■Essential QuestionEssential Question:

–How did the chaotic conditions of urban America contribute to new “progressive” reforms in the early 20th century?

■Warm-Up Question:Warm-Up Question:

–Let’s look at the DBQ

What is Progressivism?■From 1890s to 1914, progressives

addressed the rapid economic & social changes of the Gilded Age

■Progressive reform had wide appeal but was not a unified movement with a common agenda

■Progressive reforms included prostitution, poverty, child labor, factory safety, women’s rights, temperance, & political corruption

Democrats, Republicans, & Socialists all found reasons to support progressivism

Some reformers targeted local community problems, others aimed for state changes, &

others wanted national reforms

What is Progressivism?■But, Progressive reform had

distinguishing characteristics:

Progressive Progressive ThemesThemes

Evangelical Protestantism (Social Gospel) inspired reformers to intervene in

people’s lives

Optimism & belief in progress (“investigate, educate, & legislate”)

Change the environment to change people (no Social Darwinism)

Desire to “humanize”

industry

Led by the new, educated middle-class

“professionals” (doctors, ministers, etc)

Looked to the gov’t to help achieve goals

Their actions impacted the entire nation; not regions like the Populists

Quick Class Discussion:Quick Class Discussion:Why did America Need Progressivism?

Reforming Society

The Beginnings of Progressivism■Progressivism 1st began in the

1890s in response to urban & factory problems:

–Early reformers realized that private charity was not enough to cure all social ills

–Called for tenement house laws & new labor laws to help women & children workers

The Beginnings of Progressivism■Charity Organization SocietyCharity Organization Society

collected data on poverty, slums, & disease which led to the NY Tenement House Commission

■Nat’l Conference of Social WorkNat’l Conference of Social Work used “professional” social workers to press for minimum wages, maximum work hours, workers’ compensation, & widow pensions

New Journalism: “Muckraking” ■New journalism drew attention to

America’s problems:

–Jacob Riis’ How the Other Half Lives (1890) was the 1st exposé of urban poverty & slums

–Cheap monthly magazines, like McClure’s & Collier’s used investigative journalism & photos to yield huge circulations

Urban poverty Political corruption

The plight of industrial

workers“Big business” practicesLincoln Steffan’s Shame of the Cities (1902) revealed corruption of political machines

Ida Tarbell’s History of the Standard Oil Company (1904) revealed

Rockefeller’s ruthless business practices

Jacob Riis’ How the Other Half Lives included photographs!

New Journalism: Muckraking■Muckraker Upton Sinclair’s The

Jungle (1906) prompted federal investigation of meatpacking–Meat Inspection ActMeat Inspection Act (1906)

required gov’t inspections & set sanitation rules for meatpacking

■Muckraker Sam H Adams exposed the dangers of patent medicines–Pure Food & Drug ActPure Food & Drug Act (1906)

required listing of ingredients & banned “adulterated” drugs

“I aimed at the public’s heart & by accident I hit it in the stomach.”

Led by Dr. Harvey Wiley’s “Poison Squad” division of the US Dept of Agriculture &

teamed with American Medical Association

Prohibition & Prostitution■Reformers were shocked by

growing reports of alcohol abuse:–By 1916, 19 states outlawed

booze & in the 18th Amend passed in 1920

■Reformers focused on prostitution–By 1915 almost all states

banned brothels–The Mann ActMann Act (1910) banned

the interstate transportation of “immoral” women

Membership grew in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union

Standardizing Education■Psychologist William James

promoted the idea that one’s environment dictates behavior

■School leaders applied these ideas to reform pubic education:–Schools became a primary

vehicle to assimilate immigrants–John Dewey promoted “creative

intelligence” not memorization or strict teaching

Working-Class Reform

Immigration to the USA, 1901-1920 From 1901-1920, 14.5 million “new” Europeans, Mexicans, & Asians immigrated

to US to join the US labor force

60% of the US work force was foreign born in 1914; most immigrant laborers were unskilled,

living in poverty & in ethnic conclaves

Mexican Immigration to the USA, 1900-1920

Mexican immigrants worked in Western farms, railroads, & mines as well as Southern & California agriculture

Angel Island, San Francisco This was not like Ellis Island in NYC; Instead of hours, processing took months

Conflict in the Workplace■The new industrial advances like

mass production & management sped up production but led to:

–Long hours, low wages, dangerous settings for workers

–Labor unrest & strikes

–Increased union membership from 4% in 1900 to 13% in 1920

–Progressive reforms for workers

Labor Union Membership, 1897-1920

Industrial Exploitation Case StudyIndustrial Exploitation Case Study: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911)

Organizing Labor■Gompers’ American Federation of

Labor was the largest US union but it was exclusive; led to:–Women’s Trade Union LeagueWomen’s Trade Union League

(1903) formed to help working women & educate the public

–Industrial Workers of the WorldIndustrial Workers of the World (1905) urged revolution via sabotage & strikes & eventually to create a workers’ republic

The WTUL strike against Hart, Schaffer, & Marx Co led to the 1st collective bargaining victory in US history

Open to all workers regardless of race, sex, ethnicity, or skill

Called the “Wobblies”

“It is our purpose to overthrow the capitalist system by forceful means in necessary…

[There is nothing a worker can do that] will bring as much anguish to the boss than a

little sabotage in the right place.”—IWW co-founder “Big Bill” Haywood

Organizing Labor■Eugene V. Debs

formed the Socialist Party Socialist Party of Americaof America & applied Marxist ideas into a moderate & appealing political platform

Did not threaten to overthrow the capitalist system

Working with Workers■Many businesses used police &

violence to break up strikes, but others improved working conditions to avoid trouble:–Henry Ford introduced the

“Five Dollar Day” & an 8-hour workday

–The Amoskeag textile factory in NH used paternalism & benefits (playgrounds & health care)

Led to increase production & a stable & loyal workforce

Amoskeag Textile CompanyAmoskeag hired whole familiesAmoskeag built playgrounds & baseball fields for families & their children…and provided company housing

The Women’s Movement & Black Awakening

The Women’s Movement■Progressive reformers advocated

for change for women & children–Working conditions led to the

Nat’l Child Labor Laws (1930s)–The National Association of

Colored Women advocated for the rights of black women

–The National American Woman Suffrage Assoc (1890) was formed to gain women the vote

“Women’s vote will help cure ills of society”The 19th Amendment was passed in 1920

Women’s Suffrage Before 1900

The Women’s Movement

■Margaret Sanger championed the cause for increased birth control for women:

–Her journals provided contraceptive information for poor & middle-class women

–In 1916, Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the US

The Niagara Movement & NAACP

■The condition of blacks in the early 20th century remained poor:

–80% lived in rural areas, most as sharecroppers in the South

–Segregation & violence were common

■Niagara MovementNiagara Movement (1905) led by W.E.B. Du Bios militantly called for political, social, & civil rights

“[African-Americans] have a right to know, to think, to aspire…We must strive for the

right which the world accords to man.”—W.E.B. DuBois

The Niagara Movement & NAACP■In 1909, National Assoc for the National Assoc for the

Advancement of Colored PeopleAdvancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formed by William Walling & others; Du Bios was put in charge of The Crisis publication

■NAACP had some victories:–Guinn v USGuinn v US (1915) ended

Oklahoma’s grandfather clause–Buchanan v WorleyBuchanan v Worley (1917)

ended KY housing segregation

But…“I have never seen the colored people so discouraged and so bitter

as they are at the present time.”—Booker T. Washington, 1913