Progressive Era Changes and challenges in Society Muckrakers

Progressive Era Changes and challenges in Society

Muckrakers- exposing corruption • Muckrakers- journalists uncovering social corruption • Upton Sinclair : “The Jungle” • Exposed the unsafe and unsanitary operations of the meat packing • • industry and the exploitation of immigrant workers. Led to FDA Ida Tarbell : History of the Standard Oil Company Exposed how monopolies destroyed small businesses in America Jacob Riis: “How the Other Half Lives” Exposed poverty and urban challenges- tenements and sanitation

Women and Progressive Movement • • Women pushed several areas Voting suffrage for women, temperance, education, poverty Jane Addams- Hull House Jane Addams founded Hull House in 1889 in an immigrant community for the purpose of providing educational opportunities for immigrants, especially immigrant women. • Helped educate immigrants in English and assimilate to American culture

NAACP and fight for equality • Jim Crow Laws: legal framework for separating Whites and Blacks • prevent Blacks from participating in the political process, which included • • voting, serving in office, and participating in jury trials. Gradually, Jim Crow laws were extended to include public education, transportation, and other public facilities. There were separate water fountains, waiting rooms, and restrooms for Whites and Blacks. laws were supposed to provide "separate but equal" facilities Segregation Especially bad in South

Plessy v Ferguson • Famous Supreme Court Case- 1896 • Homer Plessy was arrested for refusing the leave a Whites only railroad car. • In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that "separate but equal" was indeed constitutional. Racial discrimination was thus legal according to the federal government and the ruling upheld the state level Jim Crow segregation provisions- Bad ruling!!!!!! • New fight for equality was needed • NAACP

NAACP • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People • W. E. B. DUBois • NAACP's stated goals was to secure for all people the rights guaranteed in the 13 th, 14 th, and 15 th Amendments to the United States Constitution. • Fight segregation in the south • Eventually responsible for overturning Plessy v Ferguson in court case Brown v Board of Education in 1954

Political reforms • Politically, the Progressives planned to attack graft, the political machine, • • • and the influence of big business in government. Empower voters- 17 th Amendment: direct election of Senators State and local levels: policies passed included the initiative/referendum and recall votes. Suggest and or pass laws without state legislatures Recall or revote on politicians not doing their jobs. Labor laws- child labor laws, minimum wage, limit on hours, safe working conditions, workers compensation

Conservation- environment • Big business believed that there should be NO government regulation on • • • businesses use of the environment. Environmentalists such as John Muir saw nature as a “gift” for all of mankind and should be protected. Teddy Roosevelt: avid outdoorsmen and hunter Roosevelt sought to protect the land by government Five new national parks, 18 new U. S. national monuments, 51 bird reserves, four game preserves, and 150 national forests Government land to protect from industry