1. A Generation of Reformers

2. Progressive Ideals Progressives, like the populists, feared the concentration of power in the hands of the wealthy few Reform the practices that allowed corporate trusts to buy political influence through bribes and campaign contributions

3. Progressive Ideals Progressives, unlike the populists, lived in cities Witnessed chaos created by:  Housing shortages  Political corruption  Spiraling crime rates Progressives, unlike the populists, looked to knowledgeable experts and even the efficient problem-solving methods of business owners

4. Question… How did the progressives differ from the populists?

5. Progressive Analysts Most progressives believed that a well-run government could protect the public interest and restore order to society Differed widely in their beliefs, goals, and actions College enrollments, which increased tenfold between 1870 and 1920, helped produce the middle class intellectuals who made up the progressives Many students studied economics, political science, and sociology with the same objectivity as they studied nature

6. Progressive Analysts Lester Ward Leading sociologist  Challenged the belief that it was natural for the strong to prosper while the weak suffered  What was natural—people to control and change their social environment for their own benefit  Shaping society’s destiny was the job of the government

7. Progressive Analysts The Muckrakers Crusading journalists who wrote investigative articles to awaken people to the growing social, economic, and political evils  Ida Tarbell  Upton Sinclair

8. Progressive Analysts Social Gospel Movement Argued that environmental conditions (poverty) and not individual depravity, caused social problems Believed that every Christian should strive to better economic and political conditions  Walter Rauschenbusch

9. Progressive Analysts How did progressive analysts challenge the ideas of Social Darwinism, which was popular among business leaders?

10. Progressive Activists Some progressives identified and publicized the social problems, others focused on how to resolve the issues personally Florence Kelley—secretary general of the National Consumer’s League Battled against child labor and pressured the federal government to institute laws to outlaw the practice Organized consumer boycotts of goods manufactured by children or by workers in unsafe conditions Supported settlement houses that provided educational and social services to the poor

11. Progressive Activists Jane Addams Hull House  Fixed up a run-down house in Chicago  Taught immigrants how to speak English, discuss politics and hold celebrations  Opened a day nursery for the children  400 settlement houses established between 1886 and 1910  Did you know?—Jane Addams’s only paid job was as a garbage inspector in Chicago’s filth-ridden 19th ward. She took on the task as part of an effort to clean up the trash in the Hull House are, where she pent her life and inheritance fighting corruption and helping the poor.

12. Progressive Activists Women reformers still experienced resistance from male members of the progressive movement Many of the men opposed granting women the right to vote

13. Progressive Activists Ida B. Wells African American reformer who battled problems that affected African Americans  High unemployment  Inadequate housing  Lynching National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) 1909 and the National Urban League 1910 Triggered by racial oppression

14. Progressive Activists What aspects of American society were criticized by progressive activists?

15. The Progressive Agenda 1. What are the main elements of progressive reform at the state and local levels? 2. Identify the conflicting motives underlying progressive reforms. 3. Explain how progressives viewed the role of government, and how they worked to eliminate political corruption. 4. List reforms designed to help all workers, particularly women and children.