The Progressive Era

• The Progressive Era was a period of social activism and political reform in the U.S. that flourished from the 1890s to the 1920s
• American Life around 1900 included growing cities due to industrialization, the rise of big businesses, segregation and discrimination, temperance, society/mass culture/leisure time, political corruption, new immigrants, and female activists
• Change is difficult because people have to adapt to new things, and change takes time, effort, and money
• The Gilded Age was characterized by wild spending by the wealthy, but within there were societal problems, corruption, poverty, unemployment, etc.
• During the Gilded Age, power was split between Republicans (mostly in the North and West) and Democrats (mostly in the South). It was an even split in Congress, but Republicans controlled the White House for 25 years. However, the president had little power
• The 2 main concerns during the Gilded Age were that the rich had too much power and political influence, and there was corruption, including bribery, voter fraud, and the spoils system
• The spoils system was when supporters got rewarded with government jobs
• The spoils system grew since Andrew Jackson, and voters demanded jobs as reward for political support when new presidents took office. This led to corruption, money getting stolen, and people being unqualified for their jobs)
• Patronage is giving jobs to followers
• Rutherford Hayes investigated the New York custom house, where he found hundreds of unqualified officials doing no work, but getting paid high salaries. He dismissed two of the officials (including future Vice President Chester A. Arthur), despite Republican leaders' protests
• James Garfield believed merit was more important than politics and patronage for office seekers. When Garfield refused to give him a government position, Charles Guiteau assassinated Garfield in July, 1881, who died two months later. This sparked new anti-spoils system efforts
• There were three presidents during 1881: Hayes, Garfield, and Arthur
• Vice President Chester Arthur worked to end the spoils system despite being a product of it in order to erase his previous image
• The Pendleton Act created the Civil Service Commission, which aimed to fill jobs based on merit. People who scored highest on civil service exams got the job. At first, the Civil Service Commission only controlled a few federal jobs, but reformers pressured presidents to place more jobs under it. By 1900, 40% of federal jobs were under the Civil Service Commission
• Civil service includes all federal jobs except elected offices and the military
• In the Gilded Age, businesses had too much power, and the government didn't regulate them because it took a laissez-faire approach
• Collis Huntington tried to bribe Congress to kill a railroad bill that would hurt his company (Central Pacific Railroad company), proving that big businesses had too much power
• The Interstate Commerce Act (1887, Grover Cleveland) forbid practices like pools and rebates. It set up the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to oversee railroads. The ICC was weak at first because courts usually ruled in favor of railroads, but Congress later passed laws to increase the effectiveness of the ICC
• The federal government can regulate interstate commerce under the constitution
• Interstate Commerce is trade that crosses state lines
• The Sherman Antitrust Act prohibited businesses from trying to limit or destroy competition. It was hard to enforce because judges ruled in favor of trusts, saying that the law was an illegal government attempt to control private property. The Sherman Antitrust Act was instead used against labor unions, saying that strikes block free trade, threatening competition. Later, however, as reform spirit spread, courts finally began to use the act against monopolies
• Benjamin Harrison beat Grover Cleavland's try for reelection in 1890
• Progressives were well-educated professionals, with diverse goals and a variety of different groups of people within it, reform-minded (wanted changes or progress for the public good, many were city-dwellers, they were divided/split over some issues, such as segregation, expanding participation in government, and immigration, and they were active in terms of working to improve social injustices, economic instability, and political problems
• The Progressive movement arose as a response to the negative effects of industrialization
• Progressive reformers believed human nature could be improved through regulation, incentives and punishments. They also believed that the power of the federal government could be harnessed to improve the individual and society.
• Progressive reformers sought to regulate industry, strengthen protection of workers and consumers, and expose corruption in both government and big business. They generally wanted to improve society.
• Progressive reformers successfully influenced the passage of key legislation, including amendments to the Constitution
• Muckrakers are progressives, but not all progressives are muckrakers (ex. Jane Adams)
• By 1900, the reformers were calling themselves the Progressives. This meant that they were thinking forward on how to improve American life.
• Progressives wanted the government to act in the public interest, or the good of the people
• Progressives wanted voters to participate more directly in government because this would cut down on corruption and the use of the spoils system
• The Primary allowed voters to choose their party's candidates for the general election
• Initiative gave voters the right to put bills before a state legislature with a certain number of petitions
• Referendum allowed voters to put a bill on the ballot and vote it into law
• Recall allowed voters to remove an elected official from office
• The 16th amendment gave Congress the power to pass an income tax
• The 17th amendment allowed voters to directly elect senators
• Thomas Nast was an editorial political cartoonist who worked for Harper's Weekly. He covered a variety of topics, including the KKK, but he's best known for exposing Boss Tweed for his corruption. He created the political zoo (Democratic Donkey, Republican Elephant, Tammany Tiger). As a result of Nast's work, Tweed was arrested and convicted of embezzlement, and he died in prison
• Jacob Riis was a photographer who presented his pictures on his "magic lantern slide show." He wrote How the Other Half Lives. He provided insight into how horrible and dangerous life in tenement houses and slums was, including the horrific conditions and crime. As a result of his work, building codes and the Tenement Law of 1901 were passed
• Nellie Bly (real name Elizabeth Jane Cochran) studied assylums and wrote Ten Days in a Madhouse, along with other articles. She called attention to assylums/madhouses/mental prisons, which were full of issues, and doctors who overlooked the women's pleas. She feigned being mentally ill in order to study the assylums on Blackwell's Island, NYC. As a result of Bly's work, the Grand Jury investigated the assylum, and it closed. This led to improvements in treatment of mentally ill--better examinations, prompted an increased budget