Reform -- Progressives

The Progressive Movement (1890s-1910s) was initiated as a response to political and corporate  abuses at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Religious groups, members of the press, and radical political groups all cried out for reform, with solutions ranging from subtle reforms of the American capitalist economy, to a call for the creation of a socialist economy and a more democratic government

Progressives themselves were never a unified group seeking a single objective or a single set of objectives. They had many different, even 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  "Taylorism"  Political reform

There were four basic types of Progressive reform:  Economic--"Monopoly"  Structural and Political--"Efficiency"  Social--"Democracy"  Moral--"Purity"

Even though they were not a unified group, Progressives shared five basic characteristics or beliefs: Moralists  Government, once purified, must act Weakest element of society must be protected  Never challenged capitalism's basic tenets  Paternalistic, moderate

Readings:

• The 4 Progressive Amendments to the Constitution:

16th Income Tax
17th Direct Election of Senators
18th Prohibition        See also "Prohibition in Oregon": http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/50th/prohibition1/prohibintro.html

19th Woman Suffrage   

• peruse Women in the Progressive Era

Progressive reformers included:

Social Reformers
Jane Addams	Pioneer in the field of social work who founded the settlement house movement through the establishment of Hull House in Chicago, Illinois.
Margaret Sanger	Educated urban poor about the benefits of family planning through birth control. She founded the organization that became Planned Parenthood.
Booker T. Washington	Former slave who founded the Tuskegee Institute that focused on teaching African-Americans trade skills to earn a living and gain the trust of white society.
W.E.B. DuBois	Founder of the NAACP, and a Harvard-educated professor who focused on the need for a traditional liberal arts education for African-Americans who could then insist upon equal treatment and rights from white society.

Florence Kelley	Worked for abolishment of child labor, the passage of protective legislation for working women, the establishment of minimum wage laws, and the development of maternal and child health services.
Robert LaFollete	A founder of the Progressive Movement, he was a spearhead for political reform in Wisconsin and the nation for 25 years.

Muckrakers were members of the press that investigated corruption in order to expose problems to the American people. They had a great amount of influence, often resulting in the passage of laws designed to reform the abuse that they reported.

Muckraker	Work	Subject	Results
Thomas Nast	Political Cartoons	Political corruption by NYC's political machine, Tammany Hall, led by Boss Tweed.	Tweed was convicted of embezzlement and died in prison.
Jacob Riis	How the Other Half Lives (1890)	Living conditions of the urban poor; focused on tenements.	NYC passed building codes to promote safety and health.
Ida B. Wells	A Red Record (1895)	Provided statistics on the lynching of African-Americans.	NAACP joined the fight for Federal anti-lynching legislation.
Frank Norris	The Octopus (1901)	This fictional book exposed monopolistic railroad practices in California.	In Northern Securities v. U.S. (1904), the holding company controlling railroads in the Northwest was broken up.
Ida Tarbell	"History of Standard Oil Company" in McClure's Magazine (1904)	Exposed the ruthless tactics of the Standard Oil Company through a series of articles published in McClure's Magazine.	In Standard Oil v. U.S. (1911), the company was declared a monopoly and broken up.
Lincoln Steffans	The Shame of the Cities (1904)	Examined political corruption in cities across the United States.	Cities began to use city commissions and city managers.
Upton Sinclair	The Jungle (1906)	Investigated dangerous working conditions and unsanitary procedures in the meat-packing industry.	In 1906 the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act were passed.

Progressive Legislation
1901	New York State Tenement House Law	Requires fire escapes, lights in dark hallways, a window in each room
1902	Maryland Workmen's Compensation Law	Provide benefits for workers injured on the job
	Wisconsin Direct Primary Law	Allows voters to select candidates
	Oregon Initiative and Referendum laws	Gives voters power to initiate legislation and vote on important issues
	Newlands Act	Funds irrigation projects in West
1903	Oregon women's labor law	Limits work for women in industry to 10 hours a day
	Elkins Act	Strengthens Interstate Commerce Act
1906	Hepburn Act	Authorizes Interstate Commerce Commission to set maximum railroad rates
	Pure Food and Drug Act	Prohibits sale of adulterated or fraudulently labeled foods and drugs
	Meat Inspection Act	Enforces sanitary conditions in meatpacking plants
1910	Mann Act	Prohibits interstate transportation of women for immoral purposes
1913	16th Amendment  17th Amendment	Authorizes federal income tax  Provides for direct election of senators
1915	Seaman's Act	Regulates conditions of maritime workers
1916	Federal Farm Loan Act  Federal Child Labor Law	Provide farmers with low interest loans  Barred products produced by children from interstate commerce (declared unconstitutional in 1918)
1919	18th Amendment	Prohibited sale and production of intoxicating liquors
1920	19th Amendment	Gave women the right to vote

(Source: Digital History: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/us31.cfm)