Unit 7: The Progressive Era
At the dawn of the 20th Century, many in the United States were not happy with the state of the nation. The abuses of the “Gilded Age” motivated many average citizens to take action and political leaders had little choice but to pay attention. Profound problems had emerged during the Gilded Age. While a few on the top enjoyed the good life, too many had fallen behind. Those left behind lived in dark tenements and worked for little or nothing at dangerous jobs that required few skills. Those left behind lost their small businesses to robber barons.
A variety of reform movements gained strength at this time. Progressives drew support from the middle class, and supporters included many lawyers, teachers, physicians, ministers and business people. These reformers had different motivations, but were united in the desire to repair what they saw as the defects in the American democracy. These problems included the hidden costs of industrialization, unethical business practices, unequal distribution of wealth, political corruption, urban decay, poor working conditions and exploitation of workers, and unequal rights for groups such as women, the poor and African Americans.
In sharp contrast to the laissez faire Gilded Age, these new reformers saw government (state and federal regulation) as the best way to change the country for the better. These diverse crusades of the early 20th Century came to be called the “Progressive Movement” because they all favored change (which the crusaders believed was “progress”). “Progressives,” as these activists were called, sought to make politics more democratic, business more fair and society more moral. These Progressive goals were believed to be possible through increased government oversight and involvement in people’s lives.
Change was also pushed forward by vocal journalists. The flash photos and reports of Jacob Riis and other journalists woke America’s more comfortable classes to the social costs of the Gilded Age. Seeing is believing. President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt was inspired by Riis’s photos and was a prominent contributor to the Progressive Era with his many reforms during his presidency. Jane Addams, who saw poverty for herself in London, responded by establishing settlement houses in Chicago and New York to solve the problem of urban poverty. Others saw that nothing less than the right of women to vote would be necessary. As well, a group of progressives called “conservationists” addressed the use and abuse of the natural environment by unrestrained business.
Women were the backbone of many progressive reform movements of the era. However, not all in the nation benefited from these various crusades. Most notably, African-Americans, despite the legal end of slavery fifty years earlier, were still kept out of the mainstream of American society and saw few benefits from the reforms of the time.
The Progressive Era in the United States was a period of reform that flourished from the 1890s to the 1920s. Progressivism can be understood as a broadly defined set of principles dedicated to reforming social problems to create a more balanced, ideal society. Progressives worked towards curing America of these societal ills. However, they had different views on which were the most important issues to tackle and how to go about the work of improving society.
The Progressive Era was also a period marked by the growth of racism, eugenics, white supremacist policies (Jim Crow Laws/Nadir of American race relations) and colonialism (with the American administration of its ultramarine territorial acquisitions after the Spanish-American War).
Essential Questions
· How was the Progressive movement a product of the Gilded Age?
· How did Progressives use government to bring about societal reform?
· How can progress lead to unintended consequences?
· To what extent were Progressives successful in meeting their goals?
· How should we measure progress in a society?
Topics
Social Movements
Temperance movement, Carrie Catt, muckrakers, Jacob Riis/How the Other Half Lives
Business and Labor Reform
Monopoly, trust, trust-busting, child labor, National Child Labor Committee, labor laws, Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, American Federation of Labor (AFL), International Workers of the World (IWW), strikes, 1902 Coal Strike, Federal Income Tax, The Jungle - Upton Sinclair, Meat Inspection Act, Pure Food and Drug Act
Political and government Reform
Theodore Roosevelt, bully pulpit, Square Deal, William H. Taft, corruption, graft, Boss Tweed, political machine, Pendleton Civil Service Act, Robert LaFollette, anti-corruption, recall, initiative, 17th Amendment, Hiram Johnson, Teddy Roosevelt
Women’s Rights
Suffrage, Alice Paul, Susan B. Anthony, women’s colleges, 19th Amendment
African American rights
Booker T. Washington - Tuskegee Institute, Ida B. Wells, anti-lynching campaigns, NAACP, Jim Crow laws, Niagara Movement - W.E.B. Dubois, Jim Crow laws and segregation, Plessy v. Ferguson, literacy test, poll tax, grandfather clauses, NAACP
Environmental conservation
John Muir, environmental conservation, conservation vs. preservation, Gifford Pinchot, National Parks system, Teddy Roosevelt, Hetch Hetchy Dam
Immigration and Urbanization
Ellis Island, Angel Island, Tenement Housing, Chinese Exclusion Act, Settlement Houses, Nativism, Americanization, Urban Problems (fire, water, transportation, etc.), 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, urbanization, Social Gospel movement
At the dawn of the 20th Century, many in the United States were not happy with the state of the nation. The abuses of the “Gilded Age” motivated many average citizens to take action and political leaders had little choice but to pay attention. Profound problems had emerged during the Gilded Age. While a few on the top enjoyed the good life, too many had fallen behind. Those left behind lived in dark tenements and worked for little or nothing at dangerous jobs that required few skills. Those left behind lost their small businesses to robber barons.
