Essential Question: How did progressives bring reform to local, state, and national governments?

Political Progressivism in the Cities & States

Most cities formedReform Many cities used Progressive in the Cities committees to focus on gas & water Political progressivism began in improving quality of life socialism to control public utility costs cities in response to corrupt Many mid-sized or Galveston, Texas was political machines & deteriorating small cities hired a st city to use a city the 1 non-partisan city urban conditions manager to oversee commission rather than a mayor & city council government reformers the Good city bureaucracy

created the National Municipal League in 1894 to find ways to make city governments less These urban reforms were less democratic political less partisan but much& more efficient & less corrupt

Progressive Reform in the States

Progressive reformers impacted state governments too: A New York corruption scandal linked politicians & utility suppliers leading NY to form a utilities regulatory board Most states created regulatory commissions to oversee state spending & initiate investigations

Progressive Reform in by the States Allowed citizens to create laws petitioning to an issue placed on a state ballot & have Progressives helped make state allowing voters (not politicians) to decide governments more democratic: Western states were the 1st to allow public initiatives, referendums, & recalls Passage of the 17th amendment Allowed to vote on an the issue (such as in citizens 1912 allowed for direct tax increases) suggested by the state legislature election of Senators By 1916, most statesremove had direct Allowed voters to directly an elected official by popular vote primaries to allow voters to choose candidates, not parties

TR called Wisconsin Action in thethe States Laboratory of Democracy California, The mostMissouri, significant state reform Iowa, & was copied governor Robert plan La Follettes Texas La Follettes

Wisconsin Idea: Used academic experts from the University of Wisconsin to help research & write state bills Wisconsin was the 1st state to use direct primary & income tax, create industrial commissions, set utility prices, & regulate RRs

 Essential Question: To what degree were Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, & Woodrow Wilson different in their approaches to national progressive reform?

National Progressivism

The Republican Roosevelt

The president is a steward of TR thought of presidency as the a(1901) The McKinley assassination people bound actively & affirmatively bully pulpit to advocate his agenda made Teddy Roosevelt president: to do all he can for the people TR was an president who Elihu Root to Sec of activist State knew how guideGifford publicPinchot opinion (district attorney of to NYC) as chief Unlike most Gilded Age W.H. Taft to Sec of War conservationist (governor of Philippines) Republicans, Roosevelt refused to ignore social inequalities He believed govt agencies should be run by experts

The Square Deal

In 1902, the United Mine Workers went on strike to demand higher pay & an eight-hour work day The strike lasted 11 months TR brought both sides to arbitration & threatened govt seizure of the coal mine The result was a square deal for labor (higher wages) & owners (no formal recognition of the union)

TR the Trustbuster?
TR saw the benefit of good trusts, but wanted to control bad trusts: He pushed for the Dept of Commerce & Labor to investigate business misconduct In 1902, TR ordered the Justice Dept to charge the Northern Securities Co in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act; The Supreme Court ordered the company to be broken up

TR accepted monopolies as a fact of life for 20th century business but viewed regulation as the best way to tame trusts who use corrupt business practices

 TR was not always consistent: Initiated suits against beef trust, American Tobacco, DuPont, Standard Oil, & New Haven RR But he relied on business to gain re-election in 1904; sought the advice of 43 JPmonopolies Morgan; allowed Taft busted in 4 years some monopolistic mergers The Roosevelt administration only busted 25 trusts in 7 years

TR the Trustbuster?

 TR was a popular president & won a landslide victory in 1904

Under no circumstances will I be a candidate for or accept another nomination

Regulating the Railroads

TRs re-election agenda focused on business regulation: Hepburn Act (1906) increased the ICCs power to set maximum RR rates & investigate RR company financial records The Food & Drug Act (1906) & Meat Inspection Act (1906) protected consumers

Conserving the Land

TR created the 1st comprehensive national conservation policy: TR defined conservation as wise use of natural resources Created the Reclamation Service to place natural resources (oil, trees, coal) under federal domain From 1901 to 1908, U.S. govt preserves grew from 45 million acres to 195 million acres

National Parks and Forests

The Presidency of William Howard Taft

waterI hate the limelight.

