The document outlines the progressivism movement in early 1900s America, highlighting its diverse reform efforts including women's suffrage, government efficiency, and labor rights. Key figures, such as muckrakers, played a significant role in exposing societal issues, while reforms like the direct election of senators and the push for women's voting rights emerged from grassroots activism. The movement tackled various social problems, including child labor and alcohol abuse, leading to significant legislative changes and the eventual passing of the 19th amendment, granting women the right to vote.

2.  The struggle for the right of women to vote
was only one of a series of reform efforts
that transformed American society in the
early 1900’s.
 Progressivism was not a tightly organized
political movement with a specific set of
reforms. Progressives had many different
ideas about how to fix the problems they
believed existed in American society.

3.  Progressives generally
believed that
industrialism and
urbanization had
created many problems.
They believed the
government should be
more involved in fixing
these problems. Most
were educated, urban
and middle-class.

4.  Progressivism was a partly a reaction against
laissez-faire economics and its emphasis on an
unregulated market. After seeing the major
problems that existed in cities many believed that
the government had to be fixed before the other
problems could be taken care of.
 One constant belief was in the ability of science
and technology to produce change. Several
advancements had taken place because of
technology (lightbulb, telephone, railroads). The
benefits of these advancements made
progressives believe that solutions for society
could be produced by the same methods.

5.  Among the first people
to articulate
Progressive ideas was
a group of crusading
journalists who
investigated social
conditions and
political corruption.
 These writers became
known as muckrakers.

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7.  American publishers were competing to see who could
expose the most corruption and scandal. Several magazines
became very popular during this time including-McClure’s,
Collier’s and Munsey’s.
๏ Some important authors and topics included:
Ida Tarbell-business practices of companies like Standard
Oil
๏ Charles Edward Russell-the beef industry
๏ David Graham Phillips-how many influenced the senate
๏ Lincoln Steffens-vote stealing and corrupt practices of urban
political machines
๏ Jacob Riis-described the poverty, disease, and crime that
afflicted many immigrant neighborhoods in New York City

8.  One group of progressives focused on
making government more efficient. They
believed many problems could be solved if
government worked properly. Efficiency
progressives took their ideas from
business. These progressives believed
business had become more efficient by
applying the principles of scientific
management.

9.  The ideas of scientific management had been
developed in the late 1800’s and were popularized
by Frederick Taylor’s book The Principles of
Scientific Management. This included breaking
tasks down into small parts, and using standardized
tools.
 These progressives believed that the democratic
system had allowed people to be put into positions
of power that were not qualified to run a city. They
instead suggested a commission plan in which a city
would be divided into departments that would have
leaders chosen by a council. These leaders would
be experts in a particular area and would focus all of
their attention to very specific tasks.

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REFORMING GOVERNMENT
• IN MOST CITIES, THE
MAYOR OR CITY
COUNCIL CHOSE THE
HEADS OF CITY
DEPARTMENTS =
CORRUPTION
• BOSSES OF POLITICAL
PARTIES CONTROLLED
WHO RAN FOR OFFICE
• POLITICAL MACHINES
INFLUENCED THE
ELECTION OF
SENATORS

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REFORMING GOVERNMENT - CONTINUED
• SOME BELIEVED GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE RUN BY
EXPERTS = TWO REFORMS
• A COMMISSION PLAN AND COUNCIL-MANAGER SYSTEM BOTH
ENSURED SPECIALISTS WOULD RUN CITIES

12.  Political reform came to the state level when Wisconsin voters
elected Robert La Follette to be governor. He attacked the
way political parties ran their conventions. He opposed the
way party bosses chose convention delegates which also
resulted in bosses choosing who ran for office. He pushed for
a direct primary-in which all party members could vote for a
candidate. These reforms gave Wisconsin the reputation as
the “Laboratory of Democracy”
 Other changes in state government followed including:
• Initiative-allowed a group of citizens to introduce legislation and
required the legislature to vote on it
• Referendum-proposed legislation presented to voters for approval
• Recall-allowed voters to call for a special election to remove an elected
official from office before their term expired.

13.  The Constitution directed each state
legislature to elect two senators from each
state. Political machines and trusts often had
a huge impact on electing these senators and
they repaid their supporters with federal
contracts and jobs. Many muckrakers saw
the problems with this system.
 To counter this corruption, progressives
called for the direct election of senators by all
state voters. In 1912 a direct election
amendment was created. (17th
amendment)

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DEMOCRATIC REFORMS-summary
• OTHERS BELIEVED SOCIETY NEED MORE
DEMOCRACY
• FIVE REFORMS=
• DIRECT PRIMARY = PARTY MEMBERS VOTE FOR
CANDIDATE
• INITIATIVE = ALLOWED GROUP OF CITIZENS TO
REQUIRE LEGISLATURE TO VOTE ON LAWS GROUP
INTRODUCED*
• REFERENDUM = PROPOSED LAWS PUT TO VOTERS
FOR APPROVAL*
• RECALL = VOTERS CAN REMOVE ELECTED OFFICIAL*
• 17TH
AMENDMENT GAVE VOTERS RIGHT TO ELECT
SENATORS DIRECTLY

15.  In July 1848, Elizabeth
Cady Stanton and
Lucretia Mott organized
the first women’s rights
convention in Seneca
Falls, New York. Their
first priority was getting
women the right to vote.
The movement for
women’s right to vote
became known as the
suffrage movement.

