The Progressive Movement

Objective:Following the lecture on the Progressive

Movement the students will use a Venn diagram to compare the accomplishments and limitations of the progressive movement in effecting social and political reforms in America.

Definition of Liberalism:Although many historians speak of a Progressive

"movement," we should really think of Progressivism as an umbrella, under which a variety of reform groups and champions of liberalism gathered.  So, any discussion of Progressivism should begin with the meaning of "Liberalism" at the beginning of the twentieth century:

Government should be more active Social problems are susceptible to government

legislation and action Throw money at the problem

Definition of Progressivism:Progressives, themselves, were never a unified group with a

single objective or set of objectives. Instead, they had many different, and sometimes contradictory goals, including:

End to "white slavery" (prostitution and the sweat shops) Prohibition "Americanization" of immigrants Immigration restriction legislation Anti-trust legislation Rate regulation of private utilities Full government ownership of private utilities Women's suffrage End to child labor Destruction of urban political machines Political reform

Basic Goals of Progressives Even though they were not a unified group,

Progressives shared basic characteristics or beliefs:

They were moralists Government, once purified, must act Believed in protecting the weakest members

of society Never challenged capitalism's basic tenets

Origins of Progressive Thought and Action:Discovery" of poverty

Charity movement

 Emancipation of Women 

The "Social Gospel Movement“ 

Social settlement movement

    Prominent Progressives: Theodore Roosevelt Roosevelt was a Progressive reformer who sought to move the dominant Republican Party into the Progressive camp. He distrusted wealthy businessmen and dissolved 40 monopolistic corporations as a " trust buster." He was clear, however, to show that he did not disagree with trusts and capitalism in principle but was only against their corrupt, illegal practices. His " Square Deal" promised a fair shake for both the average citizen (including regulation of railroad rates and pure

foods and drugs) and the businessmen. As an outdoorsman, he promoted the conservation movement, emphasizing efficient use of natural resources. After 1906, he moved left, attacking big business and suggesting the courts were biased against labor unions. Jane Addams

"Discovery" of povertyPoverty had always existed in American

society, but a number of urban reformers began to call for new legislation to help the poor in the late 1870s and early 1880s.

Charity movement

Prior to the late 1870s, there was no systematic method for social welfare, just individual charity groups funded by private donors. In 1877, however, reformers in Buffalo, New York, organized a citywide effort to coordinate local charities. This type of system eventually spread to other United States cities.

Emancipation of Women

The 1880s saw the first generation of women--mostly white and middle- or upper-class--to graduate from college in large numbers. These women left college full of enthusiasm, but, for the most part, were shut out of professions in medicine, law, science, and business. So, they often used their energies to battle social injustices.

The "Social Gospel Movement"

Up until the 1880s, most Protestant ministers had not concerned themselves with the problems of industrial society. Rapid urbanization and industrialization, however, convinced many of them to fight for social justice. The goal of the Social Gospel movement was to make Christian churches more responsive to social problems like poverty and prostitution.

Social settlement movement

The social settlement movement was formed as a ministry to immigrants and the urban poor. University-educated men and women (such as Jane Addams) settled in working-class neighborhoods to try and help the poor and learn about the real world. Most settlement houses started with clubs and classes, then campaigned for housing and labor reform. As they aided people, settlement houses also tried to instill middle-class values and often had a paternalistic attitude toward the poor.

 

Theodore RooseveltRoosevelt was a Progressive reformer who sought to

move the dominant Republican Party into the Progressive camp. He distrusted wealthy businessmen and dissolved 40 monopolistic corporations as a “trust buster." He was clear, however, to show that he did not disagree with trusts and capitalism in principle but was only against their corrupt, illegal practices. His “Square Deal" promised a fair shake for both the average citizen (including regulation of railroad rates and pure foods and drugs) and the businessmen. As an outdoorsman, he promoted the conservation movement, emphasizing efficient use of natural resources. After 1906, he moved left, attacking big business and suggesting the courts were biased against labor unions.

Jane AddamsJane founded a settlement house in Chicago called Hull House. Hull House offered medical care, child care and legal aid to poor families living in the city. It also provided classes for immigrants to learn English, vocational skills, music, art and drama. In 1893 a severe depression rocked the country. Hull House was serving over two thousand people a week. As charitable efforts increased, so too did political ones. Jane realized that there would be no end to poverty and need if laws were not changed. She directed her efforts at the root causes of poverty. The workers joined Jane to lobby the state of Illinois to examine laws governing child labor, the factory inspection system, and the juvenile justice system. They worked for legislation to protect immigrants from exploitation, limit the working hours of women, mandate schooling for children, recognize labor unions, and provide for industrial safety.

W.E.B. DU BOISIn 1905, Du Bois and a group of pioneering

African American scholars and leaders met to discuss the issue of civil rights. This group, known as the Niagara Movement, eventually led to the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1910. He believed that the only way that African Americans would gain equality was to fight for it.

Booker T. WashingtonHe argued that African Americans should

concentrate on obtaining economic goals rather than legal or political ones. He believed that if African Americans achieved economic equality that the political and legal equality would follow. He argued that it was more important to have the opportunity to earn a dollar in a factory that spend one in a opera house.