Identify the legacy of the Progressive Era.
• 2.During the Progressive Era, many states made reforms at the state government level. What are some of these reforms and how could they fit into the goals of Progressivism?
• 3. Explain the experience of African Americans during the Progressive Era. Identify the significance of Plessy v. Ferguson in this experience.
• 4. Define muckraker. How did Upton Sinclair become the face of progressive era muckrakers and what effect did he have on the era? Identify the legacy of The Jungle.
• 5. Theodore Roosevelt is considered by many historians to be the first modern president. Describe what he did to obtain this title and how he could be considered the face of the Progressive Era?