16.  Women’s suffrage became an important issue for
progressives. Although the suffrage movement
began well before progressivism emerged, many
progressives joined the movement in the late 1800’s
and early 1900’s.
 The movement got off to a slow start. Women
suffragists were accused of being unfeminine and
immoral. Several were physically attacked. Another
problem prior to the Civil War was that many
members were also abolitionist and focused entirely
on ending slavery.
 Members of the women’s suffrage movement had
hoped that the laws to ensure voting rights to African
Americans after the war would also include women.

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19.  The movement split because of disagreements over how
to approach gaining suffrage. The group lead by
Stanton and Susan B. Anthony-the National Woman
Suffrage Association-wanted to focus on creating a
constitutional amendment. The second group lead by
Lucy Stone and Julia Ward Howe-American Woman
Suffrage Association-wanted to get women the right to
vote in individual states first and the constitution later.
 The split reduced the movements effectiveness. In 1878
a constitutional amendment granting woman suffrage
was introduced in Congress, but it failed to pass. Few
states granted women the right to vote-only 5 by 1900.

20.  In 1890 the two groups united to form the
National American Women Suffrage
Association. The movement did not make
significant gains, however, until about
1910. Part of the problem was convincing
women to become politically active. Many
woman wanted to vote to promote social
performs, others wanted the vote to
ensure passage of labor laws protecting
women.

21.  As the suffrage movement
grew members began
lobbying lawmakers,
organizing marches, and
delivering speeches on
streets corners.
 By the end of 1912 5 states
had granted women full
voting rights. On March 13,
1913, the day before
President Wilson’s
inauguration, suffragists
marched in Washington D.C.
to draw attention to their
cause.

22.  Alice Paul, a Quaker social worker who headed
NAWSA’s congressional committee, had organized the
Washington march. Paul wanted to use protests to
force President Wilson to take action on suffrage. Her
actions alarmed other members who wanted to
negotiate with Wilson. She left the party and started
the National Woman’s Party. Their members picketed
the White House, blocked sidewalks, chained
themselves to lampposts, and went on hunger strikes if
arrested.
 Eventually the NAWSA gave their support to Wilson
because the Democratic Party supported states giving
women the right to vote.

23.  As more states granted women the right to vote,
Congress began to favor a constitutional amendment.
In 1918 the House of Representatives passed a
woman suffrage amendment. Wilson addressed the
Senate, asking it to vote for the amendment-the
amendment failed to pass by two votes.
 The following year in June 1919, the Senate finally
passed the Nineteenth Amendment by just more than
the two-thirds vote needed. On August 26,
1920, after
three-fourths of the states had voted to ratify it, the
Nineteenth Amendment guaranteeing women the right
to vote went into effect.

25.  While some progressives focused on
reforming the political system, others
focused on social problems such as crime,
illiteracy, alcohol abuse, child labor, and
the health and safety of Americans. They
created charities to help the poor and
disadvantaged.

26.  Probably the most emotional Progressive issue was the
campaign against child labor.
 In 1900 over 1.7 million children under the age of 16
worked outside the home. Reformers established a
National Child Labor Committee in 1904 to abolish child
labor.
 John Spargo’s 1906 book The Bitter Cry of the Children
presented detailed evidence on child labor conditions. It
described 9 and 10 year old workers in coal mines that
would develop curved spines and nerve damage in their
hands from picking slag out of coal 10 hours a day.

27.  Reports like these pushed states to create
minimum age laws for workers as well as laws
on the amount of hours that could be worked. At
this same time compulsory education laws were
being passed throughout the U.S.
 Child labor began to decline once these
education and labor laws were passed and as
more jobs were available to adults. Soon
mothers would replace children in the factories.

29.  Many adult workers also labored in difficult
conditions. Factories, coal mines, and railroads
were particularly dangerous.
 An example was a fire in 1911 at the Triangle
Shirtwaist Company in New York City. Nearly
150 women workers died, trapped by doors
locked from the outside. These deaths caused
New York to pass strict building codes for fire
hazards and machinery.

30.  During the early 1900’s, thousands of people
died or were injured on the job, but they and their
families received little compensation.
Progressive union leaders pushed for
compensation laws that helped provide for
injured workers and their families.
 Progressives also favored zoning laws as a
method of protecting the public. These laws
divided a town or city into zones for commercial,
residential, or other development, thereby
regulating how land and buildings could be used.
(required fire escapes)

32.  Many progressives believed alcohol was
responsible for many problems in American
life. Settlement house workers hated the
effects of drinking on families. Scarce
wages were spent on alcohol, and drinking
lead to abuse and sickness.
 Employers believed drinking hurt workers
efficiency, while political reformers viewed
the saloon as the headquarters of political
bosses.

33.  The temperance movement, which advocated
the moderation of elimination of alcohol,
emerged from these concerns.
 For the most part, women led the temperance
movement. In 1874 a group of women formed
the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.
 When it began the temperance movement
concentrated on reducing alcohol consumption.
Later it pressed for prohibition laws banning the
manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcohol

35.  Many progressives believed that wealth was
concentrated in the hands of too few people.
Many became concerned about trusts and holding
companies.
 Many disagreed about how to deal with regulating
big business. Some believed that the government
should break up big companies to restore
competition. (Sherman Anti-Trust Act 1890)
Other pushed for regulating agencies to monitor
business (Interstate Commerce Commission)

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Big Business
 Some advocates even went so far as to advocate
socialism-the idea that the government should own and
operate industry for the community.
 They wanted the government to buy up large companies,
especially industries that effected everyone, such as
railroads and utilities.
 Most progressives and Americans, however, believed in
the superiority of the American system of free enterprise.