Progressivism

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Progressivism

• Meaning progress, meaning to move forward.
  People in this era wanted to apply new ideas to
  improve society and move it forward.

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Origins of Progressivism

• Makeup
• Lasted from 1890s through WWI
• Came from many walks of life
• All political parties
• All social classes, ethnic groups, religions
• Leaders Emerged from the growing middle class
• Dissatisfied Industrial Workers
• A few wealthy Americans

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Changing Face of Industrialism

• Conditions were better
• Economy reached full capacity
• Farm prices rose 50 1900-1910
• Unemployment dropped
• However, industrialization and Urbanization had
  created troubling social and political problems.
• Wanted to use logic and reason to make society
  work in a more efficient and orderly way.
• Make government more responsive to peoples needs
• Eliminate abuses of big business

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Henry Ford
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The Innovative Model T

• Large scale business and mass production, and the
  automobile led the way
• 1895-only four cars on the roads, by 1917-5
  million
• Explosive growth sparked mass production of autos
• Henry Ford-1903
• Introduced a series of methods the revolutionized
  production, wages, working conditions, and daily
  life

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Ford Pioneers Mass Production

• Early in the century
• Only wealthy could afford cars
• Automobile seen as a symbol of class division
• Wilson to the countryman cars are a picture of
  arrogance of wealth
• Model T-1908-850
• 4 cyl, 20 hp, Tin Lizzie
• Hired scientific management
• Looked to the meat packing plants for new
  techniques
• Came up with assembly lines (1 car-93 mins.
  1/10th the time)

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The Automobile Changes America

• Cutting the time
• Dropped the sales price
• 1916-350, 1927-290
• 1919-10 owned cars
• 1927-56 owned cars
• Innovation
• 8 hour workday
• 5.00 per day
• wage
• Sat. Sun.
• OFF

• CAR CULTURE
• The Gas Station
• Encouraged growth of the oil industry
• Federal Aid Roads Act-1916
• Set the framework for road building
• Federal govt paid ½ the cost of building roads
• states had built hundreds of highways, organizing
  them into a numbered system
• Route 66-CA to IL

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Managing the Machines
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Mar 1911
New York passed laws to make workplaces safer,
and other cities and states followed suit. Many
states also adopted workers compensation laws,
which set up funds to pay workers who were hurt
on the job.
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Progressive Programs