1. What is Progressivism? Who is one?
The Progressive Era
What is Progressivism? Who is one?
Progressivism = the belief that America needed to start solving societal problems that were effecting peoples lives.
Progressives could be anyone, but usually educated and middle-class.
Their Goal = fix government so it can fix society!

2. The Muckrakers Who were they? What role did they play in the 1900s?
Muckrakers = journalists, politicians, social workers, anyone digging up dirt on corruption and how it was effecting society.

3. Wednesday’s Activity:
In your groups:
Read your story
Select someone to write your answers
Be ready to present to the class the following:
Who wrote your story
What is the main issue (2 quotes)
How do we fix it

4. Who do the Progressives want to
Gilded Era Issue #1:
Author: Party Boss George Plunkitt
Issue: Corruption in Government
Who do the Progressives want to
fix the problem?
Government
Reform: See the next few slides

5. How Government use to be run
William “Boss” Tweed
How Government use to be run 
“As long as I count the Votes, what are you going to do about it?”

6. Reforms to fix: Corruption in Government
What is an initiative?
What is a referendum?
What is a recall?
How do we directly elect senators?
Citizens introduce legislation  Congress votes
Congress introduces legislation on a ballot  the Citizens vote
Special election held to remove an elected official
17th Amendment
Idea is:
let people vote
more
gives
people
more say

7. Who do the Progressives want to
Gilded Era Issue #2:
Author: Susan B Anthony
Issue: Women’s Suffrage (suffrage = vote)
Women had not rights, couldn’t vote, couldn’t own property.
Who do the Progressives want to
fix the problem?
Government
Reform: Susan B Anthony would die before she ever got her dream to see women have the right to vote. All states did not ratify (pass) the 19th Amendment until 1920

9. Who do the Progressives want to
Gilded Era Issue #3: m
Author: Upton Sinclair (journalist)
Issue: Meat Packing Industry was selling
us bad meat
Who do the Progressives want to
fix the problem?
Government
Reforms: Meat Inspection Act: food industry is now monitored
Pure Food & Drug Act = products have to be labeled with all of the ingredients

10. 1.) What did the 19th Amendment do?
2.) Upton Sinclair is an example of what
vocabulary word?
3.) What law protected companies for
grinding up pig guts and labeling
“prime beef”?

11. Gilded Era Issue #4: Author: John Spargo
-Spargo’s Book “The Bitter Cry of the Children” = about “Breaker Boys”, coal mining children, crippled by harsh working conditions.
Issue: Poor/Unsafe Working Conditions
Reform: Child Labor Laws
- minimum age to work
- maximum hours
- education laws

12. NIPPER
SPRAGGERS

13. Gilded Era Issue #5: Author: Jacob Riis
Issue: In his book “How the Other ½ Lives”, he exposed the horrible living conditions in tenement buildings.
Reforms: Cities passes numerous Building Codes dictating how buildings should be built (must have windows, running water, etc.) and Zoning Laws.

14. End of Slide Show