1. US History Chapter 6 Section 1
The Progressives
“Progressivism”

2. Main Idea
Progressives focused on three areas of reform- easing the suffering of the urban poor, improving unfair and dangerous working conditions, and reforming government at the city, state, and national level

3. Reading Focus
What issues did the Progressives focus on and what helped energize their cause?
How did Progressives try to reform society?
How did Progressives fight to reform the workplace?
How did Progressives reform government at the national, state, and local levels?

5. “Progressivism”
Increased immigration, poor living conditions and sanitation, as well as poor working conditions caused alarm for many people and a “Wanted change”
Late 1800s Reform Movement- Progressivism
* Improve living conditions
* questioned power of big businesses
* called for government to be more honest / responsive to people’s needs
Reform minded writers or journalists who exposed business and political corruption as well as other social ills were called- “Muckrakers”
Ida Tarbell Lincoln Steffens
-Corrupt practices Corruption of
of Standard Oil city governments
Company “The Shame of the Cities”

6. Reforming Society
½ of Americans lived in the cities = “Overcrowding”
Lack of: Garbage collection
Safe Housing
Police / Fire Protection
Tenement act of 1901 (NYC)- forced building landlords to install better building lighting and additional plumbing
Led to other cities
pushing for legislation
Civil Rights Reform National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) formed by Jane Adams, Ida Wells-Barnett, and W.E.B. Dubois “Protested several issues including D.W.Griffith’s film
“Birth of a Nation”
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) 1913–(Sigmund Livingston): Anti-Semitism
15 years later the NYC death rate dropped

7. Reforming the Workplace
Reformers were actively seeking to improve working conditions for women and children-
* Child Labor Laws
Florence * Number of hours worked
Kelly * Increased wages
Courts and Labor Laws-
Throughout Progressive era, many cases were brought before the lower and US Supreme Courts
* Lochner vs. New York- court refused to initiate a ten hour work day
* Muller vs Oregon- court upheld state law establishing 10 hour work day for women in factories and laundries
* Bunting v. Oregon- court upheld law extending 10 hour work days to men working in factories or mills
“Used Muller vs. Oregon as a defense”
By % of working class families lived in poverty

8. Primary Source
Women and Children Working
in a Food-processing Plant
WHAT DID YOU LEARN?
1. There is no footwear; the children are
barefoot. This would have put them at
higher risk for cutting their feet if they
dropped their knives. It might also have
put them at risk of disease from stepping
in the piles of garbage visible in the photo.
2. Children are allowed to work barefoot;
workers have to sit on baskets or crates;
piles of garbage are on the ground; the
working conditions are crowded; and no
one seems to be wearing protective gloves.
3. They probably had to forego school in
order to work.

10. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
March 25, 1911 NYC: Fire that burned for 18 minutes but killed 145 people
“Remembered as one of the most famous incidents in American Industrial History”
-600 Workers – Mostly women ages 15-23
-Fire began in a rag bin on the 8th floor
-Only one elevator worked and it made four trips (held 12 people) before breaking
- Three exit doors with two opening inward
- One door ended up being locked to prevent theft of material
- Workers above the fire climbed to roof and jumped to other buildings (including manager)
- Many jumped to their death
49 workers burned or suffocated
36 dead in elevator shaft
58 dead from jumping from building
2 died later at hospital
Despite all evidence against owners (Max Blanck and Isaac Harris), Grand Jury failed to indict them
Union Organizer Rose Schneiderman pressed to ensure tougher fire safety laws were enacted
Turning point for reform

12. Unions
During Progressive Era- some new labor unions joined the fight for better working conditions
International Ladies Garment Workers (ILGWU)- organized unskilled workers and called for a general strike known as the “Uprising of the 20,000” in order to get shorter work weeks and better wages
1905- Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)- opposed capitalism / organized unskilled workers who engaged in strikes, boycotts, and sometimes sabotage

13. By 1918- 500 US Cities used this technique
Reforming Government
Progressives targeted government for reform with the goal of eliminating political corruption to improve government efficiency
City Reform
Required getting right people in office (Honest ones)
* 1905 Galveston Hurricane showed just how ineffective the city government was with dealing with recovery efforts
-TX legislature appointed 5 member commission to govern city
By US Cities used this technique

14. State Government Reforms
Wisconsin Governor-Robert LaFolette pushed through agenda reforms called the “Wisconsin Idea”
> Election reform- limits on campaign spending
> Creation of state commission to regulate railroads, utilities, transportation,
Civil Service, and Taxation
Governors in other states began pushing for other similar state reforms
Election Reforms: Progressives pushed for a primary election prior to general election so they could choose better candidates
Progressives also backed the 17th Amendment- gives people the power to directly elect US Senators
Secret Ballot- Candidates names are written on ballot and vote is in secret
(By Most states did this)
3 Election Changes:
Initiative- voters could put proposal law on ballot for public approval
Referendum- citizens can place recent passed law on ballot allowing voters to accept or reject law
Recall- Allows citizens to remove people from power by calling for special election