Progressives

Progressive Reform Movement Middle Class Movement Wanted to attack:  Monopoly  Corruption in both business and government  Inefficiency in both business and government  Social Justice The progressives sought two political goals.  A. To use state powers to curb trusts  B. Stem the Socialist threat by generally improving the common persons condition of life and labor.  Socialists in Europe were swelling in numbers and socialist reforms were taking place around the world.  Messengers of the social gospel encouraged reform  Feminists also added suffrage as a reform 6. Progressives could be found in both political parties and in all regions and at all levels of government.

Writers and the Progressive Movement Writers begin to stir up the pot. This is typical of writers, they tend to lead out in the movement for social change MUCKRAKERS was the name given them by Roosevelt from Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. The muckrakers will help to break trusts by exposing the evils of big business and by making the public aware of social problems.  Henry Demarest Lloyd attacks the Standard Oil Trust in “Wealth against the Commonwealth,” attacks bloated trusts.  Thorsten Veblen attacked the rich in “The Theory of the Leisure Class” attacks their wealth their conspicuous consumption and their waste.  Jacob Riis a reporter and a photo journalist who exposes the problems faced by the immigrant in “How the Other Half Lives”  Theodore Dreiser- made his attack in “The Financer” and The Titan. Sickened by the book  The Jungle by Upton Sinclair -- Roosevelt encouraged the Meat inspection act of 1906 & The Pure Food and Drug Act

Popular Magazines involved in muckraking Big business and big city politics - McClure’s Lincoln Steffens, “The Shame of the Cities” Ida Tarbell exposes the Standard Oil Trust Cosmopolitan – David G. Phillips “The Treason of the Senate: exposes the loyalties of the senators to the trusts and the railroads. Collier’s – Everybody’s – these magazines went to great length to check their material – these magazines attack the beef trusts, the money trusts, railroads, child labor, patent medicines

Progressive Political Reform Increasing Democracy  Referendum  Recall  Initiative  Australian Ballot to counteract boss rule  Direct Election of Senators 17 th Amendment 1913  Women’s suffrage 19 th Amendment 1920  18 th Amendment prohibition

Progressivism in the Cities and States Led by Robert la Follette  Senator from Wisconsin  One of the militant of the Republican Progressives  Gained control of some of the trusts in the state like lumber and railroads he also perfected a scheme for regulating public facilities City Managers  to remove politics from municipal administration Hiram Johnson was significant in California Charles Evans Hughes Governor of New York  Investigates malpractice by gas and insurance companies and the coal trust

The states will tackle all sorts of social evils  Safety and sanitation codes for industry  Closed some harmful trades to juveniles  Workman’s comp laws  Hour and wage laws  The Triangle Shirtwaist Co. fire (146 women killed) causes N.Y. to pass laws regulating hours and conditions.  Strong movements in the states toward prohibition pushed by groups like the WCTU At the city level the highest priority was to make efficient government work for the people.

TR’s Square Deal- Control of Corp, Consumer Protection and Conservation 1902 Penn. Coal Strike  140,000 strikers in terrible conditions  Demand 20 cent increase and 9 hour day  Owners reject pleas and close mines  Strike begins to hurt more than just the miners and owners  TR demands arbitration when then miners refuse he threatens to call in the troops to run the mines.  Federal Gov. had never been used against capitol instead of labor so the miners agree on arbitration.

To deal with the railroads Interstate Commerce Act was passed in 1887 Elkins Act enabling the ICC to punish shippers as well as railroads engaged in rebating Hepburn Act empowered in ICC to set maximum railroad rates

Roosevelt and Trusts Determined that there were good and bad trusts Attacked the Northern Securities Co. a railroad holding co. headed by J.P. Morgan and James J. Hill and controlled much of the transcontinental RR traffic. Beef trust illegal Supreme Court upheld Roosevelt’s suit and ordered the Co. dissolved Attacked 44 trusts but not as big a trust buster as Taft.

Roosevelt and Conservation The first Desert land act passed in 1877 land sold cheaply if farmer irrigates the land with in 3 years. Forest Reserve Act set aside public forests as National Parks 1891 Gifford Pinchot conservationist headed division of forestry New Lands Act of 1902 passed money collected from sale of western lands and us it for irrigation projects. Put in reserve 125 million acres of forest lands and banned Christmas trees from the white house.

Panic of 1907 Aldrich-Vreeland Act in 1908 authorized banks to issue emergency currency backed by various collateral

Election of 1908 Roosevelt promised not to run in 1908 in campaign of 04 Taft was Roosevelt’s hand selected candidate William J. Bryan – Demo Eugene Debs -- Socialist William H. Taft – Republican Roosevelt’s legacy,  conservation  shaped the progressive movement  greatly enlarged the power and prestige of the presidency.

Taft’s Presidency Weak and not able to handle both sides of the party Dollar Diplomacy – using foreign policy to protect wall street and using Wall Street to uphold foreign policy Taft attempts to lower the tariff causes a split of the Republican Party, Payne – Aldrich Tariff does not lower the tariff like it was supposed to do because of amendments but Taft calls it a great bill and signs it. Progressives feel betrayed. Angers Roosevelt when Taft fires Pinchot after Pinchot tried to stop Sec. of the Interior Ballenger’s attempt to give public lands over to developers. Taft seen as discarding Roosevelt’s plan so Roosevelt runs in 1912.