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Presidents of the Progressive Era

• William McKinley

• Theodore Roosevelt

• William Taft

• Woodrow WilsonOwlTeacher.com

How do you measure Progress in your life?

• How does a society or nation measure its progress?

• In what ways could our country make progress today?

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• Historians call the period Historians call the period from about 1890–1920 the from about 1890–1920 the Progressive Era.Progressive Era.

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Why did the Progressive Why did the Progressive Era Occur?Era Occur?

• Industrialization, Urbanization, and immigration brought many benefits to America….BUT

• The rapid growth also caused poverty, unemployment, horrible working conditions and political corruption.

• Many Progressives believed that political action and reform, not private charities, were the methods to bring about progress in society.

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A Monday Afternoon A Monday Afternoon Washing, 107Washing, 107thth Street, Street,

19001900

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Family in Attic Home, Family in Attic Home, Drying Their Laundry, ca. Drying Their Laundry, ca.

1900-19101900-1910

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Video: America in the 20th Century: Early Voices of

Reform

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The Progressives: Their Goals and Beliefs

Progressives were not a single unified movement. They fell into four categories: •Social•Moral•Economic•Political

Common Beliefs of Progressives

1.The Government should be more accountable to its citizens. 2.Government should curb the power and influence of wealthy interests

3.Government should be given expanded powers so that it could become more active in improving the lives of its citizen.

4.Governments should become more efficient and less corrupt so that they could competently handle an expanded role.

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Igniting Reform: Writers, Journalists and Muckrakers

• The ideas of many writers and The ideas of many writers and journalists influenced public opinion journalists influenced public opinion about how to reform society.about how to reform society.

• Journalists investigated and Journalists investigated and publicized conditions in certain publicized conditions in certain industries, slums, tenement houses, industries, slums, tenement houses, and sweat shops.and sweat shops.

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MuckrakersMuckrakers

Theodore Roosevelt called the Theodore Roosevelt called the journalists “journalists “muckrakersmuckrakers.” .” Roosevelt was concerned that Roosevelt was concerned that exposing poverty and exposing poverty and corruption could lead to corruption could lead to rebellion. rebellion. •

Lincoln Steffens

• Published stories about political corruption

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Jacob Riis

• Photographed pictures of urban slums

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Frank Norris and Upton Sinclair

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Video: The Jungle: A View of Industrial America

Questions from the Video:

1.What role did journalists play in the Progressive Era?

1.Which Progressive reforms do you think had the greatest effects on society?

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An Expanded Role for Government

• Progressives sought more social welfare programs to help ensure a minimum standard of living.

• Many of the earliest Progressive reforms were made at the municipal, or city, level.

• Some municipal reformers worked for home rule, a system that gives cities a limited degree of self-rule.

• Municipal reformers opposed the influence of political bosses.• Reformers made efforts to take over city utilities such as

water, gas, and electricity.• Some reform mayors led movements for city-supported

welfare services such as public baths, parks, work-relief programs, playgrounds, kindergartens, and lodging houses for the homeless (settlement house).

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Video: American in the 20th Century: Progressive Programs

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Theodore Roosevelt

• War hero, seasoned politician, and dedication reformers became president in 1901.

• He quickly pushed Congress to approve the Square Deal, a program of reform aimed at stopping the wealthy and powerful from dominating small business owners and the poor.

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Roosevelt's Square Deal

• Hepburn Act-limited what railroads could charge for shopping. This helped farmers in the West who had been at the mercy of the railroads.

• Meat Inspection Act-gave the government the power to inspect meat and meat-processing plants to ensure the meat was safe to eat.

• Pure Food and Drug Act-banned interstate shipment of impure food and the mislabeling of food and drugs.

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Roosevelt's Square Deal

• National Reclamation Act- gave the government the power to build and manage dams and to control where and how water was used.

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Video: American in the 20th Century: Progressivism at the

National level

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Think About:

• How did the reformers of recall and initiative help fight political corruption?

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Taft vs. Roosevelt

• After two terms in office Roosevelt wanted William Howard Taft to follow him because Taft shared his belief in regulating business and Roosevelt became disappointed and, later, angry.

• He began to speak out against Taft, promoting what he called New Nationalism.

• As another election neared, the Taft-Roosevelt battle split the Republican Party. A group of Progressives created the Progressive Party and nominated Roosevelt as its candidate for President

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Taft’s PresidencyTaft’s Presidency• Taft was endorsed by

Roosevelt and pledged to carry on the progressive program.

• However, he did not even appoint any Progressives to his Cabinet.

• He campaigned on a platform to lower tariffs (taxes), but ended up signing a bill that added some highly protective tariff increases.

The Presidents: William Taft

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The Election of 1912The Election of 1912

A Four-Way Election

Fought to keep the Presidency for the Republican Party

William Howard Taft

Represented the Progressive Bull Moose Party

Theodore Roosevelt

Made his third of five presidential runs for the Socialist Party

Eugene V. Debs

Headed the Democratic ticket; with the Republican Party split between Taft and Roosevelt, Wilson won the election.

Woodrow Wilson

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Women Make Progress!

