unit 1 modern america emerges 2.1 progressivism essential questions: analyze the causes of social...
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Unit 1 Modern America Emerges
2.1 ProgressivismEssential Questions:
• Analyze the causes of social concerns that lead to Progressivism in America.
• What were some off the ways in which government responded to Americans’ want for change to alleviate growing social concerns?
Progressivism• We finished unit 1 discussing the “Robber
Barrons”, growing monopolies, and resulting strikes
• As this became more prominent, a group of journalists, politicians, and single-crusaders sought to transition America into REFORM– Their purpose: To expose particular evils in society
• They became known as the “Progressives” and the time in which they live is known as the “Progressive Era”
SO WHAT WERE THE EVILS???
One Young Girl’s Story of Working Conditions
“I used to go to school, and then a man came up to my house and asked my father why I didn’t got to work, so my father says I don’t know whether she is 13 or 14 years old. So, the man says you can give me $4 and I will make the papers come from the old country (Italy) saying I am 14. So, my father gave him the $4, and in one month came the papers that I was 14. I went to work, and about two weeks later got hurt in my head.”
- Camella Teoli - At the Congressional Hearings in 1912
What Happened
• It was discovered later that Camella was in fact just 12 years old
• She worked at a textile mill in Lawrence, Mass.• Her hair got caught in a machine used for
twisting cotton into thread and tore off part of her scalp
• She spent 7 months in the hospital and was terribly scared for life
Result from Her Own and Other Injustices
• 3 years later, 20,000 Lawrence Mill workers went on strike for higher wages
• Camella was selected to testify before a congressional committee investigating labor conditions such as workplace safety and underage workers
• When she was asked why she went on strike, she said “because I didn’t get enough to eat at home.”
• After 9 weeks of striking, the mill won the sympathy of the nation and a 5-10% pay increase
Massachusetts militiamen with fixed bayonets surround a group of strikers
The tactic of sending children of textile workers to live with supporters in New York City reduced maintenance costs of the strikers and generated public sympathy and financial support
The Birth of Progressivism• Stories like Camella’s are what lead many leaders
in Congress to recognize concerns of social welfare in America, and take action to end it.
• The Progressive Movement had 4 goals:1. Protect Social Welfare2. Promote moral improvement3. Create economic reform 4. Foster efficiency
• Target of Progressivism – REFORM against big business that do not abide by any laws or regulations
Causes and Effects of Progressivism
Causes of New Social Reform• Monopolies and Trusts• Political Bosses• Big Business Robber Barons • Muckraker articles exposing
the bad and the ugly• 1902 Coal Strike
Ways in Which Social Reform was Implemented
• Trust-busting• Interstate Commerce Act• Meat Inspection Act• Pure Food and Drug Act and
subsequent establishment of FDA
• Land Conservation Measures
1. Protecting Social Welfare• Settlement houses, the Social Gospel, community
centers, churches, and social services worked to soften harsh social conditions– Ex: The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA)
opened libraries, sponsored classes, and built swimming pools and handball courts
– Ex: Salvation Army fed poor people in soup kitchens and cared for children in nurseries
• Women inspired by the settlement houses, like Florence Kelley became and advocate for improving the lives of women and children
Global expansion of Salvation Army
The National Child Labor Committee• The NCLC was formed in 1904• Sent investigators to gather evidence of children
working in harsh conditions• Then, they organized exhibitions with photos and stats
to dramatize the children’s plight• They were joined by union members• They pressured politicians to pass the Keating-Owen Act
in 1916– Prohibited the transportation of goods produced by children
over state lines– Was repealed in 1918 by Supreme Court as unconstitutional –
interfered with states right to regulate their own labor laws
2. Promoting Moral Improvement• Some reformers thought the key to social
reform was through improving personal behavior
• For Instance, America had a drinking problem and many reformers believed that alcohol was undermining American morals.– Result: reformers pushed congress to prohibit the
use and sell of alcohol – if it is illegal, no one will drink it, right???
– This movement to end America’s drinking problem by banning alcoholic beverages became known as prohibition – 18th Amendment
The Anti-Saloon League
3. Creating Economic Reform
• The Panic of 1983 lead many Americans to question the capitalist economic system
• As a result, some Americans began to embrace socialism
• Remember Eugene Debs?– He helped organize the American Socialist Party in
1901• Said there was an uneven balance among big business,
government, and ordinary people under the free-market system of capitalism
Socialism• Socialism describes a kind of society where
people work together to get a fair standard of living.
• Society becomes a place of bounty and pleasure. • People who advocate this cooperative society are
called socialists. – They believe that everything in society and what is
made by the cooperative efforts of society exists for the benefit of society, and that it is from society that the people live in these conditions of life.
