America Comes of Age (1890-1920)

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America Comes of Age (1890-1920) Lesson 1
Progressives Drive Reform
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What should we do?

• The coal is hard, and accidents to the hands,
  such as cut, broken, or crushed fingers, are
  common among the boys. Sometimes there is a worse
  accident a terrified shriek is heard, and a boy
  is mangled and torn in the machinery. . . .
  Clouds of dust . . . are inhaled by the boys,
  laying the foundation for asthma and miners
  consumption.
• John Spargo, The Bitter Cry of the Children,
  1906

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America Comes of Age (1890-1920) Lesson 1
Progressives Drive Reform
Learning Objectives

• Identify the causes of Progressivism and compare
  it to Populism.
• Analyze the role that journalists and novelists
  played in the Progressive Movement.
• Evaluate some of the social reforms that
  Progressives tackled.
• Explain what Progressives hoped to achieve
  through political reforms.

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America Comes of Age (1890-1920) Lesson 1
Progressives Drive Reform
Key Terms

• Progressivism
• muckrakers
• Lincoln Steffens
• Jacob Riis
• Upton Sinclair
• Social Gospel
• settlement house
• Jane Addams
• direct primary,
• initiative
• referendum
• recall
• Seventeenth Amendment

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The Progressive Era Begins
Industrialization, urbanization, and immigration
brought many benefits to America, but they also
produced challenging social problems. In
response, a movement called Progressivism emerged
in the 1890s. Progressives believed that new
ideas and honest, efficient government could
bring about social justice. Progressive ideas
brought lasting reforms that still affect society
today.
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The Progressive Era Begins

• Progressive Beliefs and Influences
• Progressive Goals

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The Progressive Era Begins
During the Progressive Era, volunteers like this
one from the Salvation Army helped those less
fortunate in many ways.
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The Progressive Era Begins

• Populists of late 1800s more poor, rural and
  farmers
• Progressive more middle class use science and
  common sense to solve problems
• Goals of the Progressive
• Women suffrage, honest government, end political
  machines, paved streets, safe drinking water,
  decent housing, bust trusts to help small
  business, reduce income gap, harsh working
  conditions of miners, factory workers, and
  children, and social welfare.
• Wage war on evils

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The Progressive Era Begins
Compare and Contrast How did the goals of
Progressives and Populists differ? How were they
similar?
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The Impact of Muckrakers
Socially conscious journalists and other writers
dramatized the need for reform. Their sensational
investigative reports uncovered a wide range of
ills afflicting America in the early 1900s. Even
though Theodore Roosevelt agreed with much of
what they said, he called these writers
muckrakers because he thought them too fascinated
with the ugliest side of things. (A muckrake is a
tool used to clean manure and hay out of animals
stables.) The writers were angry at first but in
time took up Roosevelts taunting name as a badge
of honor.
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The Impact of Muckrakers

• Journalists Uncover Injustices
• Novelists Highlight Social Issues

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The Impact of Muckrakers

• Muckrakers investigative journalists who
  exposed corruption in government and big business
• TR called them this because he was worried that
  they would ruin good peoples names as well.
• Lincoln Steffens editor of McClure who exposed
  the corruption of the nations cities
  (Philadelphia)
• Jacob Riis wrote How the Other Half Lives,
  about the poor in the rat invested tenement
  buildings
• Ida Tarbell published report (McClure) on the
  bad business practices of John Rockefeller and
  Standard Oil.
• Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle, he was a
  socialist and wanted to show how bad meat packers
  were treated, instead showed how gross the meat
  we ate was.
• Accidental Muckraker
• Mary had a little lamb, and when she saw it
  sicken, she shipped it off to Packingtown, and
  now its labeled chicken

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The Impact of Muckrakers
Muckrakers such as Nelly Bly wrote news articles
that stirred public opinion in favor of
Progressive causes.
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Reformers Impact Society
The work of the muckrakers increased popular
support for Progressivism. Progressive activists
promoted laws to improve living conditions,
public health, and schools. They urged government
to regulate businesses. They worked as volunteers
living among the people they sought to help. They
believed that careful social planning would make
American life better.
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Reformers Impact Society

