Download U2D5- The Drive for Reform

Starter 9/22
 On page 317 in your textbook, read the excerpt from
Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth.
 Write the two questions (Analyzing Information and
Synthesizing Information) in your starter notebook
and answer them.

Answer the following: Do you agree with Carnegie’s
sentiments? Why or why not? Provide 2 reasons for support.
The Drive for Reform
CHAPTER 13, SECTION 1
Origins of Progressivism
 The Progressive movement started in the 1890s to
combat the decline of society and the growing
social problems.

These social problems included politics/government,
business, social welfare, and labor conditions.
 They were similar to the Populist Party in that both
groups were dissatisfied with the government and
its handling of problems.

But unlike Populists (who were mainly farmers),
Progressives mainly came from the middle class.
Muckrakers Reveal the Need for Reform
 Socially conscious journalists dramatized the need
for reform in their novels to encourage others in
society to back reform.

They were called muckrakers, because they raked up and
exposed the ‘muck’ of society, i.e. the social problems,
much as a muckrake would clean horse stalls.
 There were many muckrakers in all areas of the
literary world.
 Lincoln Steffens wrote for McClure magazine and
in 1903, wrote The Shame of the Cities.
These articles focused on political corruption,
specifically in Philadelphia.
Muckrakers Reveal the Need for Reform
Jacob Riis, a photographer for the New York Evening
Sun, focused on the horrible housing conditions of the
urban poor.
 His most influential work was How the Other Half
Lives.
 In The History of Standard Oil, Ida Tarbell went after
John D. Rockefeller. She exposed his ruthless tactics to
push out the competition.
 Perhaps the most famous muckraker was Upton Sinclair.
In his 1906 novel, The Jungle, Sinclair wrote about the
horrid conditions of a Chicago meat-packing plant.

Progressives Reform Society
 Many Progressives believed that Christianity should
be the basis of reform.

This belief was known as the Social Gospel. It was believed
through charity and justice, reformers could remake society
into “the kingdom of God”.
 Jane Addams focused her reform efforts on urban
living conditions.


She pioneered the settlement house movement in the U.S.
These ‘houses’ were more like community centers that
provided services for the urban poor– such as childcare and
English lessons.
The most well-known settlement house was the Hull House in
Chicago.
Progressives Reform Society
 In terms of education, reformers such as Florence
Kelley first had to start with ending child labor.


In addition to ending child labor, reformers encouraged state
governments to impose mandatory education to a certain age.
This fueled a debate about what and how students should
learn.
 In 1911, a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
demonstrated a need for industrial reform.

After 146 people died when a fire ran through the factory,
states were encouraged to enact workers’ compensation laws,
safer workplace conditions, and a 10-hour workday limit.
Reforming Government
 Many Progressives believed that by reforming
government, society would reform itself.
 These reforms started at the city level.

Instead of having just a mayor, many cities adopted a
commission form of government– known as the Galveston
Plan.
 The election process of city officials also needed to be
reformed.

Four new forms of election regulation came to pass during the
Progressive Era– the direct primary, the initiative, the
referendum and recall.
Reforming Government
 Direct
primary election in which citizens choose their
nominees for office.
 Initiative allows citizens to propose new laws on a
ballot by collecting signatures.
 Referendum allows citizens to reject laws passed by
the legislature.
 Recall ability to remove a public official before their
term ended.
 New, ‘progressive’ governors swept across the
nation. These included:

Robert La Follette (WI); Hiram Johnson (CA); Theodore
Roosevelt (NY); Woodrow Wilson (NJ).
Women and Minorities Make
Progress
Progressive Women Expand Reforms
 Women achieved their goals through greater access to
education during the early 1900s.
 Women who worked outside of the home faced many
difficulties including low wages, long hours and dangerous
conditions.
 They were also supposed to hand their wages over to their
husbands, fathers or brothers.

Florence Kelley founded the Women’s Trade Union League
which advocated for a minimum wage, 8-hour workday, and
started a strike fund.
Working for Changes in Family Life
 Improving family life was the main goal of progressive women.
 Specifically, women focused on the temperance (abstaining from
alcohol) movement, fueled by the Women’s Christian Temperance
Union.

This helped lead to the passage of the 18th amendment.
 Margaret Sanger opened the nation’s first birth-control clinic,
leading eventually to the ability for women to gain information from
their doctors about family planning.
Winning the Right to Vote
 The main goal of Progressive Era women was to gain
suffrage– the right to vote.
Women lobbied Congress to pass an amendment (19th);
 Used the referendum process to pass state suffrage laws;
 Recruited wealthy, well-educated women to fight for their
cause;
 Held protest marches and hunger strikes.

Women and their Goals
 Many prominent women emerged to lead during the
movement, focusing on specific goals.



Carrie Chapman Catt encouraged people to join the National
American Woman Suffrage Association, which focused on
working to achieve legal gains.
Alice Paul encouraged public protest marches
Ida B. Wells National Association of Colored Women focusing
on family assistance.
The Struggle Against
Discrimination
Progressivism Presents Contradictions
 While making overall social gains, many Progressives were
prejudiced against those who were non-white, nonProtestant, and non-middle class.
 They worked towards Americanization of immigrants.
 Some Progressives agreed with southern legislation that
segregated African Americans, while others supported
African American growth.
African Americans Demand Reform
 W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington were split on
how African Americans should achieve change.
 Du Bois went on to start the Niagara Movement, which
later grew into the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People.

Both groups focused on organization to promote change.
Reducing Prejudice and Protecting Rights
 Other minority groups (mainly immigrants) also sought
greater rights during the Progressive Era.
 Jews, Mexican-Americans, Native Americans and AsianAmericans formed self-help agencies and social justice
organizations to work for change.

In some cases, these minority groups took their grievances to
court.