Progressivism Early 20Th Century Movement That Favored Reform and Direct Government Action

Progressivism – early 20th century movement that favored reform and direct government action. The progressive movement resulted in an increase in government The progressive reforms resulted in a class of bureaucrats who were immune to political change and public pressure. The Progressives favored furthering reform through (1) promoting direct democracy, (2) increasing government efficiency, and (3) advocating government intervention. The Progressives believed that placing power in the hands of the people would naturally result in better government (direct democracy) The secret ballot, direct primaries, and referendums furthered direct democracy The secret ballot reduced the possibility of influencing voters and also frustrated corrupt politicians who now could never be sure whether the votes they bought through bribery were actually cast. Direct primaries – the nomination of a party’s candidates by popular vote Initiative – petition for the legislature to consider an action Referendum – allows the people to vote yes or no in a regular election to determine whether a law should be enacted or rejected. Recall – voters petition to hold a special election deciding whether to remove an elected official from office City commission – this system combined the duties of mayor and city council and invested them in 5 city commissioners. City manager – the city council hired a qualified city manager who served as the administrator of the city government. The goal of the city manager form of government was government efficiency Trust-busting – breaking up the monopolies and restoring competition to the marketplace Gas and water socialism refers to the government ownership of utilities 16th Amendment – federal income tax. Income tax would provide the government with funds it needed to initiate reforms and provide the expanded social services that the progressives demanded. The tax rate was graduated, the more money you make, the more income tax you pay. 17th Amendment – called for the direct election of U.S. senators. 18th Amendment – prohibition – the banning the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcoholic beverages. Progressives supported prohibition because they wanted to reduce crime and poverty. 19th Amendment – granted women suffrage (the right to vote). Women’s suffrage was an issue long before the progressives began to crusade for it. Susan B. Anthony was a crusader for women’s suffrage. Muckrakers is the term that refers to the progressive writers who exposed abuse and corruptions William Jennings Bryan turned to progressivism and became the leader of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Robert La Follette - from Wisconsin (Wisconsin became known as the “laboratory of democracy”) La Follette was the major Republican leader of the progressive wing. Eugene Debs was the leading socialist; he used to be head of the American Railway Union Theodore Roosevelt crusaded for conservation, trust-busting, and the Panama Canal. Theodore Roosevelt was a progressive who ran on a platform called “New Nationalism” in 1912. Roosevelt was in some ways the most “aristocratic” president since John Adams. Theodore Roosevelt’s theme during his first campaign was the Square Deal, it said that every man and woman should receive fair treatment and equal opportunity. The Northern Securities case was a milestone in vindicating the government’s authority to regulate trusts, and it encouraged Roosevelt to proceed against other monopolies. Hepburn Act – Roosevelt’s most important railroad-regulating legislation. This act strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission’s ability to set rates for railroads and made provisions for a standard bookkeeping system that made it easier to compare and regulate these rates. The Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) outlawed the interstate sale of impure food and drugs and also required honest labeling of such products. The Meat Inspection Act (1906) required the Department of Agriculture to oversee the preparation and packaging of meat and to inspect the health of animals before they were slaughtered. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair was the piece of muckraking literature that spurred the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act. The subject of the Jungle was meat packing. The most significant fact about the coal miners strike of 1902 was that the federal government acted as a mediator. Roosevelt threatened to use federal troops to operate the mines. The owners consented to a 10% pay raise and a nine-hour day. Conservation is the careful use of natural resources. The Reclamation Act in 1902, set aside nearly 100 million acres of western land to be controlled by the federal government. In 1906 the San Francisco school board touched off an international incident when it tried to segregate all Asian students into a separate public school. The Jim Crow laws segregated the south by race. Segregation – separation Plessy vs. Ferguson was a court case which decreed that “separate but equal” facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional. **The requirement of literacy tests deprived many blacks of their right to vote. Booker T. Washington – a conservative black; his autobiography is called “Up from Slavery” W.E.B. Du Bois was the black cofounder of the NAACP (the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) American leaders were afraid to grant independence to the Philippines too quickly because they feared another country would take over. Know Panama Canal Roosevelt Corollary – the U.S. would act as a policeman to keep Latin American nations in line. The treaty of Portsmouth was very unpopular in Japan, the treaty made Russia and Japan unhappy but it was negotiated by Roosevelt. Root-Takahira Agreement – The U.S. and Japan pledged to respect each other’s territorial claims in the Pacific and to maintain the “open door” for trade in China. William Howard Taft was handpicked for the presidency by Roosevelt Taft initiated more antitrust suits and set aside more public lands than Roosevelt. The limitation of the speaker of the house was a popular reform which took place during the Taft administration. The antitrust suit against U.S. steel resulted in a final split between Taft and Roosevelt. Taft clashed with Gifford Pinchot, the head of the U.S. Forest Service, about the future of some of the public lands that Taft was returning to private use Joseph Cannon was the dictatorial Speaker of the House. Cannon assigned the members to and selected the chairman for each committee in the House. Dollar diplomacy is influencing foreign affairs through investing money in foreign countries Roosevelt formed the Progressive party that was popularly known as the Bull-Moose party. Woodrow Wilson – his campaign motto was “New Freedom” and he initiated reforms such as the direct primary, state regulation of utilities, and legislation designed to drive monopolies out of the state. Underwood Tariff Act – the first income tax Federal Reserve Act – divided the nation into 12 banking districts, each served by a private regional Federal Reserve Bank. Over these district banks was a central organization, the Federal Reserve Board, a government-run body. The Clayton Antitrust Act has been called the “Magna Carta” of labor unions because it expanded the list of practices prohibited to corporations. The Federal Trade Commission Act established the Federal trade Commission, a board of 5 men authorized to help define and halt unfair business practices. The automobile and the airplane were the 2 inventions of the Progressive Era that eventually transformed American transportation. Henry Ford perfected the assembly line method of production The tractor was the most significant agricultural advance during the progressive Era John Dewey advocate of progressive education Walter Rauschenbusch advocate of the social gospel Benjamin Warfield defense of orthodox Christianity Billy Sunday urban evangelist Modernism belief that Christianity has evolved Social gospel the belief that reform comes through reform of man’s environment Secular humanism denial of God and affirmation of man’s perfectibility The era from 1898-1914 was a boom for American agriculture Progressive education emphasized experience

Essay: list 3 reasons prohibition received widespread support outside the progressionist movement? Tell why some people thought producing alcohol was wasteful. Tell why Christians supported prohibition and why businessmen supported prohibition. (Page 420)