TR remained true to his promise not to run for a 3rd term & chose William Howard Taft as the I feel a bit like a fish out of for president Republican nominee

The Taft Presidency

Taft seemed ready to carry out TRs political agenda

The Taft Presidency

Taft backed the high Payne-Aldrich tariff Taft was poorly equipped to

continue Roosevelts agenda: Taft fired Pinchot, TRs chief conservationist after the Ballinger-Pinchot Affairto Taft did not trust the govt
Progressive Republicans no longer regulate business behavior looked to Taft for leadership & He didntalmost have all the flair of TR; criticized his policies

Taft was too honest & sincere Taft tended to side with conservative Republicans rather than progressive Republicans

The Taft Presidency

Despite these set backs, Taft helped push through significant progressive legislation: 16th Amendment was written; created a national income tax 17th Amendment was written; direct election of U.S. Senators Safety codes for miners & RRs Created the Childrens Bureau

Im feeling like a Bull Moose! The Election of 1912

TR decided to run against Taft for the Republican nomination in 1912 This divided the Republican Party but deeply conservative Republicans refused to take him over Taft TR was nominated to the new Progressive (Bull Moose) Party Democrats nominated former Princeton president & NJ governor Woodrow Wilson who ran as a progressive reformer

The Election of 1912

TRs New Nationalism WWs New Freedom The 1912 election was the most significant 3 U.S. needssince a natl U.S. needs small way election 1860: Lincoln (Republican), approach to reform govt, free trade Stephen Douglas (Northern Democrat), && John Breckenridge Democrat) &a strong president(Southern competition Social-Justice Both plans saw the reforms; protection economy as the of women, children, central issue, but workers; good Wilson distrusted trusts to help growth federal power & natl planningbut not only won the presidency, Democrats 1st to enlist women also outright control of both House & Senate

Woodrow Wilsons New Freedom

 Wilson believed in strong, activist 1% tax for all, 2% for the rich leadership & but helped push through many New Freedom ideas: The 1st efficient national banking system since Jackson destroyed in 1832 Underwood Tariff the ActBUS reduced tariffs & created Americas 1st graduated income tax Federal Reserve Act created a Federal Reserve to regulate the economy by adjusting the money supply & interest rates

Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom

Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom

Clayton Anti-Trust Act banned Federal Farm Endorsed an 8-hour interlocking directorates & held Loan Act day for all workers business officers personally Defended unions right Supported liable for monopolies; helped to collectively bargain womens suffrage workers by allowing strikes & banning injunctions As the 1916 elections neared, Wilson pushed for more social reformsbut U.S. involvement in WWI in 1917 distracted Americans from progressive reform

Wilson and Civil Rights

During his first term in office, the House passed a
law making racial intermarriage a felony in the District of Columbia. His new Postmaster General also ordered that his Washington offices be segregated, with the Treasury and Navy soon doing the same. Suddenly, photographs were required of all applicants for federal jobs. When pressed by black leaders, Wilson replied, "The purpose of these measures was to reduce the friction. It is as far as possible from being a movement against the Negroes. I sincerely believe it to be in their interest."

Wilson and Civil Rights

As president, Wilson confronted a new generation of militant African American leaders, men like William Monroe Trotter, W.E.B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey, who had begun to challenge their more conservative elders - and the expectations and assumptions of much of white marcus Garvey America.

W.E.B. DuBois
Universal Negro Improvement Association

Conclusions: The Fruits of Progressivism

The Fruits of Progressivism

Progressive reforms led to: Urban & labor improvements Direct primaries & female voting More government responsibility for social welfare Regulatory commissions Increased importance of interest groups & public opinion polls An expert bureaucracy A more powerful presidency WWI ended the Progressive Era

The Progressive Era: Summary

Progressives were diverse in outlook and geographic location, but shared commitment to progress and reform Progressives sought to reform society and business, and their achievements included settlement houses, protective legislation for child and women workers Prohibition of alcohol was a Progressive method for cleaning up society, controlling immigrants Political reform more successful: Progressives achieved womens suffrage and numerous reforms of electoral process Reformers in state governments provided model for an expansion of presidential power under Teddy Roosevelt Roosevelt was active in regulating big business, labor disputes, conservation of natural resources Three-way election of 1912 split Republicans on issue of Progressivism and elected Woodrow Wilson, a limited progressive