The End of Progressive Era and the beginning

The End of Progressive Era and the beginning of American Imperialism How the US started its journey to becoming a world power

Progressive Era: The Last Few Notes • What we know is… • At the end of the 1800’s, citizens began calling for change • Demonstrated efforts for change through labor unions, journalism, and community service • Upton Sinclair, Ida Tarbell, and Jacob Riis wrote about the poor conditions of various industries and environments • Child labor laws were being put into place • Efforts led by lawyer, Florence Kelley • Settlement housing a social reform that provided services to the poor • led by Jane Addams Hull House • inspired middle class, educated women to become social workers • Women played a significant role in shaping and implementing progressive reforms • NAACP (middle class) and the Urban League (1911; working class) • Despite efforts for progress, racism and discrimination persisted • Later, Mexicans/ Mutualistas; Jews/ Anti-defamation League; Asian Americans and unfair laws

Progressive Era: The Last Few Notes • Government reforms • Initiative = gave people power to put proposed new law placed directly on the ballot through signatures and petitions • Referendum = allowed citizens to accept or reject laws passed by legislature • Recall = gave voters the power to remove public servants from office before their terms ended • Direct primary = an election in which citizens themselves vote to select nominees for upcoming elections • Conservation movement There were three schools of conservationist thought at the time • First, business supported a laissez-faire approach believing that business should be allowed to do as they wished with public lands • Second, Environmentalist school led by John Muir; believed that nature was sacred and humans were the intruders; and, humans should make a minimal impact on nature • Third, the Conservationist school; believed that nature could be used but it should also be protected; Theodore Roosevelt

Progressive Era: The Last Few Notes • President Theodore Roosevelt • A life-long naturalist; majored in Natural History at Harvard • Knew that despoliation (damage) of land for timbering and mining would result in the loss of key habitat needed for hunting and future economic development • Throughout his presidency, Roosevelt increased national reserves of forests, mineral lands, and hydropower sites • created the National Forest Service, five new national parks, 18 new U. S. national monuments, 51 bird reserves, four game preserves, and 150 national forests This also encouraged states to follow the lead of the national government • The Square Deal, its goals were to keep the wealthy and the powerful from taking advantage of small business owners and the poor • Established the Department of Commerce and Labor to monitor businesses engaged in interstate commerce and to keep capitalists from abusing power • Interstate Commerce Commission established to oversee railroad charges; fair practices; Hepburn Act (1906) limits on shipping costs and maximum prices for ferries, bridge tolls, and oil pipelines

“Trust-busting” and Regulating Industry • Monopoly/Trusts • combination of companies controlling the production and price of some commodity and to eliminate or reduce competition • The Sherman Anti-Trust Act, passed in 1890, was the first important federal measure to limit the power of companies that controlled a high percentage of market share • Ironically, in the 1890 s the Act was used primarily to block strikes, since it prevented any 'conspiracy to restrict trade • President Roosevelt announces “New Nationalism” a program to restore the government’s trustbusting power • Good trust v. bad trust • Roosevelt v. Taft • Prosecution of more companies (no good v. bad); no lowering of tariffs • 1911, Supreme Court “bust” Standard Oil Company trust