United States History I.31
Explain what Progressivism meant in the early 20th century and analyze a text by a Progressive leader
Focus Question: Who were the important Progressive leaders and what were their accomplishments?
Topics on the Page
Influential Literature: Upton Sinclair and The Jungle
Link to AP US History Key Concept 6.3: The Gilded Age and Progressivism
More Leaders and Legislation on this page include:
Progressive Era Overview....
Lewis Hine
Jacob Riis
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Progressive Leaders..
Jane Addams
William Jennings Bryan
John Dewey
Robert LaFollette
William Howard Taft
Ida Tarbell
Woodrow Wilson
Carrie Chapman Catt
Eleanor Roosevelt
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African Americans, Women,Native Americans....
W.E.B. DuBois
Booker T. Washington
Billie Holiday
Ida B. Wells
William Monroe Trotter
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Key Policies and Legislation
Child Labor laws
Initiative, Referendum, Recall
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Pure Food and Drug Act
Meat Packing Act
Federal Reserve Act
Clayton Anti-Trust Act
19th Amendment
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Lewis Hine cartoon from the National Child Labor Committee, 1912 |
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For an interactive Timeline of the Progressive Era with links to explanations of various acts can be found here.
Overview of the Progressive Era (1890-1920)
Progressive Era Overview
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Child Worker, Globe Cotton Mill. Augusta, Ga. Photo by Lewis W. Hine, 1909 |
From the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site:
"Progressivism is the term applied to a variety of responses to the economic and social problems rapid industrialization introduced to America. Progressivism began as a social movement and grew into a political movement. The early progressives rejected Social Darwinism. In other words, they were people who believed that the problems society faced (poverty, violence, greed, racism, class warfare) could best be addressed by providing good education, a safe environment, and an efficient workplace."
Progressives lived mainly in the cities, were college educated, and believed that government could be a tool for change.
- Social reformers, like Jane Addams, and journalists, like Jacob Riis and Ida Tarbel, were powerful voices for progressivism.
- They concentrated on exposing the evils of corporate greed, combating fear of immigrants, and urging Americans to think hard about what democracy meant.
- Other local leaders encouraged Americans to register to vote, fight political corruption, and let the voting public decide how issues should best be addressed (the initiative, the referendum, and the recall).
Crash Course on the Progressive Era
- For more context on the Progressive era, click here.
Teaching and Learning Resources
By Popular Demand: Votes for Women's Suffrage Pictures, 1850-1920 from the Library of Congress.
- Click here for a lesson plan on Progressivism
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May 1909 labor parade, New York City. |
On a national level, progressivism gained a strong voice in the White House when Theodore Roosevelt became president in 1901. TR believed that strong corporations were good for America, but he also believed that corporate behavior must be watched to ensure that corporate greed did not get out of hand (trust-busting and federal regulation of business).
The early age of Progressivism ended with World War I when the horrors of war exposed people's cruelty and many Americans associated President Woodrow Wilson's use of progressive language ("the war to make the world safe for democracy") with the war.
For an timeline and other Progressive Era multimedia, please click here.
Lewis Hine and Jacob Riis
Lewis Hine and Jacob Riis were photographers who worked to document lives of immigrants in the United States.
Lewis Hine began taking photos in 1904 of immigrants arriving on Ellis Island.
- He also took photographs of immigrant tenements and sweatshops. He was eventually hired by the National Child Labor Committee, where he photographed child labor.
- The pictures of child labor showed many people the appalling conditions that children were forced to work in. Later in his life, Hine was a photographer for the Red Cross and the construction of the Empire State Building.
Jacob Riis is considered the "godfather of investigative journalism" photographed New York City conditions for immigrants and the poor and published them in a book, How the Other Half Lives.
- Teddy Roosevelt, the NYC police commissioner at the time, was disgusted and had the police lodging photographed in the book shut down. Riis recorded the conditions he encountered and spent the next 25 years traveling and lecturing about poverty and the issues millions of people faced.
