CHAPTER 19

Political Reform & the Progressive Era

SECTION 1

The Gilded Age & Progressive Reform

Reform in the Gilded Age

Gilded Age

Period after Civil War

Lasted from 1870s through 1890s

Age of serious problems hiding under shiny surface

Political Concerns

Americans feared industrialists & wealthy men were enriching themselves at expense of public

Corruption/Dishonesty in government Bribery & voter fraud appeared widespread

Taming the Spoils System

Source of corruption was Spoils System Practice of rewarding political supporters w/ gov’t jobs

W/ election of new President, people swarmed to Washington looking for jobs in rewards for their political support

1881 James Garfield elected President

4 months later was shot by disappointed office seeker Sparked efforts to end spoils system

Vice President Chester A. Arthur became President Owed his rise to spoils system

1883 Pendleton Act signed

Created Civil Service Commission A system that includes most gov’t jobs, except elected positions, the

judiciary, & the military

Aim was to fill jobs on basis of merit Jobs went to those who scored highest on civil services examinations

Controlling Big Business

Late 1800s

Big business influenced politics, often w/ bribery

Americans demanded limiting power of railroads & monopolies

Congress

Under Constitution has power to regulate interstate commerce

1887 President Grover Cleveland signed Interstate

Commerce Act Forbade practices such as rebates & set up Interstate

Commerce Commission to oversee railroads

1890

President Benjamin Harrison signed Sherman

Antitrust Act

Prohibited businesses from trying to limit or destroy

competition

Difficult to enforce

Judges often ruled in favor of trusts & the Sherman Act

was used to limit the power of labor unions (strikers

blocked free trade & threatened competition)

Corruption in the Cities

Expansion of cities led to expansion of sewers,

garbage collection, & roads

City politicians often excepted money to award

jobs to friends

Powerful politicians (bosses) controlled work

done locally & wanted payoffs from businesses

Popular w/ poor

Gave turkeys & coal

Poor voted for them in return

William “Boss” Tweed

1860s & 1870s he cheated NY City out of $100 million

His crimes were exposed by journalists, before being arrested he fled to Spain

He was arrested in Spain & died in jail in 1878

Progressives & Political Reform

Progressive Movement Corruption led to rise

Progressives: diverse group of reformers united by a belief in the public interest Not sacrificed to greed of huge trusts & city bosses

Wisconsin idea 1st to adopt Progressive reforms

Governor Robert La Follette “Battling Bob” Opposed political bosses

Appointed commissions of experts to solve problems Railroad commission recommended lowering railroad rates; as rates

decreased, rail traffic increased

1903 Wisconsin was 1st state to adopt a primary run by state gov’t officials 1917 all but 4 states joined

More Power to Voters

Recall

A process by which people may vote to remove an elected official from office Easier to remove corrupt officials

Initiative

Process that allows voters to put a bill before a state legislature Voters must collect a certain # of signatures on a

petition

Referendum: way for people to vote directly on a proposed new law

Two Constitutional Amendments

Progressive Reformers Backed graduated income tax (method of taxation that taxes

people at different rates depending on income) Wealthy pay higher taxes than poor

Supreme Court ruled this was unconstitutional

16th Amendment (gives Congress the power to pass an income tax) was ratified in 1913

1789 U.S. senators were elected by state legislatures

Bribery was a problem

Progressives wanted people to vote for senators

1913 17th Amendment was ratified to require the direct election of

senators

The Muckrakers

Press play important role in exposing corruption

President Theodore Roosevelt Compared these reporters to men who raked up dirt/muck

in stables

Muckraker became a term for a crusading journalist

Ida Tarbell Targeted big business

Work led to demands for more controls on trusts

Accused oil baron John D. Rockefeller of unfair business methods

Other reporters described how corruption had led to inadequate fire, police, & sanitation services Jacob Riis

Jacob Riis Photographs

1906

Upton Sinclair’s novel The Jungle

Grisly details about the meatpacking industry

Described how packers used meat from sick animals &

how rats often got group up in the meat