 Background
The
Progressive Movement
(1901-1917) was initiated as a response to political and
corporate abuses at the turn of the Twentieth Century.
Religious groups, members of the press, and radical political
groups all cried out for reform, with solutions ranging from
subtle reforms of the American capitalist economy, to a call for
the creation of a socialist government.
Reforms were initiated by individuals, and at the city, state,
and national levels of government. President Theodore
Roosevelt supported the movement by embracing environmental
conservation, forcing arbitration in the Anthracite Coal Strike,
and busting monopolies that were harmful to the public.
A number of social
reformers also worked to reform what they viewed as the ills
negatively impacting United States society:
|
Social Reformers |
Jane
Addams |
Pioneer in the field
of social work who founded the settlement house movement
through the establishment of Hull House in Chicago,
Illinois. |
Margaret
Sanger |
Educated urban poor
about the benefits of family planning through birth
control. She founded the organization that became
Planned Parenthood. |
Booker T.
Washinton |
Former slave who
founded the Tuskegee Institute that focused on
teaching African-Americans trade skills to earn a living
and gain the trust of white society. |
W.E.B.
DuBois |
Founder of the
NAACP, and a Harvard-educated professor who focused on
the need for a traditional liberal arts education for
African-Americans who could then insist upon equal
treatment and rights from white society. |
Muckrakers
Muckrakers were members
of the press that investigated corruption in order to expose
problems to the American people. They had a great amount of
influence, often resulting in the passage of laws designed to
reform the abuse that they reported.
These muckrakers recalled
the efforts of early reformers who exposed corruption in print.
Thomas Nast
worked diligently to expose the abuses of the NYC
political machine called Tammany Hall and its leader
Boss Tweed through the use of political cartoons. Jacob Riis
exposed the plight of the urban poor and substandard housing in
his 1890 book
How the Other Half Lives.
|
Muckraker |
Work |
Subject |
Results |
|
Thomas Nast |
Political
Cartoons |
Political corruption
by NYC's political machine, Tammany Hall, led by Boss
Tweed. |
Tweed was convicted of
embezzlement and died in prison. |
|
Jacob Riis |
How the Other Half Lives
(1890) |
Living conditions of
the urban poor; focused on tenements. |
NYC passed building
codes to promote safety and health. |
|
Ida B. Wells |
A Red Record
(1895) |
Provided statistics on
the lynching of African-Americans. |
NAACP joined the fight
for Federal anti-lynching legislation. |
|
Frank Norris |
The Octopus
(1901) |
This fictional book
exposed monopolistic railroad practices in California. |
In Northern
Securities v. U.S. (1904), the holding company
controlling railroads in the Northwest was broken up. |
|
Ida Tarbell |
"History
of Standard Oil Company" in McClure's
Magazine
(1904) |
Exposed the ruthless
tactics of the Standard Oil Company through a series of
articles published in McClure's Magazine. |
In Standard Oil v.
U.S. (1911), the company was declared a monopoly and
broken up. |
|
Lincoln Steffans |
The Shame of the
Cities
(1904) |
Examined political
corruption in cities across the United States. |
Cities began to use
city commissions and city managers. |
|
Upton Sinclair |
The Jungle
(1906) |
Investigated dangerous
working conditions and unsanitary procedures in the
meat-packing industry. |
In 1906 the Meat
Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act were passed. |
City Reforms
Progressive reform began at the local or city level because it
was easier to implement than at the vast state or national
level. Urban corruption from political machines was a major
focus, resulting in the reorganization of local government using
the commissioner-and city-manager-styles of management.
|
City Reforms |
City
Commissioner Plan |
Cities hired experts
in different fields to run a single aspect of city
government. For example, the sanitation commissioner would
be in charge of garbage and sewage removal. |
City Manager
Plan |
A professional city
manager is hired to run each department of the city and
report directly to the city council. |
State
Reforms
Reform governors such as Theodore Roosevelt of New York,
Robert M. LaFollete of Wisconsin, and Woodrow Wilson
of New Jersey, all helped get reforms passed in their respective
states. In addition, reforms first proposed by the Populist
Party were enacted in order to make state governments more
responsive to the needs of the people.
|
State Reforms |
|
Secret Ballot |
Privacy at the ballot
box ensures that citizens can cast votes without party
bosses knowing how they voted. |
|
Initiative |
Allows voters to
petition state legislatures in order to consider a bill
desired by citizens. |
|
Referendum |
Allows voters to
decide if a bill or proposed amendment should be passed. |
|
Recall |
Allows voters to
petition to have an elected representative removed from
office. |
Direct
Primary |
Ensures that voters
select candidates to run for office, rather than party
bosses. |
Federal Reforms
During the Progressive Era, the Federal Government passed an
enormous amount of legislation designed to conserve the
environment, tighten past economic regulations, preserve the
health and safety of American citizens, and generally provide
needed capitalist reforms.
|
Progressive Era Federal Legislation |
Newlands
Reclamation Act
(1902) |
Encouraged
conservation by allowing the building of dams and
irrigations systems using money from the sale of public
lands. |
Elkins Act
(1903) |
Outlawed the use of
rebates by railroad officials or shippers. |
Pure Food and
Drug Act
(1906/1911) |
Required that
companies accurately label the ingredients contained in
processed food items. |
Meat
Inspection Act
(1906) |
In direct response to
Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, this law required that
meat processing plants be inspected to ensure the use of
good meat and health-minded procedures. |
Hepburn Act
(1906) |
Strengthened the
Interstate Commerce Commission, allowing it to set maximum
railroad rates. |
Federal
Reserve Act
(1913) |
Created 12 district
Federal Reserve Banks, each able to issue new currency and
loan member banks funds at the prime interest rate, as
established by the Federal Reserve Board. |
Clayton
Antitrust Act
(1914) |
Strengthened the
Sherman Antitrust Act by outlawing the creation of a
monopoly through any means, and stated that unions were
not subject to antitrust legislation. |
Federal Trade
Act
(1914) |
Established the
Federal Trade Commission, charged with investigating
unfair business practices including monopolistic activity
and inaccurate product labeling. |
New
Amendments
To provide a stable base of income for the Federal Government
while providing graduated taxation, the 16th Amendment
was passed. Political machines were weakened by the passage of
the 17th Amendment which allowed state citizens to
directly elect representatives to the U.S. Senate, instead of
allowing party-controlled state legislatures to do so. In
addition, the
Temperance Movement and the
Women's Suffrage Movement finally paid off with the
passage of the 17th Amendment and the 18th Amendment.
|
Progressive Era Amendments |
|
16th
(1913) |
Granted Congress the
power to tax income. |
|
17th
(1913) |
Provided for the
direct election of U.S. Senators. |
|
18th
(1919) |
Prohibited making,
selling, or transporting alcohol. |
|
19th
(1920) |
Provided women
suffrage (voting). |
|
