THE PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT

Libertyville HS

Impact of 1896 Election

New campaign style Ascendancy of

industrial over agricultural

Beginning of the end of era of high voter turnout

Decline of party and rise of interest groups

William McKinley: 1896-1900

Ohio lawyer Believed in high tariff

(increased to 50%!!) Governor of OH and US

representative Greatest pro business

admin in US history Panic of 1893 ended;

prosperity reigned Gold Standard Act of

1900 Foreign affairs

Election of 1900

McKinley & T. Roosevelt (R)

Bryan & Adlai Stevenson (D)

Campaign Economic times were

good R slogan: “Four More

Years of the Full Dinner Pail”

D issues: silver and US imperialism

ResultsMcKinley: 292 ECV / 7.2 millionBryan: 155 ECV / 6.3 million

McKinley’s Second Term

9/6/01: McKinley was assassinated in Buffalo, NY

Leon Czolgosz 2nd gen. Polish immigrant Anarchist beliefs

Assassination story Last words: “I killed the

President because he was the enemy of the good people – the good working people. I am not sorry for my crime.”

Theodore (“Teddy”) Roosevelt

Born to great wealth Author, historian, hunter,

naturalist, soldier, explorer

Congressman, governor of NY, Ass’t Sec’y of the Navy

Capitalist, but also known as a “trust buster” (anti-corruption)

Leader of Progressive Party, and a Reform minded GOP

First Progressive Era Pres.

Problems facing America, 1900

Political system problems Corruption in gov’t City machines Wanted to increase

political participation Economic problems

Unfair tax burden Working conditions Hostility toward unions

Problems facing America, 1900

Economic Problems, cont. Business consolidation

Between 1897 and 1904, 4,227 firms merged to form 257 corporations

The largest merger consolidating nine steel companies to create the U.S. Steel Corp. (Andrew Carnegie)

By 1904, 318 companies controlled about 40 percent of the nation's manufacturing output

One firm produced over half the output in 78 industries

Social problems Living conditions of urban poor Gap between rich, poor Pollution

Goals of the Progressive Movement

Improve American life Increase social justice

Women African & Native Americans

Increase economic justice Increase political

participation Fix problems of

industrialization, urbanization

Only thing big enough to take on big business was gov’t

Members of the Progressive Movement

Middle Class Urban professionals Middle management Concerned about urban

poor, big business Also concerned about

worker led revolution Farmers

Populist Party ideas Break up monopolies

(gov’t control of RRs) Low tariff, easy credit

MiddleClass Family

FarmFamily

Members of the Movement

Workers (unionized) Women

Advocates for many different progressive changes

Women’s suffrage Social welfare (“Hull House”) Temperance

Journalists “Muckrakers” Highlighted economic, social ills Led to governmental action Upton Sinclair (“The Jungle”) Jacob Riis (“How the Other Half

Lives”) Lincoln Steffens (machine

politics)

Progressive Solutions: Politics

Political participation Direct election of

Senators (17th Am) Women’s Suffrage (19th

Am) Increased civil service Campaign limits Secret ballot

Machine politics City Commission City manager Initiative / referendum Recall of elected official

1900 NYCPolling place

Progressive Solutions: Economic

“Trust busting” (monopoly) Trust: business entities that

controlled a market, colluding to set prices, wages, etc

Roosevelt (44 trusts), Taft (90 trusts) were both trust-busters

Pro labor legislation Child labor laws – no more

than 10 hours / day Food & drug inspection

Meat packers Pharmacy companies

Progressive Solutions: Social

Environment / Pollution (Roosevelt) Transferred forests to

the U.S. Forest Service Trees had to be planted

as well as harvested Withdrew millions of

acres of public land from sale to protect resources

Used public land sale revenues to build dams, canal systems

Temperance & Prohibition (18th Am)