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Florence Kelley

• Believed that unfair prices for household goods hurt women and their families, so she helped found the Nationalism Consumers League (NCL).

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Temperance-Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)

• Women tried to reduce the consumption of alcohol.

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Margaret Sanger

• Sought a different change. She thought that family life and women’s health would improve if mothers had fewer children. Opened the nations first birth control clinic.

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Ida B. Wells

• Established the National Association of Colored Women, which helped African Americans families by providing childcare and education.

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National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA)

• Formed by Carrie Chapman Catt, the group lobbied Congress for the right to vote and used the referendum process to try and get women the vote in individual states.

• By 1918, this strategy had helped women get the vote in several states.

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National Women’s Party (NWP)

• Staged protest marches and hunger strikes and even picketed the White House to demand the right to vote.

• When the United States Entered World War I in 1917, the NAWSA supported the war effort.

• Its actions and those of the NWP convinced a growing number of legislators to support a woman suffrage amendment.

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Women gain the right to vote!

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African Americans and Civil Rights

• Like most other progressives- Roosevelt failed to support the civil rights of African-Americans, although, he did support of few individual African-Americans.

• Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington to the White House as a symbolic gesture.

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Segregation

• Many Progressives shared the same prejudices against non-whites and other Americans.

• They also supported segregation, or separation of the races, and laws to limit minority voting.

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Supreme Court Cases: Plessy vs. Furgeson

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Booker T. Washington

• -Washington was respected by powerful whites, but faced opposition from other African-Americans such as W.E.B. Du Bois, for his accommodation of segregationists and for blaming black poverty on blacks and urging them to accept discrimination.

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W.E.B. Du Bois

• Believed that blacks should demand immediately all the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

• Du Bois was part of the Niagara Movement, a group that called for rapid progress and more education for blacks.

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NAACP-National Association for the Advancement of Colored

Peopled.

• Planned to use the court system to fight for civil rights of African Americans, including the right to vote.

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The Presidents: Woodrow Wilson

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Wilson’s Policies as Wilson’s Policies as PresidentPresident

• Wilson was reformer who thought government she play an active role in the economy.

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Wilson’s Policies and Wilson’s Policies and President President

1-Wilson tried to prevent 1-Wilson tried to prevent manufactures from charged manufactures from charged unfairly high prices. He cut tariffs unfairly high prices. He cut tariffs on imported goods, which made on imported goods, which made foreign goods more competitive in foreign goods more competitive in the United States and forced U.S. the United States and forced U.S. producers to charge fair prices. producers to charge fair prices.

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Wilson’s Policies as President

•He also pushed for the creation of an income tax, which the 16th Amendment gave Congress the power to do.

•This tax more than made up for the money the government lost by lowering tariffs.

Federal Reserve Act

• This law gave the government authority to supervise banks by placing national banks under the control of a Federal Reserve Board.

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Federal Trade Commission

• Monitored business practices to watch out for false advertising and dishonest labeling.

• Congress also passed the Clayton Antitrust Act, which strengthened earlier antitrust laws by spelling out which business activities were illegal.

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The Limits of The Limits of ProgressivismProgressivism

• The changes made by Progressives The changes made by Progressives were limited to certain groups in were limited to certain groups in the United States. the United States.

• Progressives championed Progressives championed municipal reforms, but did little municipal reforms, but did little for tenant or migrant farmers.for tenant or migrant farmers.

• Progressive Presidents took little Progressive Presidents took little action to pursue social justice action to pursue social justice reforms.reforms.

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• Wilson continued the Jim Crow Wilson continued the Jim Crow practice, begun under Taft, of practice, begun under Taft, of separating the races in federal separating the races in federal offices.offices.

• At the 1912 Progressive Party At the 1912 Progressive Party convention, Roosevelt declined to convention, Roosevelt declined to seat black delegates from the seat black delegates from the South for fear of alienating white South for fear of alienating white Southern Progressives.Southern Progressives.

• By 1916, the reform spirit had By 1916, the reform spirit had nearly died. nearly died.

• It was replaced by American It was replaced by American concerns about World War I.concerns about World War I.

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Why the Progressive Era Was Why the Progressive Era Was So Important:So Important:

Because Child Labor Because Child Labor was banned!was banned!

Lewis Hine, the celebrated photographer & Lewis Hine, the celebrated photographer & dedicated social reformer, captured the sad dedicated social reformer, captured the sad faces of the children in the following photos. faces of the children in the following photos.

Captions and quotes are from Hine’s published Captions and quotes are from Hine’s published works.works.

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Faces of Lost YouthFaces of Lost Youth

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Some boys and girls were so small they had to climb up on to the Some boys and girls were so small they had to climb up on to the spinning frame to mend broken threads and to put back the empty spinning frame to mend broken threads and to put back the empty

bobbins.bobbins.

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Furman Owens, 12 years old. Can’t read, doesn’t know his Furman Owens, 12 years old. Can’t read, doesn’t know his

ABC’s.ABC’s. Said, “Yes, I want to learn, but can’t when I work all Said, “Yes, I want to learn, but can’t when I work all the time.”the time.”