A variety of reform movements gained strength at this time. Progressives drew support from the middle class, and supporters included many lawyers, teachers, physicians, ministers and business people. These reformers had different motivations, but were united in the desire to repair what they saw as the defects in the American democracy. These problems included the hidden costs of industrialization, unethical business practices, unequal distribution of wealth, political corruption, urban decay, poor working conditions and exploitation of workers, and unequal rights for groups such as women, the poor and African Americans.
In sharp contrast to the laissez faire Gilded Age, these new reformers saw government (state and federal regulation) as the best way to change the country for the better. These diverse crusades of the early 20th Century came to be called the “Progressive Movement” because they all favored change (which the crusaders believed was “progress”). “Progressives,” as these activists were called, sought to make politics more democratic, business more fair and society more moral. These Progressive goals were believed to be possible through increased government oversight and involvement in people’s lives.
Change was also pushed forward by vocal journalists. The flash photos and reports of Jacob Riis and other journalists woke America’s more comfortable classes to the social costs of the Gilded Age. Seeing is believing. President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt was inspired by Riis’s photos and was a prominent contributor to the Progressive Era with his many reforms during his presidency. Jane Addams, who saw poverty for herself in London, responded by establishing settlement houses in Chicago and New York to solve the problem of urban poverty. Others saw that nothing less than the right of women to vote would be necessary. As well, a group of progressives called “conservationists” addressed the use and abuse of the natural environment by unrestrained business.
Women were the backbone of many progressive reform movements of the era. However, not all in the nation benefited from these various crusades. Most notably, African-Americans, despite the legal end of slavery fifty years earlier, were still kept out of the mainstream of American society and saw few benefits from the reforms of the time.
The Progressive Era in the United States was a period of reform that flourished from the 1890s to the 1920s. Progressivism can be understood as a broadly defined set of principles dedicated to reforming social problems to create a more balanced, ideal society. Progressives worked towards curing America of these societal ills. However, they had different views on which were the most important issues to tackle and how to go about the work of improving society.
The Progressive Era was also a period marked by the growth of racism, eugenics, white supremacist policies (Jim Crow Laws/Nadir of American race relations) and colonialism (with the American administration of its ultramarine territorial acquisitions after the Spanish-American War).
Essential Questions
· How was the Progressive movement a product of the Gilded Age?
· How did Progressives use government to bring about societal reform?
· How can progress lead to unintended consequences?
· To what extent were Progressives successful in meeting their goals?
· How should we measure progress in a society?
Topics
Social Movements
Temperance movement, Carrie Catt, muckrakers, Jacob Riis/How the Other Half Lives
Business and Labor Reform
Monopoly, trust, trust-busting, child labor, National Child Labor Committee, labor laws, Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, American Federation of Labor (AFL), International Workers of the World (IWW), strikes, 1902 Coal Strike, Federal Income Tax, The Jungle - Upton Sinclair, Meat Inspection Act, Pure Food and Drug Act
Political and government Reform
Theodore Roosevelt, bully pulpit, Square Deal, William H. Taft, corruption, graft, Boss Tweed, political machine, Pendleton Civil Service Act, Robert LaFollette, anti-corruption, recall, initiative, 17th Amendment, Hiram Johnson, Teddy Roosevelt
Women’s Rights
Suffrage, Alice Paul, Susan B. Anthony, women’s colleges, 19th Amendment
African American rights
Booker T. Washington - Tuskegee Institute, Ida B. Wells, anti-lynching campaigns, NAACP, Jim Crow laws, Niagara Movement - W.E.B. Dubois, Jim Crow laws and segregation, Plessy v. Ferguson, literacy test, poll tax, grandfather clauses, NAACP
Environmental conservation
John Muir, environmental conservation, conservation vs. preservation, Gifford Pinchot, National Parks system, Teddy Roosevelt, Hetch Hetchy Dam
Immigration and Urbanization
Ellis Island, Angel Island, Tenement Housing, Chinese Exclusion Act, Settlement Houses, Nativism, Americanization, Urban Problems (fire, water, transportation, etc.), 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, urbanization, Social Gospel movement