• Issues Affecting the Social Gospel
• Jane Addams Contributes to the Settlement House
  Movement
• Progressive-Era Issues Affecting Children
• Reforms in the Workplace

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Reformers Impact Society
Walter Rauschenbusch became the leading proponent
of the Social Gospel movement with the
publication of his 1907 work Christianity and the
Social Crisis.
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Reformers Impact Society

• Walter Rauschenbusch preached the Social Gospel
• Social Gospel urged people follow the teachings
  of the bible on charity and justice to make Earth
  more like the kingdom of God.
• Help others and make the world more just
• End child labor and long work hours
• Settlement houses private run charity for women
  and children that taught child care, English,
  theater, art, and dance.
• Jane Addams built Hull House in Chicago
• Supported TR, cofounder of the ACLU, working
  conditions, womens suffrage, and world peace
• Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931
• Florence Kelley tried to end child labor
• John Dewey wanted education reform stop
  memorizing and teach kids to be creative
• History, geography, cooking and carpentry
• Triangle Shirtwaste Fire sweat shop that caught
  on fire with no safety devices or
  procedures/equipment 146 people burned or
  jumped to death mostly women and children.
  Doors were locket.

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Reformers Impact Society
Analyze Information How did child labor laws
affect children's employment levels during the
Progressive Era?
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Progressive Reforms Impact Government
Progressive reformers sought to reform the
political process in order to reform society.
They wanted to free government from the control
of political bosses and powerful business
interests. They wanted to give people more
control over their government and make government
more effective and efficient in serving the
public.
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Progressive Reforms Impact Government

• Reformers Change City Government
• Progressive Reforms Impact Political Process
• States Lead the Progressive Movement

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Progressive Reforms Impact Government
The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 destroyed
countless structures, such as this public school.
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Progressive Reforms Impact Government

• Galveston plan replace mayor/council with
  commission form
• Hire professional city manager
• Purchased utilities to keep prices low
• Wisconsin and Governor Robert LaFollette bypassed
  political bosses and established a direct primary
• Direct primary people vote to select nominees
  for general elections
• Initiative people can put new laws directly on
  the ballot by petition
• Referendum vote by the people approve or
  reject laws by a legislature
• Recall remove elected officials before their
  term ended
• 17th Amendment people directly vote for
  Senators instead of state legislatures
• LaFollette improved education, safe factories and
  the direct primary
• Hiram Johnson (CA) Conservation
• Teddy Roosevelt (NY) corporate income tax and
  fair hiring practices for state government
• Woodrow Wilson direct primary (NJ)
• Laboratories of Democracy

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Progressive Reforms Impact Government
Analyze Information What was the most significant
Progressive election reform? Cite two pieces of
information to support your answer.
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Quiz The Progressive Era Begins
What common belief did all Progressives
share? A. They wanted to improve labor
conditions for factory workers. B. They wanted
to reduce the gap between the rich and the
poor. C. They wanted to create more
opportunities for small businesses. D. They
wanted to correct the injustices of urban
industrial society.
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Quiz The Impact of Muckrakers
Why did Theodore Roosevelt call socially
conscious writers muckrakers? A. He
considered their literature to be poorly
written. B. He thought that their investigations
were unpatriotic. C. He acknowledged their focus
on the difficulties of urban life. D. He
disagreed with their criticisms of social and
political conditions.
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Quiz Reformers Impact Society
What was the purpose of settlement houses? A.
to provide health services for minorities B. to
provide social services to the urban poor C. to
provide resources for mistreated women D. to
provide charitable housing to the homeless
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Quiz Progressive Reforms Impact Government
What was the impact of the Galveston Plan? A.
It decreased the size and efficiency of local
governments. B. It gave utility companies the
power to charge higher rates. C. It limited the
power of bosses and corrupt political systems. D.
It developed new infrastructure to survive
natural disasters.