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Child coal miners - drivers and mules, Gary, West Virginia mine, 1908 |
See also Mornings on Maple Street: Lewis Hine Project for 100 years of child labor history.
Click here for a gallery of child labor photos from Hine
Women Reformers in the Progressive Era from the National Council for Social Studies.
Excerpt from The Bitter Cry of Children, John Spargo, 1906 on the experiences of children in coal mines.
Progressive Era Leaders
A. Jane Addams
Postcard shows photographs of William Jennings Bryan, Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States in 1896, 1900 and 1908, and his 1908 running mate, John W. Kern, and the U.S. Capitol.
- March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925
- Ran for Democratic president three times
- Supported Prohibition, anti-imperialism, Free Silver, and trust-busting
- Fought against Social Darwinism, leading to Scope Trials, which he died before the verdict.
The "Cross of Gold" speech lays out the dangers and unfairness of a gold standard to the American People. It is also what put Bryan on the political map.
Click here to listen to the 'Cross of Gold' speech.
- Click here for a lesson plan "Rise of Populists and William Jennings Bryan
- October 20, 1859-June 1, 1952
- very progressive ideas about education
- focused on expanding ideas and intellect, not just memorization
- students should incorporate past experiences into their learning
Click here for an eHow article on a Dewey classroom
Click here for an essay from Dewey on education
- June 14, 1855-June 18, 1925
- Congressman and Senator; ran for president
- Supported railroads, bossism, World War I and the League of Nations
- Helped draft Tariff Act of 1890
- Refused a bribe, becoming outspoken about “machine politics”
- Lead the Progressive wing of Republicans
- Supported child labor laws, Suffrage, and spoke out against World War I
Primary Sources
Click here for lesson plans on political cartoons on La Follette
Click here for excerpts from La Follette's speech "The Danger Threatening Representative Government"
Click here to watch the Fighting Bob La Follette
Historical Biography Page Theodore Roosevelt
Influential Literature Page: Upton Sinclair and The Jungle
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Upton Sinclair |
- September 15, 1857- March 8, 1930
- Progressives were pleased with Taft's election.
- "Roosevelt has cut enough hay," they said; "Taft is the man to put it into the barn." (1)
- Defended the Payne-Aldrich Act, continuing high taxes
- Lost Progressive support because they did not support higher taxes
- During his Presidency, Taft and his administration started 80 antitrust suits
- Submitted amendments for Federal income tax
- Supported direct election of Senators
- Established postal savings system
- Interstate Commerce Commission to set railroad rates
Click here to read about Taft's legislation
Click here for Taft's inaugural address
- November 5, 1857- January 6, 1944
- The only woman in her 1880 graduating class from Allegheny College
Wrote The History of the Standard Oil Company
- First investigative report was on the belief that women would fix the politics men corrupted
- Also wrote biographies of Abraham Lincoln and Napoleon
- Exposed the Rockefeller’s monopoly of the oil industry and possible anti-trust violations
- Spent two years studying public records, court testimony, newspaper articles, and other reports
- Became a 19-part series exposing unethical practices
- Series ended with a 2-part series on Rockefeller
- Her writing on the Standard Oil Company helped lead to the eventual breaking up of the company through the Sherman Antitrust act.
- Did not disapprove of him as a person, but disapproved of his practices
- Her series on Standard Oil is ranked in the top five of 100 pieces of American journalism
Click here for an essay about Tarbell's work.
- December 28, 1856-February 3, 1924
- As president, he created the Federal Trade Commission, the Clayton Anti-Trust Act, the Underwood Tariff, the Federal Farm Loan Act and the Federal Reserve System
- Promoted labor union development, controlled the railroads, and did not allow anti-war protests. See also Photographs of Woodrow Wilson
He was also a racist and under his presidency he permitted segregation in federal offices.Woodrow Wilson and African Americans
Presidential Election of 1912: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress.
