Progressivism in the Early 20th Century

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Progressivism in the Early 20th Century
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Progressivism

• A movement of upper and middle class reformers to
  change society through government action
• Use of Omaha Platform as guide, but mostly not
  populists
• Made up of
• labor and urban reformers
• politicians from both parties
• muckraking journalists
• advocates of social reform

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Issues in the Progressive Era

• Urban slums
• Child labor

• Political reform
• Aid to immigrants

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Issues in the Progressive Era

• Woman suffrage
• Temperance/prohibition

• Conservation
• Regulation of trusts

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The Muckrakers

• Journalists who exposed social problems and
  supported reforms with their articles
• Upton Sinclair and The Jungle (1906) problems of
  urban poor

• Ida Tarbell The History of Standard Oil (1902)
• Frank Norris and The Octopus (1901) exposed the
  abuses of the railroad industry

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The Muckrakers

• Lincoln Steffens Shame of the Cities exposed
  the political machines
• George Washington Plunkitt
• of Tammany Hall

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TR as Progressive Era President

• Background as reformer
• Reformed civil service of NYC
• NYC Police Commissioner
• Governor of NY
• First major test 1902 Coal Strike

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1902 Coal Strike

• TR tries to mediate between strikers and owners
  in White House meetings
• Owners refuse to compromise TR threatens to take
  over the mines for the workers
• To he with the Constitution when the people
  need coal!

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1902 Coal Strike

• Owners initially refuse, then compromise as TR
  calls up the Army to take over the mines
• TR calls this the Square Deal, becomes
  trademark of his administration

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TR the Trustbuster!

• Regulation, not destruction, of good trusts
  definition of good and bad trusts
• Use of Sherman Anti-Trust Act against
  corporations
• 
  First target the RRs

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TR Takes on the Robber Barons

• Empowers the Interstate Commerce Commission to
  govern uncooperative trusts

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TR vs. Morgan

• TR takes on Northern Securities, controlled by
  Morgan first trust broken up by Supreme Court
• Trusts not busted
• Standard Oil
• US Steel
• The gentlemans agreement

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1904 Election

• TR crushes Alton Parker, promises not to run for
  third term
• Debs runs for 1st time

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TR the Conservationist
1885

• TR sets aside millions of acres for preservation
  with the Newlands Act
• Creates national parks (i.e. Yosemite)

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The Jungle (1906)

• Sinclair intended to show urban poverty instead,
  public focuses on conditions in the meat industry
• Leads to Pure Food and Drug Act and Meat
  Inspection Act

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The Panic of 1907

• Bank began to fail rapidly Morgan creates a
  group to stabilize banking system
• Leads to creation of flexible currency and the
  Federal Reserve (1913)

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1908 Election

• TR anoints W. H. Taft successor
• Defeats William Jennings Bryan!
• 
  
• 
  regrets promise of no
• 
  3rd term retires to hunt
• 
  big game

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The Legacy of TR

• Made presidency center of govt. power expanded
  presidential power and authority
• Involved govt. in the lives of the people
  trustbuster, govt. regulator
• Made US international power

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William Howard Taft

• Background
• governor of the Philippines
• TRs Secretary of War
• later, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
• Continued progressive reforms
• Expanded trust-busting efforts
• Expanded conservation efforts
• 17th Amendment passed
• direct election of Senators

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Taft and Trust-busting

• Taft did not recognize good or bad trusts
• Broke 77 in all, including Standard Oil and US
  Steel
• Broke gentlemans agreement on trusts angered
  TR and motivated him to run for 3rd term

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Dollar Diplomacy

• Expansion of Roosevelt Corollary protection of
  US investment and people, worldwide
• First use in Latin America i.e. Nicaragua,1909
• Most controversial Morgans Manchurian RR in
  1911

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Problems in the Taft Administration

• Too progressive or not progressive enough for
  Republicans
• Overshadowed by TR

• Seen as not being own man but TRs puppet
• Conflict between TR and Taft over Tafts breaking
  of gentlemans agreement on US Steel