The Origins of Progressivism

Teresa Esquivel!

9.1

The four goals of progressivism

• Protection social welfare

• Promoting moral improvement

• Creating economic reform

• Fostering efficiency

• These together formed the progressive movement-aimed to restore economic opportunities and correct injustices in the american life!

Protecting Social welfare!

• The goal was to soften some of the harshness in the conditions.

• Churches and organizations helped build poor peoples voices and get them heard

• The YMCA opened libraries, sponsored classes, and built swimming pools and handball courts

-Florence Kelly She became an advocate for improving lives of women and children..she was appointed chief inspector of factories for Illinois….

• Illinois Factory Act 1893- this act prohibits child labor and limited womens working hours-Wich later became an influence for other states

Promoting Moral Improvement

• Some people felt that the work place was not the issue..but that morality was to blame. If morality was fixed, it would improve the lives of poor people

• Prohibition, the banning of alcohol beverages • The Womans Christian Temperance Union-

(WCTU) spearheaded the crusade of prohibition.• This group became the largest women’s group in the

nations history.• They followed the “do everything” slogan

Creating Economic Reform

• An economic panic in 1893 promoted some americans to question the capitalist economic system.

• As a result some people especially workers embraced socialism

• Big businesses usually got favorable treatment by the government and politicians. They got the power to limit competition by using economic power.

• Muckrakers- journalists that wrote about the corrupt side of business and public life in big magazines and news papers were known as this!• Ida

Fostering Efficiency

• Many progressive leaders started counting on experts and scientific principles to make society more efficient

• The Oregon law limited women to ten hours of work a day

• They got more things done quicker and brought down the price of goods

• Assembly lines were made and things got done faster..

• Brought mass production

Power to the People

• Initiative-this is when people sign a petetion for the government to either pass or deny

• Recall- when someone from the senate or presidency is removed before their time is up

The Progressive Era

• It was meant to fix the many problems of the societies all over America.

• Moles in government..paid off good guys..unfair justice system..unfair favoritism (rich poor)

Prohibition

• “Great Experiment”

• Lasted 13 years

• the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages were restricted or illegal

• Women especially wanted prohibition.

• Prohibitionist groups were formed to keep it the law in tact.

Aid organizations Impact

• Helped surveve plagues, wars, illnesses, natural and man made disasters, and wars

• New American Frontiers- revolutionary war aid group

• YMCA- made lots of schools, gyms, churches. Helped the poor

• Phinlanthropists.

18th amendment

• It banned the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages

• Repealed December 5, 1933

• They thought it would eliminate corruptions and help improve the society.

• Drinking rates went WAY up instead!

Socialism

• An organized political movement in the U.S.

• Started with utopian comunities

• It was influenced by European thinking.

Muckrakers!!

• A journalist who writes about the corruption in our government.

• Some examples:

-Nellie Bly

-Julius Chamers

What did local government do to reform itself during the Progressive Era?

• Enviromentalism-clean air, water, cities and land..protect the country

• Social justice-a society where everyone is equal.

Business improvement

• Populist movement- farmers that got together and talked about crop failure, failing prices, poor marketing, and credit facilities.

• Railroads

• Protection of private property

• Increased immigrants

• Steamboats

Safer work Places

• Lazzeis Fares-some people thought you should “let the people do as they please”

• They got child labor laws..

• More regulations

Child Labor Laws

• The number of children working in factories was increasing dramatically!

• Big busnesses hired children for littler wages, little hands

• Some families had no choice but to send their children

• Keating-Owen Act in 1916- it prohibited the transportation across state lines of goods produced by children

• Two years later the supreme court banned child labor..and set maximun hours of labor

Maximum hours

• They could no longer use children and only had them working 9 hour days

Raises!!

All workers for like rail roads and mines and coal and construction got 10% raises!

Seventeenth Amendment

• This allows the states to vote for their own senators.

Sources

• http://www.academicamerican.com/progressive/topics/progressive.html

• http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_term_for_a_person_who_donates_money_to_charities

• http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/distance/hist/factory.htm

• http://mclane.fresno.k12.ca.us/wilson98/mwh/C/MH09C037.PDF

• The Americans- out test book.