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Chapter 19 blog notes
- 1. CHAPTER 19 Political Reform& the Progressive Era
- 2. SECTION 1 The GildedAge & Progressive Reform
- 3. Reform in theGilded Age Gilded Age Period after Civil War Lasted from 1870s through 1890s Age of serious problems hiding under shiny surface Political Concerns Americans feared industrialists & wealthy men were enriching themselves at expense of public Corruption/Dishonesty in government Bribery & voter fraud appeared widespread
- 4. Taming the SpoilsSystem Source of corruption was Spoils System Practice of rewarding political supporters w/ gov’t jobs W/ election of new President, people swarmed to Washington looking for jobs in rewards for their political support 1881 James Garfield elected President 4 months later was shot by disappointed office seeker Sparked efforts to end spoils system Vice President Chester A. Arthur became President Owed his rise to spoils system 1883 Pendleton Act signed Created Civil Service Commission A system that includes most gov’t jobs, except elected positions, the judiciary, & the military Aim was to fill jobs on basis of merit Jobs went to those who scored highest on civil services examinations
- 5. Controlling Big Business Late 1800s Bigbusiness influenced politics, often w/ bribery Americans demanded limiting power of railroads & monopolies Congress Under Constitution has power to regulate interstate commerce 1887 President Grover Cleveland signed Interstate Commerce Act Forbade practices such as rebates & set up Interstate Commerce Commission to oversee railroads
- 6. 1890 President Benjamin Harrison signed Sherman Antitrust Act Prohibited businesses from trying to limit or destroy competition Difficult to enforce Judges often ruled in favor of trusts & the Sherman Act was used to limit the power of labor unions (strikers blocked free trade & threatened competition)
- 7. Corruption in theCities Expansion of cities led to expansion of sewers, garbage collection, & roads Citypoliticians often excepted money to award jobs to friends Powerful politicians (bosses) controlled work done locally & wanted payoffs from businesses Popular w/ poor Gave turkeys & coal Poor voted for them in return
- 8. William “Boss” Tweed 1860s & 1870s he cheated NY City out of $100 million His crimes were exposed by journalists, before being arrested he fled to Spain Hewas arrested in Spain & died in jail in 1878
- 9. Progressives & PoliticalReform Progressive Movement Corruption led to rise Progressives: diverse group of reformers united by a belief in the public interest Not sacrificed to greed of huge trusts & city bosses Wisconsin idea 1st to adopt Progressive reforms Governor Robert La Follette “Battling Bob” Opposed political bosses Appointed commissions of experts to solve problems Railroad commission recommended lowering railroad rates; as rates decreased, rail traffic increased 1903 Wisconsin was 1st state to adopt a primary run by state gov’t officials 1917 all but 4 states joined
- 10. More Power toVoters Recall A process by which people may vote to remove an elected official from office Easier to remove corrupt officials Initiative Process that allows voters to put a bill before a state legislature Voters must collect a certain # of signatures on a petition Referendum: way for people to vote directly on a proposed new law
- 11. Two Constitutional Amendments Progressive Reformers Backed graduated income tax (method of taxation that taxes people at different rates depending on income) Wealthy pay higher taxes than poor Supreme Court ruled this was unconstitutional 16th Amendment (gives Congress the power to pass an income tax) was ratified in 1913 1789 U.S. senators were elected by state legislatures Bribery was a problem Progressives wanted people to vote for senators 1913 17th Amendment was ratified to require the direct election of senators
- 12. The Muckrakers Press play important role in exposing corruption President Theodore Roosevelt Compared these reporters to men who raked up dirt/muck in stables Muckraker became a term for a crusading journalist Ida Tarbell Targeted big business Work led to demands for more controls on trusts Accused oil baron John D. Rockefeller of unfair business methods Other reporters described how corruption had led to inadequate fire, police, & sanitation services Jacob Riis
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- 14. 1906 Upton Sinclair’s novel The Jungle Grisly details about the meatpacking industry Described how packers used meat from sick animals & how rats often got group up in the meat
- 15. SECTION 2 The ProgressivePresident
- 16. The First ProgressivePresident September 6, 1901 President William McKinley assassinated by unemployed anarchist @ the world’s fair in Buffalo, NY Vice President Theodore Roosevelt became President 42years old Youngest President to take office Supporter of Progressive goals
- 17. Teddy Roosevelt Came from wealthy NY family Suffered from asthma as child Built strength by lifting weights, running, & boxing @23 he was elected to NY state legislature Served on Civil Service Commission Headed NYC police department Assistant secretary of the navy 1898 Led U.S. troops in daring exploits against Spain Returned home a hero Elected governor of New York 2 years later was elected VP w/ McKinley
- 18. TR & BigBusiness TR won reputation as trustbuster (a person working to destroy monopolies & trusts) Was not against big business, saw difference between “good” & “bad” trusts Good trusts: were efficient & fair & should be left alone Bad trusts: took advantage of workers & cheated the public by eliminating competition. Gov’t must control or break them up 1902 Gov’t brought lawsuit against Northern Securities Company (was formed to control competition among railroads) TR said NSC used unfair business practices 1904 Supreme Court ruling: NSC violated Sherman Antitrust Act Order: trust to be broken up 1st time Sherman Antitrust Act used to break up trusts, not unions More suits followed Against: Standard Oil & American Tobacco Company Were later broke up because they attempted to limit free trade
