The progressive era from 1890-1920 saw the rise of a loosely organized movement seeking to address problems created by industrialization and urbanization through greater government action. Known as Progressives, they included muckraking journalists who investigated corruption and social issues. Some Progressives focused on making government more efficient using business methods while others advocated for more democracy through initiatives, referendums, and recalls. The suffrage movement gained support within Progressivism, culminating with the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote in 1920. Progressives also campaigned against issues like child labor, unsafe working conditions, and alcohol.

1. Ch. 13 Section 1
Roots of Progressivism

2. Objectives:
1. Discuss the rise of the
progressive movement.
2.Evaluate the impact of initiative,
referendum, recall, and the 17th
amendment.

3. Who were the Progressives?
-Progressive era- 1890-1920
-Not a tightly organized political movement
-A collection of different views about how to fix the problems they believed existed
in America
-Believed industrialization and Urbanization created many societal problems and
government should play a more active role in fixing them
-Belonged to both major parties

4. Beginnings of Progressivism
-A reaction to laissez-faire economics
-Poor working class led progressives to believe government needed
to change before it could fix society's problems
-Believed in Science and technology/ thought scientific methods
could produce solutions for societies

5. The Muckrakers
-Journalists who investigated social
conditions and political corruption and
pressured politicians into political reform.
-David Graham Phillips and Lincoln
Steffens targeted corruption in the
government
- “The Shame of the cities” - collection of
Lincoln Steffens articles exposing
political machines
-Jacob Riis- wrote “How the Other Half
Lives”

6. Ida Tarbell
McClure’s magazine published a
series of articles criticizing the
Standard Oil Company and J.D.
Rockafeller.

7. Making Government Efficient
-One group of progressives focused on making
government more efficient/took ideas from
business
- “The Principles of Scientific Management”-
written by Frederick W. Taylor/ described how a
company could be more efficient by managing
time, breaking tasks down, using standardized
tools ect.

8. Galveston 1900 Storm
● In 1900, the deadliest natural disaster in US history hit Galveston
Island. In the wake of the disaster, efficiency experts implemented
new city development and management policies.
● Efficiency progressives wanted a commission plan/ cities government
would be broken into several departments with an expert
commissioner leading the department/ Galveston TX adopted
commission plan in 1901

9. Laboratory of Democracy
-Other progressives believed society
needed more democracy not less
-Robert La Follette- Wisconsin governor
who attacked the way parties ran their
conventions
-Originally party bosses choose candidates
that would run for elections in cities/
Follette pressured the state legislature to
require each party to hold a direct primary
/Wisconsin got reputation as the laboratory
of democracy

10. Initiative, referendum, recall
-Follette inspired electoral reform in other states
-Many states introduced 3 new reformes- initiative,
referendum, and recall
-Initiative- allowed a group of citizens to introduce legislation
and required legislatures to vote on it
-Referendum- allowed proposed legislation to be submitted
to voters for approval
-Recall- allowed voters to demand a special elections to
remove elected officials from office before his or her term
expired

11. Direct Election of Senators
-Originally state legislators selected two senators for their state/ political machines
often had influence over the selection of senators
-1912- amendment proposed for direct election of senators
-1913- 17th amendment passed /direct election of senators becomes
constitutional law

12. The Suffrage Movement
-1848- Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia
Mott organized the first women’s rights
convention in Seneca Falls, NY
-Suffrage movement- movement for women’s
right to vote
- Many progressives joined the suffrage
movement

13. Early Problems
-Suffrage movement had a slow start /some women
were attacked
-When 15th amendment was passed many women
wanted the amendment to be worded to give
women the right to vote as well.
-

14. House divided…
Debate over 15th amendment split the suffrage movement into two groups
National Woman Suffrage Association and American Woman Suffrage association
-National Women Suffrage Association- led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan
B. Anthony/ focused on passing a Constitutional amendment for women’s suffrage
-American Woman Suffrage Association- led by Lucy Stone and Julia Ward Howe/
wanted to convince state governments to give women the right to vote

15. The Movement Builds Support
-1890 - the two groups united to form the National American Woman Suffrage
Association ( NAWSA)
-As progressive movement began many women wanted the right to vote
-By 1912 Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, and Kansas had granted
Women full voting rights

16. Alice Paul
-Alice Paul organized Washington March in
1913 for women's suffrage
-Paul wanted to protest to force Woodrow
Wilson to take action toward women's suffrage
/Other members wanted to negotiate with
Wison and Paul left the organization
-Alice Paul formed the National Woman’s
party- picketed the White House, chained
themselves to lamposts, and went on hunger
strikes if arrested

18. Carrie Chapman Catt
-Became NAWSA leader
-Developed the winning plan
-Supported Wilson in the election of 1916

19. The 19th Amendment
-1918- House of Representatives tried to pass
a women’s suffrage amendmendment but it
failed to pass through the senate
-1919-the senate finally passed the 19th
amendment
-August 26th 1920- the 19th amendment was
ratified and adopted into the constitution/
women gained the right to vote

20. The Campaign against Child Labor
-While many progressives tried to reform politics
others sought to reform social issues
-In 1900 over 1.7 million children under the age of
16 worked outside of the home/ most of the time in
unhealthy conditions
-National child labor committee- formed in 1904 to
abolish child labor
- “The Bitter Cry of the Children” written by
Muckraker John Spargo presented detailed
evidence of harsh working conditions for children

21. Health and Safety Codes
-Adult workers also labored in harsh conditions
especially in the coal mine and railroad industry
-1911- Triangle Shirtwaist company caught first in
New York City/ about 150 women died trapped by
doors locked from the outside
-During 1900 thousands died or were injured on
the job but their families received little
compensation
-Progressives joined union leaders to fight for
compensation laws, zoning laws and health codes

22. The Prohibition Movement
-Many progressives believed alcohol was
responsible for many problems in American life
-Temperance movement- advocated the
moderation or elimination of alcohol
-Women’s Christian Temperance Union
-At first the movement was to reduce
consumption. However, the prohibition will be
enforced with the Volstead Act in the 1920’s.

23. Progressives Vs. Big Business
-Some progressives focused on regulating big
business
-Many became concerned with trusts and
holding companies.
- Sherman Anti-Trust Act - Approved July 2,
1890, it was the first Federal act that outlawed
monopolistic business practices.

24. Interstate Commerce Commission
Progressives pushed for government
agencies such as the ICC. The Interstate
Commerce Commission, former
independent agency of the U.S.
government, was established in 1887; it
was charged with regulating the economics
and services of specified carriers engaged
in transportation between states.
-

25. Some progressives advocated socialism…
-Eugene Debs- Eugene Victor "Gene"
Debs (November 5, 1855 – October
20, 1926) was an American socialist,
political activist, trade unionist, one of
the founding members of the
Industrial Workers of the World
(IWW) ("Wobblies") and five times the
candidate of the Socialist Party of
America for President of the United
States. He won nearly 1 million votes
under the American Socialist Party
for president.