– Why Socialism Failed by Eugene Debs
Capitalism
• Capitalism is an economic system where assets (property, businesses, money) are owned by people or an individual, not by the government, and where people have to work for money to buy things they need or want, such as food.
• Capitalism mostly has a "free market" economy, – which means people buy and sell things by their own
judgment – Some people disagree on whether capitalism is a
good idea, or how much of capitalism is a good idea
4. Fostering Efficiency• Some reformers began focusing on scientific
principals and mathematic equations to make the workplace more efficient– This became known as scientific management
• Assembly lines – sped up production– Downside: not all workers could work as fast as the
machines put out product, leading to high worker turnover and injuries
– To keep up moral, Henry Ford reduced the workday to 8 hrs and paid workers $5/day
• This incentive attracted thousands of workers
So How was all this EVIL Exposed???
Progressive Journalism:The Muckrakers
Welcome toThe Jungle Activity• Read through the excerpts of Upton Sinclair’s The
Jungle and answer the following questions on your own piece of paper.
• Questions:1. What problem is Sinclair exposing in this excerpt?2. Provide quotes from the excerpt that support your
answer in #1.3. What impact do you think this example of
“muckraking” had on Americans?4. How would you expect the government to fix the
situation?
The Jungle
What would you say was Sinclair’s primary objective? Who was he trying to protect?It was written with intention of protecting consumers
What is a Muckraker?• A muckraker is someone who seeks to expose corruption of
businesses or government to the public• Published in new and cheap magazines (i.e. McClure’s, The
Saturday Evening Post, Ladies Home Journal)• The term was coined by Roosevelt• “In Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress you may recall the
description of the Man with the Muck-rake, the man who could look no way but downward with the muck-rake in his hands; Who was offered a celestial crown for his muck-rake, but who would neither look up nor regard the crown he was offered, but continued to rake to himself the filth of the floor.”
• What or who is the “filth of the floor”?
Muckrakers
• Journalists who wrote about the corrupt side of businesses and public life in mass circulating magazines during the early 20th century became known as muckrakers
• Muckrakers contributed to the rise in progressivism in the early years of the20th century by exposing widespread corruption in business and government
The Major Muckrakers (Reformers)• Ida Tarbell
– Exposed the inner workings of Standard Oil monopoly
• Lincoln Steffens– Wrote about corruption of big city gov’ts
• Jacob Riis– wrote “How the Other Half Lives” to focus
attention on the living conditions of residents and urban slums
• Upton Sinclair– Exposed ills of meat packing industry (The Jungle)
Examples
• Example of writing:• “Mr. Rockefeller has systematically played with loaded
dice, and it is doubtful if there has been a time since 1872 when he has run a race with a competitor and started fair.”– Ida B. Tarbell
• Examples of headlines:• Jane Adams opens Hull House• Jacob Riis Photographs Tenement Residents• Ida B. Tarbell Exposes Standard Oil Company
Reforming Elections:Direct Primary Elections, the
Referendum, the Recall, and the Initiative
Reforming Local Government• Disasters play role in reform:
– 1900 Hurricane and tidal wave almost demolishes Galveston, TX
• Clean-up efforts by city officials were a joke• Lead to adoption of 5 member commission of experts to
clean up the mess
– 1913 Flood in Dayton, OH• Lead to adoption of council-manager system• People elect members of council, then council appoints a
manager (someone knowledgeable on city departments) to run the departments
1900 Galveston Hurricane
Political Reform Progress• Direct Primary Election:
– Voters and not “bosses” picked party nominees– http://www.icivics.org/games/cast-your-vote
• The Referendum:– Voters could repeal unpopular laws
• The Recall:– A means of getting rid of officials before their terms expired
• The Initiative:– Allowed voters to circumvent balky legislatures and propose
laws directly
Reforming Elections• Adoption of the Primary System:
– The secret ballot, initiative, referendum, & recall• Secret Ballot – voters choose their politicians in private• Initiative and Referendum –
– Initiative: Citizen comes up with an idea to improve something, or create a petition, and gain a certain percentage of yeses on the petition of other citizens
» KEY: allows a law to originate with the people instead of lawmakers
– Referendum: after petition is sent in to lawmakers, it gains approval and is put on the ballot for a vote
• Recall – enables voters to remove public officials from their elected position by forcing them to face another election before the end of their term
• GOT BALLOT!
17th Amendment
• The success of the Primary System in local governments across the US lead to the 17th Amendment
• Before 1913, each state’s legislature had chosen its own US Senators, putting even more power in party/business bosses
• In 1913, the 17th Amendment was ratified enabling citizens of each state to elect Senators by a popular vote