Title: Exploring American History Unit VII Becoming a World Power
1Exploring American HistoryUnit VII Becoming a
World Power
- Chapter 21 - The Progressive Spirit of Reform
- Section 1- The Gilded Age and Progressive Movement
2Birth of the Progressive Era - 52 min.
3The Gilded Age and the Progressive Movement
- The Big Idea
- From the late 1800s through the early 1900s, the
Progressive movement addressed problems in
American society. - Main Ideas
- Political corruption was common during the Gilded
Age. - Progressives pushed for reforms to improve living
conditions. - Progressive reforms expanded the voting power of
citizens.
4Main Idea 1 Political corruption was common
during the Gilded Age.
- Political machines strongly influenced city,
county, and even federal politics in the late
1800s. - Political machines used both legal and illegal
means to get their candidates elected to public
office. - Stuffed ballot boxes with votes for their
candidates - Paid people to vote with bribes, or bribed vote
counters - Supporters of political machines were often
rewarded with government jobs. - The most notorious political machine was New York
Citys Tammany Hall, headed by William Marcy
Tweed.
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6Corruption in Washington
- The administration of Ulysses S. Grant, who was
elected in 1868 and reelected in 1872, was
charged with corruption. - In Grants second term, federal officials were
jailed for taking bribes from whiskey distillers. - The scandal caused many Americans to question the
honesty of national leaders.
7Cleaning Up Political Corruption
- Rutherford B. Hayes (18771881) promised radical
and complete changes in government and made some
minor reforms. - James B. Garfield (1881) attempted reforms, but
was assassinated by a disgruntled federal-office
seeker early in his term. - Chester A. Arthur (18811885), Garfields vice
president, became president. Backed the Pendleton
Civil Service Act passed in 1883.
- Grover Cleveland (18851889, 18931897), a
Democrat, worked hard to hire and fire people
based on merit, not party loyalty. - Benjamin Harrison (18891893) helped control
inflation and passed the Sherman Antitrust Act. - William McKinley (18971901) avoided scandal and
helped win back public trust in the government.
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9Political Corruption
- Explain Why did member of political machines
stuff ballot boxes? - Recall What happened to federal officials who
took bribes from whiskey makers during President
Grants second term? - Predict If government officials were replaced
after each presidential election, what effect
would this have on the governments workforce?
10Political Corruption
- Identify Which Presidents tried to reform
government corruption before 1883?? - Recall In what two ways did the Pendleton Act
change the hiring process for federal jobs?
11Who were the reformers? What did they want?
- Mostly middle class people (Roosevelt called them
Muckrakers) concerned with social issues of the
times. Issues such as - immigrants - oldcomers and newcomers
- city life- poor and needy, and prohibition
- crime and corruption
- strikes, Workmans compensation, minimum wage
- Political bosses
- city/state governments- direct democracy, tax
laws - Giant business corporations
- Womens Suffrage
- Child Labor
12Main Idea 2 Progressives pushed for reforms to
improve living conditions.
- Progressives were reformers who worked to solve
problems caused by rapid industrial and urban
growth. - Eliminate causes of crime, disease, and poverty
- Ease overcrowding in cities
- Advocate for better education
- Promote better working conditions and less child
labor - Fight corruption in business and government
- Muckrakers were journalists who wrote about child
labor, racial discrimination, slum housing, and
corruption in business. - Influenced voters, causing them to pressure
government officials
13Muckrakers
- Name applied to American journalists,
novelists, and critics who in the first decade of
the 20th cent. attempted to expose the abuses of
business and the corruption in politics. - The term derives from the word muckrake used by
President Theodore Roosevelt in a speech in 1906,
in which he agreed with many of the charges of
the muckrakers but asserted that some of their
methods were sensational and irresponsible. - The muckraking movement lost support in about
1912. Historians agree that if it had not been
for the revelations of the muckrakers the
Progressive movement would not have received the
popular support needed for effective reform.
14Muckrakers
- Miss Ida Tarbell had been at work for years on
her history of the Standard Oil Company, and it
began to run in McClure's in November 1902. - Lincoln Steffen's first novel on municipal
corruption, "Tweed Days in St. Louis" appeared in
McClure's Oct 1902. - Henry Demerest Lloyd's Wealth Against
Commonwealth, published in 1894, attacked the
Standard Oil Company. - How the Other Half Lives, published in 1890 by
Jacob Riis, exposed life in New York's slums. - John Spargo, an Englishman, published The Bitter
Cry of the Children, an account of young kids at
work in sweatshops. - Perhaps the most famous Muckraking novel, The
Jungle by Upton Sinclair, exposed the horrors of
the Chicago meat-packing plants and the
immigrants who were worked to death in them.
Lincoln Steffen
Ida Tarbell
Upton Sinclair
Jacob Riis
15Jacob Riis and Upton Sinclair
- In 1877 Riis became a police reporter for the New
York Tribune. In the 1880s his work gravitated
towards reform and he worked with other New York
reformers then crusading for better living
conditions for the thousands of immigrants
flocking to New York in search of new
opportunities. He constantly argued that the
"poor were the victims rather than the makers of
their fate".
As a writer Sinclair gained fame in 1906 with the
novel The Jungle, a report on the dirty
conditions in the Chicago meatpacking industry.
The book won Sinclair fame and fortune, and led
to the implementation of the Pure Food and Drug
Act in 1906.
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17Reform Successes
- Reforms and Reformers
- Progressives started settlement houses, such as
Jane Addamss Hull House. - City planners
- Helped design safer building codes
- Opened new public parks
- Civil and sanitation engineers
- Improved transportation
- Addressed pollution and sanitation issues,
including waste disposal and clean water - Death rates dropped in cities where city planners
and civil engineers addressed urban ills.