- 19. A Boost forOrganized Labor TR also clashed w/ mine owners 1902 PA coal miners strike Wanted: better pay & short workday Owners: refused to negotiate w/ miners’ union w/ winter approaching schools & hospitals ran out of coal TR threatened to send troops to run mines Mine owners negotiated w/ miners union & reached agreement TR 1st President to side w/ strikers
- 20. The Square Deal 1904 TR ran for President Promised a Square Deal Everyone from farmers and consumers to workers and owners should have the same opportunity to succeed Helped him win election
- 21. Conserving Natural Resources TR took action to protect wilderness areas Lumber companies were cutting down entire forests & miners were removing iron & coal, while leaving gaping holes in the earth to keep up w/ industrial growth TR loved the wilderness & pressed for conservation Not against using resources, but believed they had to be used wisely, w/ an eye toward the future 1905 U.S.Forest Service was formed Thousands of acres of land set aside for
- 22. Protecting Consumers Sinclair’s novel The Jungle shocked TR He made public a report exposing unhealthy meatpacking plant conditions 1906 Congress passed a law allowing closer inspection of meatpacking houses Muckrakers Exposed drug companies for making false claims about medicines & adding harmful chemicals to canned food Congress passed Pure Food & Drug Act (required food & drug makers to list all ingredients on packages
- 23. Taft & Wilson 1908 TR did not run for reelection Supported William Howard Taft Trouble For Taft Taft: quite & cautious Was wary of power Supported Progressive causes Broke up more trusts, favored graduated income tax, approved safety rules for mines, created federal office to control child labor, & signed laws giving gov’t workers 8 hour workday
- 24. 1909 LostProgressive support Signed a bill to raise tariffs Progressives argued this raised prices for consumers Modified conservation policies Progressives accused him of blocking conservaton
- 25. Election of 1912 TR broke away from Taft & ran against him for Republican nomination TR was loved by people, but Taft controlled party leadership Taft nominated by Republican Party TR & supporters formed new party Progressive Party, later known as the Bull Moose Party Democrats chose Woodrow Wilson Progressive candidate President of Princeton University & governor of New Jersey Brilliant scholar & cautious reformer Known as begin rigid & unwilling to compromise TR & Taft gained more votes than Wilson, but spilt Republican vote allowing Wilson to win the election of 1912
- 26. Wilson & theNew Freedom Wanted to restore free competition Program called New Freedom Persuaded Congress to create Federal Trade Commission Power to investigate companies & order them to stop using unfair practices to destroy competitors 1914 Clayton Antitrust Act signed Banned some business practices that limited competition Stopped antitrust laws from being used against unions Federal Reserve Act Regulated banking Set up a system of federal banks and gave government the power to raise or lower interest rates & control the money supply
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- 28. Women Win theVote Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 Marked start of women’s rights movement Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony Formed National Woman Suffrage Association after C.W. Wanted right for women to vote
- 29. Women Vote inthe West Late 1800s Wyoming,Utah, Colorado, & Idaho allowed women to vote Recognized women’s contributions made to build farms & cities by allowing them to vote 1890 Wyoming applied for statehood Congress wanted to bar women from voting Wyoming lawmakers stood firm & was admitted with women being able to vote
- 30. Growing Support 1900s Women’s suffrage grew 5 million women worked outside the home Paid less, but wages gave them some power Demanded say in law making Carrie Chapman Catt Developed way to win suffrage state by state Suffragists: people who worked for women’s rights to vote followed her plan Efforts brought steady gains
- 31. The Nineteenth Amendment Women right to vote In some states it did not apply to federal elections Call for federal amendment to allow women to vote in all elections Alice Paul Met with President Wilson in 1913 Explained suffragists were committed to achieving a federal amendment Wilson pledged support 1919 19th Amendment passed Guaranteed women right to vote August 1920 ¾ of states ratified the amendment 19th Amendment Doubled # of eligible voters
- 32. New Opportunities forWomen Women also struggled to gain access to jobs & education Were refused licenses to practice law or medicine Higher Education A few women managed to get higher education to enter a profession 1877 Boston University granted first Ph.D. to w woman 1900 1,000 women lawyers & 7,000 doctors
- 33. Women’s Clubs At First Read books & sought ways to advance their knowledge In time many became reformers Raised money for libraries, schools, & parks Pressed for laws to protect women & children, ensure pure food & drugs, and win the vote African American women formed own clubs National Association of Colored Women Battled to end segregation & violence Joined battle for suffrage
- 34. Women Reformers Progressive Era Some women committed themselves to reform Became social workers to help the poor Florence Kelley Investigated sweatshop conditions Became chief factory inspector in Illinois Mainconcern was child labor Organized boycott of goods produced in factories employed by young children
