1. Good Politics or Meddlesome Control?
The Progressives
Good Politics or Meddlesome Control?

2. Origins of the Progressives
Problems associated with industrialization, immigration and urbanization
Belief that these problems can be addressed and solved
Belief that government is the agency to address these ills
Increased use of scientific theory, formal education, expertise, and use of data

3. Who were progressives? Middle Class Educated
Civic Involvement, $, and Time
Sympathy for the lower classes but not among them
Educated
Across geopolitical boundaries
Across political parties
Grassroots oriented
Exposure of issues needing reform

4. Progressive Reforms needed..
Socialism = against
political machines = against
Trusts = against
Consumers protections
voting reforms
working conditions (+child labor and living
Conservation
women’s rights
Federal Reserve System
Prohibition
Income tax
Progressive Reforms needed..

5. Social Progressive Reforms
Local codes, state regulations
Temperance (eventually national WCTU)
Poverty, Disease
Prostitution
Social Progressive Reforms

6. Margaret Sanger – Educated urban poor about the benefits of family planning through birth control.
Booker T Washington – Trade skills to earn a living
W.E.B. DuBois – founder of NAACP
Muckrakers – members of the press that investigated corruption in order to expose problems to the American people.
Social Reformers

7. Muckrakers Magazines Newspapers
McClure’s
Collier’s
Newspapers
Books (Newspaper series collected into Books)
Muckrakers

8. Thomas Nast – exposed abuses of the NYC political machine called Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed – used political cartoons
Exposing corruption

9. Muckrakers Ida Tarbell (Standard Oil)
Lincoln Steffens, The Shame of Cities
Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives
Thorstein Veblen, (Conspicuous Consumption)
Upton Sinclair (The Jungle)
"I aimed at the public’s heart and by accident hit its stomach."
*emotive, empathetic, short on policy*

14. Prominent Local Progressives
Welfare
Services for the people
Hiram Johnson, Governor of CA
Pingree (DTW)
Jones (TOL)
Utilities
To regulate - Water, gas, electricity
Hazen Pingree, Mayor of Detroit
“Golden Rule” Jones - Toledo
Woodrow Wilson, Governor of New Jersey
Prominent Local Progressives

15. Prominent Local Progressives
City Reforms
Settlement houses – workers, professionals, club members could pressure for changes
Jane Addams - created Hull House
Women targeted slums, tenements, wages & hours, child labor, alcohol abuses and prostitution

16. Political Reforms start at state level move to federal
17th Amendment – election of senators 1913
Direct Primary – LaFollette – gives voters more voice in government and limit the political bosses power. By 1916 only 3 states did not have a direct primary
Initiative – citizens propose laws via petitioning, then placed on next election ballot
Referendum – citizens demand a law be “referred” to voters for approval or rejection
Recall – voters able to remove public officials from office

17. Economic Progressive Reforms
Increased regulation of big business
Stronger Anti-Trust Legislation
Maximum Hours and Minimum Wage
Worker’s Compensation (Job Injury)
Worker Safety
SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY
Food, drugs, city streets, playgrounds,
Emergence of more modern notion of childhood
Economic Progressive Reforms

18. Progressivism Goes National
Cross Political Parties
TR (Republican)
Taft (Republican)
Wilson (Democrat)
Progressivism Goes National

19. TR and the Square Deal Consumers Meat Inspection Act
Pure Food and Drug Act
Aldrich-Vreeland Act
Labor
Anthracite Coal Miner Strike
Big Business
Elkins and Heburn Acts
Northern Securities
Good Trust/Bad Trust
Environment
National Park Land
MURM
Hetch Hetchy Valley

20. Taft Presidency Consumers – Society Big Business Environment Labor
Created 35,000 postmasters and 20,00 skilled workers in the Navy under civil service protection
Department of Commerce and Labor was divided into 2 departments
8-Hour workday for government employees
Consumers – Society
Payne – Aldrich Tariff Act
Children’s Bureau
16th Amendment – (income tax)
17th Amendment – (senate elections)
Big Business
Mann – Elkins Act
99 trust busts – prosecutions – including the sugar trust
Environment
Put more land into conservation than TR

21. Wilson – “New Freedom” Consumers Labor Big Business Civil Liberties
Federal Reserve Bank
Federal Trade Commission
Labor
Federal Farm Loan Board
Clayton Anti-Trust Act
Adamson Act – 8-Hour workday for RR workers
Big Business
Underwood Simmons Act (lowering tariffs to stop monopolies)
Civil Liberties
War Industries Board
Committee on Public Information
Espionage & Sedition Acts

22. Evaluation of Progressives
Weaknesses of Reform
Material progress of Americans weakened zeal of reformers
Myriad of Progressive goals were often confusing and contradictory
Opposition to Progressivism apparent as initiatives failed and courts struck down legislation
Government remained mainly under the influence of business and industry
WWI – use of government to create a just society lessens
Accomplishments
Trust-busting forced industrialists to notice public opinion
Legislation gave federal and state government the tools to protect consumers
Income tax helped build government revenues and redistribute wealth
Challenged traditional institutions and approaches to domestic problems
Evaluation of Progressives

23. Those not helped Immigration restriction or literacy tests
Little was done to help migrant farmers or renter farmers or nonunion workers
Immigration restriction or literacy tests
Imperialism policies to “civilize” underdeveloped nations
African Americans and Jim Crow segregation situations
Support of women’s suffrage