18Progressive Programs - 535 min.
19Progressive Movement
- The Progressive Movement was an effort to cure
many of the ills of American society that had
developed during the great spurt of industrial
growth in the last quarter of the 19th century.
The frontier had been tamed, great cities and
businesses developed and an overseas empire
established, but not all citizens shared in the
new wealth, prestige and optimism. - Progressivism was rooted in the belief that man
was capable of improving the lot of all within
society. Progressivism also was full of strong
political overtones and rejected the church as
the driving force for change. Supporters of the
movement were found in both major political
parties, Democrat and Republican. - Specific goals included
- Remove corruption and undue influence from
government - Conservation
- Include more people more directly in the
political process. - Government must play a role to solve social
problems and establish fairness in economic
matters. - Race- Blacks and Native Americans
- Child Labor, Workers- young and old, workers
compensation, - Political Reform- Direct Election, political
reform, - Anti- monopoly reform.
20Social Reforms
- Education reform included the enacting of school
attendance laws. - Susan Blow opened the first American public
kindergarten. - John Dewey advocated new teaching methods
designed to help children learn problem-solving
skills, not just memorize facts. - Joseph McCormack led the American Medical
Association in supporting public health laws.
21Progressives Push for Reforms
- Recall What sort of reforms did Progressives
want? - Making Inferences What audience do you think
muckrakers were trying to reach?
22Progressives Push for Reforms
- Recall Name three writers who urged reform.
- Cause and Effect What resulted from Upton
Sinclairs novel The Jungle? - Evaluate What is your opinion of the importance
of city planners and engineers?
23Progressives Push for Reforms
- Recall When did the first public kindergarten
open in the United States? - Contrast How were Deweys ideas on education
different from earlier methods of teaching?
24Main Idea 2Progressive reformers expanded the
voting power of citizens.
- Progressives worked to reduce the power of the
political machines by - Ending corrupt ballot practices
- Adopting the secret ballot
- Adopting the direct primary, which allowed voters
to choose party candidates rather than having it
done by party bosses - The Seventeenth Amendment allowed Americans to
vote directly for U.S. senators.
25Recall, Initiative, and Referendum
- Recall
- Some states and cities adopted the recall.
- It was a special vote that gave citizens the
opportunity to remove an elected official from
office.
- Initiative
- Some states adopted the initiative.
- It allowed voters to propose a new law and vote
on it.
- Referendum
- Some states adopted the referendum.
- It permitted voters to directly approve or reject
a proposed or enacted law.
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27Government Reforms
- The Cities
- Some cities adopted a council-manager form of
government, in which a professional manager runs
the city. - Other cities adopted a commission form of
government, in which a group of elected officials
runs the city.
- The States
- Governor Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin
challenged the power of the political bosses. - He began a series of reforms called the Wisconsin
Idea. - His reforms decreased the power of the political
machine. - The Wisconsin Idea influenced other states.
28Progressive Movement
- The efforts and successes
- Interstate Commerce Act (1887) and the Sherman
Antitrust Act (1890). - A minority supported socialism with government
ownership of the means of production. - conservation movement
- railroad legislation
- food and drug laws.
- elect senators
- prohibition
- suffrage to women.
- Workers compensation, civil service, and minimum
wage - efforts to place limitations on child labor were
routinely thwarted by the courts. - The needs of blacks and Native Americans were
poorly served by the Progressives. - Secret Ballot, Direct Election, direct primary
and initiative, referendum and recall - Robert La Follette- Leader in reform measures and
the candidate of the reform element of his party
for the nomination for governor in 1896 and 1898
in 1900 unanimously nominated for Governor of
Wisconsin and elected by the largest plurality
ever given a candidate for that office.
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30Election Reforms
- Secret Ballot
- Direct Primary- People select the candidates
- INITIATIVE The people may initiate(propose) by
5-8 petition of voters a bill to a legislature. - REFERENDUM The people may use referendum
(popular ballot) to enact, approve or reject acts
of the legislature. - RECALL All elected public officials in the
State, except judicial officers, are subject to
recall (by petition) by the voters of the State
and forced to stand for re-election at any time. - 17th Amendment Direct Election of Senators. The
Senate of the United States shall be composed of
two Senators from each State, elected by the
people thereof, for six years and each Senator
shall have one vote
31Reforming Government
- City Government reforms
- New rules for police, releasing debtors from
prison and a fairer tax system. - 5 member commission system
- Council-manager model
- State government reforms
- Election reforms
- Seventeenth Amendment
- Initiative, referendum and recall.
32City Government
- Commission Plan
- Replaced the mayor and council with a small
board of commissioners, each elected at large and
each responsible for a single area of municipal
administration. - Under the new plan voters could easily identify
and punish those responsible for shortcomings in
city services.
33City Government
- City Manager scheme
- Under this plan an elected city council
determined basic policy and appointed a
professional, nonpartisan city manager who was in
charge of the day-to-day operation of the
municipality. Worked well in small cities. - Critics of corruption urged adoption of
nonpartisan elections, new methods of municipal
accounting, a civil service system for city
employees, and state constitutional amendments to
halt state legislative interference in municipal
affairs.
34Expansion of Voting Power
- Identify What ballot change did many states
make, after being pressured by Progressive
reformers? - Analyze How did the right to recall officials
give voters more political leverage?
35Expansion of Voting Power
- Compare What is the difference between an
initiative and a referendum? - Identify Cause and Effect What effects resulted
from Progressives work to reform city
governments?