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Topic 6: The Progressive Era

 Readings: AY Chapter 20

Lecture videos: The Progressive Era 1

  • Novel Problems Associated with mass industrialization:
    • "New Immigration"
      • migratory flow from southern and eastern Europeans
        • Greeks, Italians, Polish, Ukrainians, Jews
        • Nativists did not like the new demographics
    • Social problems with Urbanization
      • Overcrowding, slums, children unsupervised, alcohol abuse
    • Corruption with the merger of the political and corporate elite
    • Decline of agrarianism
      • disenchanted Famers = populist party
    • *Progressive activists try to solve problems brought about by modern life at turn-of-the 20th-century
  • Progressive Beliefs:
    • *No singular Progressive profile
    • Moral impulse: 
      • ex. "Social Gospel Movement" - everyone is interconnected
        • true Christians must go beyond their home and church and help others
    • The cause of social problems is not heredity, but the environment
      • opposite of social Darwinism
    • Belief in science, efficiency, expertise
    • Activity government
      • felt that the government should play a role in the welfare of its citizens

Lecture videos: The Progressive Era 2

Muckrakers:

  • Given to journalists & writers during the Progressive error
    • Bring awareness to Americans
    • Going to inspire Americans into Action
    • The purpose is to pierce the consciousness of the middle class
    • focus on the city
  • White Slavery - fear that women were being kidnapped and sold into sex trafficking
  • Saloon - progressives saw the saloon as a bad place and tried to get rid of it
    • temperance movement - trying to get rid of alcohol and saloons
  • Moral decay - saw the intercity as a moral decay of their way of life so they sought to 
  • Xenophobia - fear of strangers from other countries
    • Saw immigrants as a problem
  • Progressives are not nativists - not trying to stop immigration
  • Immigration Protection League

Lecture videos: The Progressive Era 3

New Immigration: 1880-1920

  • mostly from southern and eastern Europe (new ethno-racial group in the US)
    • there is a tension between the political needs (to maintain racial homogeneity of the country) and the economical needs (to find new sources of cheap labor)
  • mostly Catholic or Greek Orthodox
    • previously was mostly Protestant
  • many were unskilled laborers
    • correlates directly to poverty
  • ethnic neighborhoods among the poorest in industrial cities
Working Class after 1870s

  • skilled workers: 
    • 15% of working class
    • $800-1500 annual income
    • Mostly only-stock Americans
  • Semi-skilled workers:
    • 45% of working class
    • $500-%800 annual income
  • Unskilled workers:
    • 40% of working class
    • $500 (and less) annual income
    • mostly foreigners
Jane Addam's Settlement House

  • Grassroots movement - ordinary citizens stand up and cause change
  • The settlement house was designed as an assimilation machine but also for social and economic welfare
  • Jane Addam created a settlement house 
    • created the first successful settlement house
    • a haven for immigrants to receive aid and education
    • dissolve the boundary between Americans and immigrants
  • Political Machine & Boss Machines
    • Very corrupt
    • Buying of votes
    • Stuffing the ballots
    • giving immigrants help but they had to vote for them
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

  • Downtown Manhattan
  • Garment factory of immigrant women 
  • The whole building on fire & women dropped to their death
  • Shocked Americans
  • Progressives fought for labor law reforms & labor rights
  • Workplace safety - direct result of the progressive movement

Lecture videos: The Progressive Era 4

State Level Progressivism

  • Governor Robert LaFollete
    • railroad reform, policies related to income tax, policies against lobbyism, regulation on banks and workplace,
  • "Wisconsin Idea": collaboration between politicians and academics (most famous)
    • come up with solutions to these political and economic problems
  • A referendum, Initiatives, Recall
    • Referendum - the political action where people can vote to overturn a particular law

Topic 6: The Progressive Era

  1. Historical backdrop
  2. Who were the Progressives?
  3. Progressive beliefs: moralism; motivation; role of the environment; faith in science, efficiency, and expertise; belief in active government
  4. at the municipal level: the New Immigration; settlement houses; challenging the ‘boss system’
  5. at the state level: La Follete’s “Wisconsin Idea”
  6. at the national level: women’s suffrage; prohibition; Progressive Amendment (17/18/19)
  7. Alternative to Progressivism

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