America Seeks Reforms in the Early 20th Century The Progressive Era America Seeks Reforms in the Early 20th Century

Origins of Progressivism As America entered the 20th century, reformers addressed the problems of industrialization: Economic inequities Environmental issues Social welfare Working conditions Rights for women and children

Goals of Progressive Movement Have a government controlled by the people Guarantee economic opportunity through government regulation Eliminate social injustices

Promote Moral Development Some reformers felt that the answer to society’s problems was personal behavior. They proposed such reforms as prohibition. Groups wishing to ban alcohol included the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)

Labor Unions and Laissez Faire Laissez-faire economics refers to a capitalist economy in which the government is “hands off” and does not interfere This led to many problems in the IR because the government did not regulate or monitor businesses As a result, Socialism (an economy where the government regulates businesses and distribution of wealth) was advocated by many labor union leaders, like Eugene Debs Debs will actually create the American Socialist Party in 1901

Labor Unions Along with creating the ASP, Eugene Debs formed the American Railway Unit to help railroad workers Samuel Gompers created the American Federation of Labor – significant because it allowed ANYONE to be a member A third popular labor union, the Knights of Labor, became the largest labor union in the country and often resorted to acts of violence to get its demands

Muckrakers Criticize Big Business Though most Progressives did not embrace socialism, many writers saw the truth in certain criticisms Investigative journalists, known as “Muckrakers,” exposed corruption in business. Muckrakers famously uncovered Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company’s cut-throat methods of eliminating competition. This type of journalism also uncovered the horrors of child labor

Changes in Government – Direct Election Of Senators Before 1913, each state’s legislature had chosen U.S. senators. To force senators to be more responsive to the public, Progressives pushed for the popular election of senators. As a result, Congress passed the 17th Amendment in 1913.

Suffrage for Women Seneca Falls – 1948 First official national convention to discuss women’s suffrage Led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, the movement continued well after the Civil War Continued protests and conventions will lead to the 19th amendment in 1920 – officially grants women the right to vote

Theodore Roosevelt Becomes President 1901 – President William McKinley is assassinated and Teddy Roosevelt becomes president Roosevelt immediately stepped in to try and change the government’s responsibilities to the people in regards to protection of workers and consumers

Roosevelt’s Square Deal Roosevelt came up with a program based on three different principles: Conservation of Natural Resources – protect the environment Control of Corporations – break up monopolies Consumer Protection – improve working conditions These are often referred to as the 3 C’s of the Square Deal

Anti-Trust Laws Trust – a large business with significant market power, often refers to monopolies or near monopolies Roosevelt was determined to limit the power of trusts Sherman Anti-Trust Act – Prevents any business structure that restrains trade or business In other words, it makes monopolies illegal Clayton Anti-Trust Act – Outlawed price fixing and expanded the Sherman Anti-Trust Act

“The Jungle” Leads to Food Regulation After reading The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, Roosevelt pushed for passage of the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. The act mandated cleaner conditions for meatpacking plants.

“The meat would be shoveled into carts, and the man who did the shoveling would not trouble to lift out a rat even when he saw one—there were things that went into the sausage in comparison with which a poisoned rat was a tidbit. There was no place for the men to wash their hands before they ate their dinner, and so they made a practice of washing them in the water that was to be ladled into the sausage. There were the butt-ends of smoked meat, and the scraps of corned beef, and all the odds and ends of the waste of the plants, that would be dumped into old barrels in the cellar and left there. Under the system of rigid economy which the packers enforced, there were some jobs that it only paid to do once in a long time, and among these was the cleaning out of the waste barrels. Every spring they did it; and in the barrels would be dirt and rust and old nails and stale water—and cartload after cartload of it would be taken up and dumped into the hoppers with fresh meat, and sent out to the public’s breakfast.” – The Jungle

Roosevelt and the Environment Before Roosevelt’s presidency, the federal government paid very little attention to the nation’s natural resources. Roosevelt made conservation a primary concern of his administration. Film clip of Theodore Roosevelt

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming