Antiquities ActTheodore Roosevelt was the first president to be deeply concerned about the conservation of the nations natural resources. He worried that the nations forests and timber resources were being depleted by lumber companies. Millions of acres of trees had already been cut down to make railroads and to clear space for mining and other industrial projects. He also worried that many of the nations most beautiful natural wilderness areas were being spoiled by greedy land developers.

In 1906, Roosevelt got Congress to sign into law the Antiquities Act. This law allowed the President to restrict the use of certain public lands and preserve other areas as national monuments. This act protected these areas from overdevelopment and preserved their natural beauty for future generations. One of the first monuments created by this act was the Grand Canyon. Roosevelt took other steps as well to conserve the nation’s natural resources. He added over 100 million acres to the protected national forests. He also established 5 new national parks and 51 federal wildlife reservations. A

Bureau of CorporationsAlthough many Americans were deeply suspicious of big business, especially trusts, not everyone thought the were necessarily bad for the economy. President Roosevelt was one of those who was not opposed to big business. He believed that most trusts benefited the economy and that breaking them up would do more harm than good. Instead, Roosevelt proposed creating a new federal agency with the power to investigate corporations. He believed this was the most effective way to keep big business from abusing its power.

In 1903 Roosevelt convinced Congress to create the Department of Commerce and Labor. Part of the Department of Commerce and Labor would be the Bureau of Corporations. The Bureau of Corporations would have the power to investigate corporations and issue reports on their activities. These reports would be made available to the public. If the Bureau found anything wrong, the company would be advised privately and allowed to correct the problem without having to go to court. These arrangements allowed Roosevelt the ability to regulate big business. It also allowed the American economy to enjoy the benefits of big business without having to break up the trusts.

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Children’s BureauFrom the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th Century, the use of child labor had been an area of concern for many reformers. Children as young as 5 or 6 worked long hours in factories or mines. The dangerous conditions and long hours resulted in many children becoming sick or injured. Also, because they needed to work to help support their families, many children missed out on the opportunity for an education.

In response to these concerns, President Taft established the Children’s Bureau, a federal agency similar to Roosevelt’s Bureau of Corporations. The Children’s Bureau investigated and publicized problems with child labor. Eventually, Congress acted on many of the recommendations of the Bureau. Congress established a minimum age at which children could be employed in mines and factories. Other laws were enacted to limit the number of hours children could work. Finally, money was set aside to create more public schools so more children could pursue a free education. C

Direct PrimariesPolitical reform first came to the state level when progressive leaders like Robert La Follette of Wisconsin and Hiram Johnson of California were elected governors of their respective states. Both used their office to attack the way political parties ran their conventions. Because party bosses controlled the selection of convention delegates, they also controlled which candidates were chosen to run for office. This gave party bosses tremendous power and often led to political corruption.

Johnson and La Follette pressured their state legislatures to hold direct primaries. In a direct primary, all party members could vote for a candidate to run in the general election. In this way, power was taken away from party bosses. The voting process also became more democratic with a greater voice for the people.

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Hepburn ActOne of the ways that corporations were able to establish trusts and monopolies was through the control of railroads. By controlling railroads, trusts could control the rates charged for shipping goods. The leaders of trusts often set very low shipping rates for their own companies while charging higher prices for competition businesses. These high shipping rates made it impossible for small business to compete. As a result, wealthy industrialists were able to buy up their smaller competitors and establish monopolies. The high shipping rates being charged by railroads also made it difficult for farmers to ship their produce to market and still make a profit.

Progressive reformers called for more government control over railroads to ensure fair rates for all businesses and consumers. In the 1890s, Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act which established the Interstate Commerce Commission. The ICC was given some power to regulate railroads and interstate commerce. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt pushed for the passage of the Hepburn Act. This act was intended to strengthen the ICC. The Hepburn Act gave the ICC power to set railroad rates. The Hepburn Act was intended to help the ICC regulate rates to ensure that companies did not compete unfairly. E

Meat Inspection Act During the Progressive Era, many Americans became

concerned about the foods that they ate. The Department of Agriculture had issued a report documenting the dangerous preservatives being used in meat being prepared in America’s slaughterhouses. In 1906 a progressive “muckraker” named Upton Sinclair published a book entitled The Jungle. The book was based on Sinclair’s investigation of the slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants in Chicago. The book contained appalling descriptions of the unsanitary and dangerous conditions in the meatpacking industry. One passage described “meat stored in great piles in rooms; and the water from leaky roofs would drip over it, and thousands of rats would race about upon it.” Sinclair’s book made consumers angry that their food might actually be making them sick.

President Theodore Roosevelt and Congress responded with the Meat Inspection Act. The law required federal inspection of meat sold through interstate commerce. It also required the Department of Agriculture to set standards of cleanliness in meatpacking plants.

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Newlands Reclamation ActOne area of reform that President Theodore Roosevelt brought to the attention of the American people was the need for environmental conservation. Roosevelt urged Americans to conserve their natural resources. He was particularly concerned about water resources in Western States. In the West, farmers and city dwellers competed for scarce water resources. As a result of farming and urban development, water was beginning to dry up in many states. Some parts of the West were turning back into desert. Also, new farms and industries were dumping wastes into the nations rivers. As a result, many rivers and streams were becoming dangerously polluted.

In 1902, Roosevelt supported passage of the Newlands Reclamation Act. This law authorized the use of Federal funds from public land sales to apply to irrigation and land development projects. New dams were built to store up water and control flooding. New irrigation projects made possible new farms and urban developments in the Western United States.

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Pure Food & Drug ActIn the 19th century, not many people were concerned about consumer issues. By 1905, however, consumer protection had become a national issue. Many companies were patenting and marketing medicines they claimed would cure a variety of illnesses. Many patent medicines were little more than alcohol, colored water and sugar. Others contained caffeine, opium, cocaine, and other dangerous chemicals. Consumers had no way to know what they were taking. They also did not know if the medicines would work as claimed.

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt got Congress to pass the Pure Food and Drug Act. It prohibited the manufacture, sale, or shipment of impure or falsely labeled food and drugs. It also required food and drugs to come with labels that described the ingredients they contained. Today, any drug or medicine has to be tested to make sure it is safe and effective before it is sold.

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Seventeenth AmendmentIn the original Constitution, only the House of Representatives was directly elected by the people. This is why the House of Representatives was sometimes called the “Peoples’ House”. Senators, on the other hand, were elected indirectly by the legislatures of each state. During the Industrial Revolution, this created problems. Political machines or large trusts (monopolies) often used their wealth to influence the election of Senators. Senators were then expected to repay their supporters with federal contracts and government jobs. Many reformers believed that Senators were merely servants of industrialists and financiers. Also, because Senators were not directly elected by the people, they often did not feel the need to support laws and reforms that people needed or demanded.

To counter Senate corruption, progressives called for the direct election of senators by all state voters. In 1912 Congress passed a direct-election amendment. With the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment, Senators, much like Representatives, would be directly elected by the people of each state. Although the direct election of senators was intended to end corruption, it also removed one of the state legislatures’ checks on federal power. I

Sixteenth AmendmentFor most of its history, the Constitution specifically forbid direct taxation on citizens’ incomes or the incomes of large corporations. During this period the U.S. government got most of its money from the sale of public lands or through tariffs. Tariffs were taxes charged on foreign goods that were imported to the United States from other countries. Farmers disliked high tariffs. High tariffs made it difficult to sell their crops to foreign markets. As a result, farmers were often left with a large surplus, which drove down the price they got for their crops. Also, because there was no direct income tax, wealthy business owners were able to amass large fortunes. This widened the gap between the very wealthy and the poor and middle class. Wealthy business owners also used their money to buy unfair influence over politicians and government.

Progressive reformers called for a direct income tax in order to address these imbalances. The Sixteenth Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution in 1913. This amendment made it legal for the federal government to tax the incomes of corporations and individuals directly. The system of taxation was progressive: that meant that the wealthier people paid a larger share than the middle and working classes. This system remains in place today.

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Initiative, Referendum, & RecallBy the turn of the century, state and local politics were controlled by party political machines headed by powerful party bosses. This system led to political corruption. Party bosses used bribery and favoritism to control elections and access to government jobs. Many reformers saw this as un-democratic. Instead of the people making decisions, a small group with wealth and influence controlled government. Some states began electing governors who promised to end corruption and destroy the power of party bosses. Two of these leaders were Robert La Follette, the governor of Wisconsin, and Hiram Johnson, the governor of California

La Follette and Johnson pushed for a series of changes that would help end corruption and return power to the voters. To force state legislators to respond to voters, three new reforms were introduced. The initiative allowed a group of citizens to introduce legislation and required the legislature to vote on it. The referendum allowed proposed legislation to be submitted to the voters for approval. The recall allowed voters to demand a special election to remove an elected official from office before his or her term had expired. These reforms helped end the power of party bosses and make state and local governments more democratic.

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Sherman Anti-Trust ActDuring the Industrial Revolution, many large corporations began establishing trusts or monopolies over major industries. This process involved both vertical and horizontal integration. In vertical integration, a single corporation controlled all of the production and support services in a given industry. For example, Andrew Carnegie’s U.S. Steel company controlled the mines that produced iron, the railroads that carried the raw materials, and the factories that produced the finished steel. Horizontal integration meant that one corporation controlled all businesses in a given industry. For example, John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company controlled over 90% of America’s oil and gasoline production. These trusts limited competition. This often resulted in higher prices for consumers and lower wages for workers. The heads of these trusts also used their vast wealth to gain political influence.

To combat the influence of trusts, the U.S. Congress passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in the 1890s. This act made it illegal to for any corporation to form a trust that operated “in restraint of trade or commerce”. Later, President’s like Theodore Roosevelt used this act to sue large trusts that were attempting to limit competition or control an entire industry. If necessary, some trusts would be broken up. Although it did not completely eliminate monopolies, the act did eventually help limit their power and influence. L

Writing Summary – Progressive Programs

Write two paragraphs describing two areas of progressive concerns. For each area of concern, identify one law or program that addressed that concern. Explain the specific problems that needed to be addressed. Then, explain how that law or program addressed those problems.