U.S. History II - The Progressive Era, 1900–1920 - Quick Guides | History

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Study GuideU.S. History II–The Progressive Era, 1900–19201.Political and Social ReformsBetween 1900 and 1920, the United States went through major changes. Factories expanded, citiesgrew quickly, and more people moved to urban areas. While these changes helped the economygrow, they also created serious problems. Workers faced unsafe conditions, cities struggled withcorruption, and powerful businesses often acted without limits.To fix these problems, many Americans supportedProgressivism. This was a reform movement ledmostly by middle-class people living in cities. Progressives believed the government should take amore active role in protecting citizens and controlling big business.Many Progressive ideas were not brand new. They built on earlier reform movements. For example:•Thefederal income taxand thedirect election of senatorscame from Populist ideas.•Prohibitiongrew out of anti-alcohol movements that began before the Civil War.Although Progressives created their own political party in 1912, the movement included bothDemocrats and Republicans. PresidentsTheodore RooseveltandWilliam Howard Taft(Republicans) andWoodrow Wilson(a Democrat) all supported Progressive reforms.1.1Muckrakers: Exposing Problems to the PublicA major force behind reform was a group of journalists calledmuckrakers. Their goal was to exposecorruption, unsafe conditions, and unfair practices so the public would demand change.Some important muckrakers included:•Lincoln Steffens, whose bookThe Shame of the Cities(1904) exposed corruption in citygovernments.•Ida Tarbell, who wroteThe History of the Standard Oil Company(1904), revealing how JohnD. Rockefeller used harsh and unfair business methods.•Upton Sinclair, whose novelThe Jungle(1906) described dangerous and unsanitaryconditions in Chicago meatpacking plants.These works first appeared in popular magazines likeMcClure’sandCosmopolitan. Their impact wasstrong. In fact, public outrage overThe Jungleled directly to new federal laws regulating themeatpacking industry.

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Study Guide1.2Making Government More DemocraticProgressives wanted government to listen more closely to the people and reduce the power ofpolitical machines and city bosses. To do this, they pushed for several political reforms:•Direct primary: voters chose party candidates themselves instead of party leaders makingthe decision.•Initiative: citizens could propose new laws by collecting signatures.•Referendum: voters could approve or reject laws directly.•Recall: voters could remove elected officials from office before their terms ended.Governor Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsinstrongly supported these reforms. Wisconsin becamea model for the nation, known as theWisconsin Idea.At the national level, theSeventeenth Amendment (1913)made senators elected directly by votersinstead of by state legislatures.1.3Protecting Workers and Improving EfficiencyState governments also began focusing more on workers’ safety and well-being. In1902, Marylandbecame the first state to offerworkmen’s compensation, which paid workers or their families ifsomeone was injured or killed on the job. Federal workers received similar protection under theWorkmen’s Compensation Act of 1916.Progressives also believed inefficiency and scientific management. After a devastating hurricanein1900, Galveston, Texas replaced its mayor and city council with acommission governmentrun bynonpartisan experts. This system spread to other small and medium-sized cities.After a flood in1913, Dayton, Ohio adopted thecity-manager system. In this system, a professionalcity manager ran the city like a business and reported to the mayor and city council.During this time, cities also began taking control of utilities like water, gas, and electricity.Publiclyowned utilitiesusually charged lower prices than private companies. Private utilities, railroads, andurban transportation systems were placed under government regulation to prevent abuse.

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Study Guide1.4Prohibition: The Fight Against AlcoholEfforts to limit alcohol became more successful with the creation of theAnti-Saloon Leaguein1893.Unlike earlier groups, this organization focused on banning alcohol entirely instead of convincingpeople to drink less.The League was supported by Protestant churches and practicedsingle-issue politics, backing onlycandidates who supported Prohibition. This approach worked. By1917, almost two-thirds of the stateshad banned alcohol.During World War I, anti-German feelings increased support for Prohibition because many brewerswere German American. InDecember 1917, Congress passed theEighteenth Amendment. It wasratified inJanuary 1919and took effect in1920, banning the manufacture, sale, and transportation ofalcohol nationwide.1.5Ending Child LaborProgressives were also concerned about child labor. TheNational Child Labor Committeeled thefight against the exploitation of children. PhotographerLewis Hinehelped by taking powerful photosof children—some as young as eight—working in dangerous factories and mines.By1910, many states passed laws that:•Set aminimum working age(usually between 12 and 16)•Limited thenumber of hourschildren could workAt the same time, states began requiring children to attend school. It is unclear whether child laborlaws or school attendance laws had a greater effect, but together they greatly reduced child labor.1.6Women’s Rights and Workplace ReformProgressives believed long factory hours harmed women’s health. InMuller v. Oregon (1908), theSupreme Court upheld a law limiting women laundry workers to ten hours a day. The Court acceptedtheBrandeis Brief, prepared by attorneyLouis Brandeis, which used medical and social evidenceto show how long hours hurt women’s health.Sometimes reform followed tragedy. In1911, nearly 150 workers—mostly Italian and Jewishimmigrant women—died in theTriangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Afterward, New York passed lawslimiting women’s work hours, banning child labor under age 14, and improving factory safety andbuilding regulations.

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