1. CHAPTER 21 THE PROGRESSIVE ERA AND GILDED AGE 1868-1920

2. THE GILDED AGE
The phrase, The Gilded Age, highlights the inequality between wealthy business owners and workers who labored under terrible conditions
Politics during this age were corrupt (guilty of dishonest practices)
City and county politics were influenced by political machines (powerful organizations that used both legal and illegal methods to get their candidates elected to public office)

3. TAMMANY HALL New York City’s corrupt political machine
After winning city elections in 1888, Tammany Hall rewarded its supporters with over 12,000 jobs
William Marcy Tweed (“Boss Tweed”) stole up $200 million from NYC
Spoils system = practice of giving jobs to your political supporters
The spoils system helped many untrained and unqualified workers get government jobs

4. CONFRONTING CORRUPTION
Politicians in Washington, D.C. fought corruption
They passed a law that established a new system for granting federal jobs
One law was the Pendleton Civil Service Act of required applicants to pass an exam in order to be hired

5. MUCKRAKERS
This was the nickname for journalists because they “raked up” and exposed the muck, or filth, of society
They united the Progressive Movement because their writings brought many social and economic issues to the public eye
They helped fight crime, disease, and poverty
Progressive = making reforms (changes) that improve conditions

6. PROGRESSIVE REFORMS
City planners helped the urban poor by designing safer building codes and opening new public parks
John Dewey’s educational reforms wanted to give children critical thinking and problem-solving skills that would help them in everyday settings
Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) – banned the sale and transport of mislabeled or contaminated food and drugs

7. VOTING REFORMS
Seventeenth Amendment – Americans can vote directly for U.S. senators instead of having state legislatures vote for them
Referendum – some states allowed voters to overrule a law that the government had proposed or passed
Recall –allowed voters to sign a petition in order to remove a corrupt politician before his term ended
Initiative – allowed voters to propose a new law by collection signatures on a petition

8. CHILD LABOR
Federal courts banned interstate shipments of products made with child labor
Child labor continued even after reforms of the 1910s because poor families needed the income
Workplace laws passed as a result of the Progressive movement eased reformers’ minds but were not always enforced

9. TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FIRE
New York City, March 25, 1911
A fire started on the eighth floor of the factory
Workers tried to escape, but factory owners had locked exit doors to reduce theft so146 workers died
Effect – this event led to the passage of laws improving factory safety standards
Reformers also fought for workers’ compensation laws which guaranteed a portion of lost wages to workers injured on the job

10. CAPITALISM AND SOCIALISM
Capitalism = an economic system in which private businesses run most industries and competition determines the price of goods
Socialism = system in which the government owns and operates a country’s means of production
Major difference - under socialism, the government owns the factories and raw materials
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) – socialist labor union that wanted to overthrow capitalism in the U.S.; it failed

11. MULLER V. OREGON
Supreme Court decided that it could uphold a law limiting women’s working hours
Supreme Court decided that women’s health was a matter of public concern

12. TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT
Reformers blamed many of society’s problems, such as family violence and criminal behavior, on alcohol
Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) – their task was to pass local and state laws restricting the sale of alcohol
Eighteenth Amendment (1919) – banned the production, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages throughout the U.S.

13. WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE Suffrage = the right to vote
Business leaders were opposed to granting women t he right to vote because they feared women would support minimum wage and child labor laws
In 1890, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony founded the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)
Nineteenth Amendment (1919) – granted American women the right to vote in federal elections

14. AFRICAN AMERICANS
Booker T. Washington – encouraged African Americans to fight discrimination by improving their economic and educational opportunities
W.E.B. Du Bois – believed African Americans should protest unjust treatment and demand equal rights
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) – called for economic and educational equality for blacks
NAACP used the court system to fight against grandfather clauses

15. OTHER MINORITY GROUPS
Native Americans felt torn about accepting aid from the Progressive movement because they did not want to adopt white culture
The main reason for the rise in Mexican immigration between 1901 and 1930 is that Mexicans could cross the U.S. birder easily
Chinese immigrants created community associations that provided services

16. THEODORE ROOSEVELT Became the 26th President in 1901
Square Deal – his idea for balancing the interests of consumers, laborers, and businesspeople
He helped the conservation movement (protecting nature and its resources) by doubling the number of national parks and creating wildlife reservations

17. WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT Became the 27th President in 1909
His reforms angered Progressives because he moved cautiously against big business
Progressives wanted Taft to be stricter with big business
Taft criticized Roosevelt by stating that Roosevelt claimed more power for his presidency than the Constitution allowed
He lost the support of the Progressives because he failed to reduce all tariffs (tax on imported goods) and lower prices for consumers

18. WOODROW WILSON Became the 28th President in 1913
He made banking reforms and revised tariffs
Underwood Tariff Act of 1913 – lowered tariffs
Federal Reserve Act of 1913 – created the Federal Reserve to regulate the economy