Describes the beginnings of the progressive movement

1. Origins of
Progressivism
Chapter 11.1
pp. 382-387

3. Roots of 20th Century Reform
• Arose in cities in the northeast, midwest, and west coast
• Why in the cities?
 Roots in other movements:
 Populism
 Nativism,
 Prohibition &purity crusades
 Electoral reform & ending political corruption
 Reacting to rapid industrialization, immigration, & urbanization
 Workers had suffered
 Laissez-faire policies
 Charity could not do enough to fix problems
 Government needed to step in
 1890-1920 is the Progressive Era

5. *”New Immigrants”—Originated from southern &
eastern Europe; esp. Russia, Austria, & Italy

6. Goals and Beliefs
 1. Gov’t should be more accountable to its citizens
 2. Gov’t should curb the power and influence of
wealthy interests
 3. Gov’t should be given expanded powers so that it
could become more active in improving the lives of its
citizens
 4. Gov’t should become more efficient and less corrupt
so that they can handle an expanded role
 *These goals are listed on the bottom of p. 383

7. Henry George
 Early reformer
 Journalist
 Said poverty arose because some people bought and
held on to land until its price went up (speculation)
 George said to tax the land, even if holding on to it
 Single tax clubs sprang up all over

8. Edward Bellamy
 Reformer
 Newspaper editor
 Published “Looking Backward”
 A Boston man underwent hypnosis &
woke up in 2000 (written in 1887)
 Bestseller
 All wrongs of labor were gone!
 Many clubs arose preaching his
views

9. Muckrakers
 “Muckrakers”—term coined by President Roosevelt
 Muckrakes were used to clean manure & hay out of
stables
 The writers pointed out corruption, wrongdoing
 Upton Sinclair, The Jungle
 Lincoln Steffens, The Shame of the Cities
 Ida Tarbell, she revealed the abuses committed by the
Standard Oil Trust

10. Socialists
 Favors public or gov’t control
of property and income
 Wanted to end capitalism, and
have equal distribution of
wealth
 1901: Socialist Party of
America was formed
 By 1912 they had 1,000 city
gov’t offices controlled

11. But remember…
 Progressives did not want major change!
 Wanted high standard of living
 They enjoyed democracy & free enterprise
 Wanted personal liberties protected
 They wanted to eliminate corruption in gov’t so that
they could actually help those in need

12. Women & the Progressive Era
 New level of activism
 Social clubs transformed into reform clubs
 Remember, women could not yet vote
 “In a crowded city quarter, however, if the street is not
cleaned by the city authorities no amount of private
sweeping will keep the tenement free from grime; if the
garbage is not properly collected and destroyed a
tenement house mother may see her children sick and
die of diseases.”
 --Jane Addams, 1910

13. Florence Kelley
 She was instrumental in:
 Started working w/ Jane Addams @ Hull House in 1891
 Passing laws on child labor
 Limiting working hours for women
 Regulating sweatshop conditions
 Went on to other higher jobs in gov’t

14. Mother Jones
 Her husband was an iron worker; he & her 4 children
died in a yellow fever epidemic
 Called on the Knights of Labor for help
 Wanted to improve working conditions
 Organized workers’ unions
 Miners in WV and CO
 Helped found IWW in 1905

15. Finally…
 The Progressives wanted gov’t involvement in people’s
lives
 But those who should have wanted the help resisted
the most
 Ex. Poor families could not survive without child’s wages,
but they wanted to limit child labor!

16. Progressive Legislation
Chapter 11.2
pp. 389-395

17. Triangle Fire in NYC, 1911
 What happened?
 Why was this tragedy so important?

18. Robert La Follette
 Governor of Wisconsin from
1901-1906
 U.S. Senator from 1906-
1925
 “Fighting Bob”
 What were his causes?

19. John Muir
 Naturalist, author,
preservationist
 Sierra Club
 Yosemite Valley & Sequoia
National Park
 Preservation vs.
Conservation?????

20. Qs
 #1) Summarize the Progressives’ views on regulating
business.
 #2) Give examples of government reforms and social
welfare programs at the municipal and state levels
during the Progressive Era.
 #3) Describe the effect of each of these on reforms:
 A) home rule
 B) direct primary
 C) initiative

21. Amendments
 16th
 17th
 18th
 19th
 What were they, what did they do?