Click here to learn about Wilson receiving the 1919 Noble Peace Prize.
Go here for the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library located in Staunton, Virginia.
For a number of perspectives on Wilson, click here.
- Helped reorganize the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA)
- Was one of the first women superintendents
- Made speeches, planned campaigns, and worked to win political support for women's suffrage
- Traveled to Europe to promote suffrage
- Created the "Winning Plan" to win suffrage on a state and national level
Click here for a lesson plan on Chapman Catt
Historical Biography Page: Helen Keller, Author and Political Activist
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Helen Keller reading braille, 1907 |
Helen Keller was a forceful voice for political change during the early 20th century.
African American, Women and Native Americans in the Progressive Era
African American Women in the Progressive Movement
"African American women were also involved in reform efforts during the Progressive Era, largely independently from white women. During the Progressive Era, many important changes occurred in the lives of black women. Hundreds of thousands migrated from the South to the North and from rural to urban areas. In addition, many black women moved from employment in agriculture to employment in factories and as domestic servants. In addition to facing sexism, black women also faced institutional racism and overtly violent acts of racism, such as lynching." [9]
Mary Church Terrell
When the suffrage movement often ignored women of color, Mary Church Terrell became active in organizing women to fight for equal rights via her organization the National Association of Colored Women: http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/civil/jb_civil_terrell_1.html
To listen to "Strange Fruit," click here
- The song became a rallying cry of cultural resistance by African Americans,igniting the consciousness of many who engaged in struggles for civil rights during and after her lifetime.
Billie Holiday (Lady Day) got her start in music singing in Harlem nightclubs during the end of the era known as the Harlem Renaissance. She is regarded as one of the most famous jazz canonical singers and has had a lasting impact on American musical culture. She died at age 44 due to alcohol and drug-related health complications.
Civil rights activist and pioneering journalist writing about racism and racial politics: http://www.biography.com/people/ida-b-wells-9527635
Passion for Justice Documentary about Ida B Wells: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXZFdGhhMnk
Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Her Passion for Justice
Excerpts from Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ids B. Wells
Click here to read about women in the Progressive Era.
African American Men & The Progressive Movement
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W.E.B. Du Bois, 1918 |
first African American to earn a PhD at Harvard, critical of Booker T Washington for telling African Americans to assimilate into White America w/o resisting, founder of the NAACP, was active not only in racial civil rights but also women's rights and labor rights.
novelist, strong civil rights activist and outspoken anti-racist organizer: http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/jazz/jb_jazz_baldwin_1.html
For a glimpse at Baldwin's progressive politics, watch this debate with William Buckley.
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William Monroe Trotter, 1915 |
William Monroe Trotter
African American Journalist who Graduated from Harvard and fought for equal rights. While he did not agree with Booker T. Washington's approach to end racism he was good friends with W.E.B Du Bois.
William Monroe Trotter Biograph
Click here to read about African American Reform Ethics
Native Americans and the Progressive Era:
This book is a great source to learn about Indigenous activism: "As progressive reformers took on America's ills at the start of the 20th century, a new generation of Native American reformers took on America, “talking back” to the civilization that had overrun but not crushed their own. This volume offers a collection of 21 primary sources, including journal articles, testimony, and political cartoons by Native Americans of the Progressive Era, who worked in a variety of fields to defend their communities and culture."
Works Cited:
- http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/wt27.htmlhttp:www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/wt27.htmlhttp:www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/wt27.html
- http://www.greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=156http:www.greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=156http:www.greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=156
- http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ww28.html
- www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1061.html
- http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9063016/referendum-and-initiative
- http://www.fda.gov/oc/history/2006centennial/meatinspection.html
7. http://www.nps.gov/archive/elro/glossary/progressive-era.htm
8. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eleanor/peopleevents/pande08.html
9. http://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/progressiveera/africanamericanwomen.html
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