Progressive Era- QUESTIONS

The Jungle depicted the wretched and unsanitary conditions at a meatpacking plant. He intended to portray the life of an immigrant in the U.S. but readers were more concerned with the large portion of the book pertaining to the corruption of the American meatpacking industry. Many middle class women read the book and were outraged not so much because they cared about the workers but because the public now knew about the disgusting things they were eating. Before the Jungle, many were unaware of how the immigrants were treated and also of what happened to their food before it was on their plate.

Members of the Populist party had protested what they saw as unfair business practices and had pressed for government action to stop them. Populism was mainly a rural movement. Progressivism, however, focused on urban problems, such as the plight of workers, poor sanitation, and corrupt political machines. Like populists, progressives wanted the people to have a greater control of the government.

Progressives tried to reform American institutions while preserving ideals of the past, such as a sense of community. A major concern of the progressives was the way corporate America did business. Progressives called for new reforms and proposed political measures to make government more responsive to the desires of the voters. Progressives believed in the power of science and technology to solve social problems.

Muckraking helped spread the reform messages. They published stories exploring corruption in politics and business as well as social problems such as slums and child labor. Muckrakers made it so people, mostly middle class women, could find out what was going on and then do something about it so it brought about change.

Women earned even less than the average laborer. Women often faced significant barriers when they tried to increase their income. Reformer Florence Kelley worked tirelessly to improve conditions for female workers. The ILGWU sought to unionize mostly immigrant women employed in sewing shops- staged the \"Uprising of 20,000\"

The Triange Shirtwaist Co. Fire highlighted the need for workplace safety reforms. Over 140 died because of how unsafe the workplace was and how their was only one stairway out. Most of the victims were women. Popular outrage was so great that lawmakers soon passed protective legislation to help workers. As a result of the fire, the New York legislature enacted the nation's strictest fire- safety code.

Unlike the AFL, the IWW included unskilled workeres and enlisted African American, Asian American, an Hispanic American workers. The IWW even recruited female workers. They pursued their goals through boycotts, general strikes, and industrial sabotage. Americans were ever fearful of how revolutionary the goals and methods of the IWW were.

?

Some reformers called for a campaign to make the cities a more healthful and livable home for all residents. Progressives' believed that cleaner cities would produce better citizens. Cities spent millions of dollars building playgrounds. Organizations worked for better housing and to improve public education. National Tubercolosis Association focused on education and on lobbying the government to fund special hospitals to treat victims of Tubercolosis.

Progressives wanted to clean up what they considered to be immoral behavior so they called for prohibition. Reformers believed that prohibition would reduce crime and the breakup of families. The ASL and WCTU led the crusade against prohibitiion. Prohibitionists drew on the Americans' spirit of patriotic sacrifice during World War I.

Prohibition failed because the 18th Amendment proved unpopular and it was difficult to enforce. The government worried about Prohibition as the law increased crime rates and also made gangsters came to power.

Many African Americans drew on progressive ideas to develop appropriate programs. W.E.B Du Bois believed that African Americans should be politcally active in the struggle for racial equality. He organized a series of Pan-African congresses that attracted black leaders worldwide. NAACP- used the court system to fight civil rights restrictions. The National Urban League also fought for racial equality and worked to improve job opportunities and housing.

Reformers believed that only when government listened to the public's voice could the urgent problems facing Americans be fixed. Progressives pushed for the Seventeenth Amendment which gave voters the power to elect their senators directly. They also pushed for the direct primary which gave voters the ability to choose the candidates. The initiative gave voters the power to introduce legislation while the referendum gave them the power to force the legislature to place a recently passed law on the ballot, allowing voters to approve or veto the measure.

Roosevelt believed it was essential to reform government and regulate big business. He sought to fight class distinctions. He believed in balancing the interests of business, consumers, and labor. He also promoted public health and safety and believed in improving work conditions.

The Square Deal limited the power of trusts, promoted public health and safety, and improved working conditions. The Roosevelt administration promoted railroad regulation. The Elkins Act forbade shipping companies from accepting rebates. The Hepburn Act authorized the ICC to set railroad rates and to regulate other companies engaged in interstate commerce. The Meat Inspection Act required federal government inspection of meat shipped across state lines. The Pure Food and Drug Act forbade the manufacture, sale, or transportation of food and patent medicine containing harmful ingredients.

Roosevelt encouraged the two sides to accept arbitration. He threatened to take over the mines. This convinced the mine owners to agree to his plan of appointing a commision of arbitrators. They gave both the miners and the mine owners part of what they had wanted. For the first time, the federal government had intervened in a strike to protect the interests of the workers and the public.

His administration filed 90 antitrust suits. The Mann-Elkins Act extended the regulatory powers of the ICC to telephone and telegraph companies. He also promoted environmental conservation. He supported reforms to help working people, particulary child labor. He was responsible for the Sixteenth Amendment which permitted Congress to leby taxes based on an individual's income.

He was accused of betraying the reform cause when he signed the Payne-Aldrich Tariff, which was a high tariff measure. He was also attacked for sabotaging former president Roosevelt's conservation program. When Pinchot attacked Ballinger for favoring private interests over conservation, Taft fired Pinchot. He soon broke with Taft after the Pinchot-controversy.

Voters were attracted by Wilson's moderate reform proposals. Also, the division in the Republican Party assured a Democratic victory.

He wanted to limit the power of monopolies, which he viewed as a threat to small businesses. He backed the passage of the Clayton Antitrust Act which extended the Sherman Antitrust Act by clearly stating what corporations could not do. Wilson also backed the creation of the Federal Trade Commision. It was authorized to investigate corporations especially abuses such as mislabeled products and false claims.

Many did not want women's suffrage because then prohibition would be a reality, and they were right. Businesses were afraid that the right to vote would empower women to demand better working conditions. Others thought it would rob women of their beauty and charm. However, those for women's suffrage argued that they were not looking to rob men of their power and would continue to look after the home. Also, women make significant contributions to society and therefore should have equal rights as men.

In the women's suffrage movement, thousands of courageous women marched in the streets, endured hunger strikes, chained themselves to railings, and submitted to arrest and jail in order to gain the right to vote. It was an attempt to persuade society to accept their point of view and to get other women involved, which it did.

NAWSA tried to get state legislatures to grand women the vote. The CU went for a national strategy. They focused on passing a constitutional amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. NAWSA used more traditional political strategies.