- 35. Crusade Against Alcohol 1820s Reform against alcohol abuse Women took leading role 1874 Woman’s Christian Temperance Union Frances Willard became president Spoke about evils of alcohol Wanted state laws to ban sale of liquor Worked to close saloons Later joined suffrage movement w/ other WCTU members Carry Nation More radical temperance crusader Husband died from heavy drinking Often stormed into saloons swinging a hatchet & smashed beer kegs & liquor bottles Actions gained publicity, but embarrassed WCTU 1917 18th Amendment passed by Congress Enforced prohibition (a ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol Ratified in 1919
- 36. SECTION 4 Struggles forJustice
- 37. African Americans Discriminated against in North & South Landlords refused to rent homes in white areas Restricted to worst housing & poorest jobs
- 38. Booker T. Washington Born into slavery Self educated Worked in coal mines & attended school when he could 1881 Helped found Tuskegee Institute in Alabama Offered industrial & agricultural training Advised African Americans to learn trades & to move up gradually in society Practical approach won support from Carnegie & Rockefeller Helped build trade schools Presidents also sought his advise on racial issues
- 39. W.E.B. Du Bois 1st African American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard Agreed with Washington on needing training Disagreed with him on accepting segregation Urged black to fight segregation 1909 Joined w/ others to form National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Worked for equal rights for blacks
- 40. Campaign Against Lynching More than 1000 African Americans in the south were victims of lynching: murdered by a mob after the depression of 1893 violence worsened Ida B. Wells an African American journalist talked about free speech in her articles urged African Americans to protest against lynching
- 41. Setbacks and Success •President Wilson supported segregation and thought of it as a benefit • Despite challenges, some African Americans prospered – George Washington Carver • Discovered hundreds of new uses for peanuts and other crops in the South – Sarah Walker • Created line of hair products for African American women • Was the 1st American women to earn more than $1 million – Black owned insurance companies, banks, and other businesses server African Americans – Black colleges trained young people – Churches became training ground for generations of African American leaders • African Methodist Episcopal Church
- 42. Mexican Americans • 1900 – ½ a million Mexican Americans lived in U.S. • Faced legal segregation like African Americans • 1910 – San Angelo, Texas • Built new schools for Anglo (of English ancestry) children • Mexican children forced to attend separate, inferior schools • When Mexican children tried to attend one of the new schools, officials would not let them
- 43. Increased Immigration • 1910 – Revolution and famine swept through Mexico – Thousands fled to the U.S. • All levels of Mexican society - poor farmers, middle class, and upper class – 90% of Mexican Immigrants lived in the southwest at first • Migration later spread Mexican Americans to other parts of the country to find work
- 44. Daily Life • Mexicanimmigrants as farmhands, built roads, or dug irrigation ditches – Some lived near R.R.’s they helped build • Other Mexican Americans worked in factories under harsh conditions – Paid less than Americans – Denied skilled jobs • Sought to preserve culture & language • Created barrios (ethnic Mexican American neighborhoods) – LA home to nation’s largest barrio • Within Barrios Mexican immigrants & Mexican Americans helped each other – Some formed mutualistas (mutual aid groups) • Pooled money to pay for insurance and legal advise • Collected money for the sick and needy
- 45. Asian Americans • TheChinese exclusion act of 1882 led to employers on the west coast in Hawaii to hire people from Asian countries, mostly from Japan and the Philippines.
- 46. Japanese Immigrants • Morethan 100,000 Japanese immigrants traveled to the U.S in the early 1900’s • Some went to Hawaii to work on sugar plantations • When the U.S. annexed Hawaii in 1898, Japanese sought a better life in the mainland. ∙ most became farmers that settled on dry barren land that the Americans didn’t want. • Japanese built up their farms and began
- 47. A Gentlemen's Agreement •Asians were out casted. • In the 1900’s, san Francisco forced all Asian students even children to attend different schools than white students. • When Japan protested the issue, it threatened to cause an international crisis. • Unions pressured Theodore Roosevelt to limit the immigration from Japan. • He refused and tried to hush the turmoil between Japanese and Americans. • He proposed the idea that if san Francisco ended there segregation he would limit the Japanese immigrants
- 48. • In 1907Roosevelt created a gentleman's agreement with Japan. • Japan agreed to stop workers from going to the U.S and the U.S agreed to allow Japanese women to join their husbands and family already in the U.S. • The anti-Japanese feeling remained high. • In 1913 California banned Asians who were not American citizens
- 49. Religious Minorities • Religiousminorities faced deep prejudice • Roman Catholics and Jews were included in the immigration boom. • Nativist groups such as the Anti-Catholic American Protective Association (ACAPA) worked to restrict immigration. • Jews and Catholics who were not immigrants face discrimination in jobs and housing. • A feeling of Anti-Catholicism was common in schools. • Some teachers lectured against the Pope, and textbooks with references to “decitful catholics” • American Catholics set up parochial schools, or schools sponsored by a church. • 1913 • Anti-Semitism, or prejudice against Jews, took place in Georgia.
- 50. He was falsely accused of murdering a young girl. Despite lack of evidence, he was sentenced to death. Although the Governor of Georgia reduced his sentence. A mob took him form prison, and lynched him. In response to the lynching, and Anti-Semitism, American Jews founded Anti-Defamation League. The League worked to promote understanding