Chapter 21 Progressive Reforms What did the Progressives

Chapter 21 Progressive Reforms

What did the Progressives stand for? n n Government should regulate big business The people should: n n help the poor help those who lacked wealth and influence They wanted to clean up/ reform society!

How did the Progressives draw attention to the problems in America? n n Muckrakers helped reformers by exposing corruption They “Raked the Muck” or cleaned up the dirt and corruption in the world “… LONG ago it was said that "one half of the world does not know how the other half lives. " That was true then. It did not know because it did not care. The half that was on top cared little for the struggles, and less for the fate of those who were underneath, so long as it was able to hold them there and keep its own seat. There came a time when the discomfort and crowding below were so great, and the consequent upheavals so violent, that it was no longer an easy thing to do, and then the upper half fell to inquiring what was the matter. ”

Who was Jacob Riis? n Muckraker, Danish immigrant, who spoke out against tenement life in How the Other Half Lives (1890)

How did the government react to Riis? n New York State Tenement House Act 1890: required that new buildings must be built with outward-facing windows in every room, an open courtyard, indoor toilets and fire safeguard

Famous Muckrakers n n n Lincoln Steffens – Exposed corrupt machine politics in NYC, Chicago, and other cities Ida Tarbell – Described the unfair practices of the oil trust Upton Sinclair- Exposed the horrors of working in the meat packing industry in Chicago http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=h 2 ppa. Jw. Q 9 UM

How did the Government Respond to Sinclair? n Meat Inspection Act in 1906 & Pure Food and Drug Act, banning the sale of harmful food

How were Women involved? n n n Late 19 th c. society gave women more down time In 1910, 40% of the people in colleges were women Between 1890 and 1910, the number of women working outside the home increased

On Women’s Suffrage n The National Women’s Suffrage Association vs. “Natural Balance”

On the Temperance Movement n The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union led the way Carry Nation: She would march into a bar, and sing and pray while smashing bar fixtures and stock with a hatchet…”

Temperance Success? n n The anti-alcohol movement grew in the 1900’s. In 1917, the 18 th Amendment made it illegal to sell alcohol in the United States.

A Republican turned Progressive n Teddy Roosevelt 1901 -1909 n n n ordered the justice system to use the Sherman Anti-Trust act went after the Northern Securities Company, a railroad monopoly in the northwest, and broke it apart TRUST-BUSTER!

Square Deal n Equal treatment for all! n EX: Roosevelt + Mine Owners + Labor Reps n n Higher wages + shorter days + military force Workers won! (finally) Other Presidents sent troops in against the strikers. This was the first time in history troops were sent in to battle the owners