America: Pathways to the Present Text

America: Pathways to the Present | Chapter 11: The Progressive Reform Era (1890–1920)

This chapter explores the numerous reform movements of the Progressive Era. The chapter is divided into four sections: The Origins of Progressivism, Progressive Legislation, Progressivism Under Taft and Wilson, and Suffrage at Last.

Section 1: The Origins of Progressivism

Main Ideas

  • At the turn of the century, many of the problems caused by rapid industrialization and urbanization spurred the creation of reform movements that became known as progressivism.
  • Many of the goals of Progressivism came from earlier reform movements.

Summary and Analysis
The Progressives were never a single, unified group. They came from many different backgrounds, including the rural populists, temperance workers, settlement workers, union organizers, and other groups committed to reform. In general, they had four basic beliefs about government: it should be accountable to its citizens, it should curb the power and influence of the wealthy, it should be active in improving the lives of its citizens, and it should be more efficient and less corrupt. In some way or other, all progressives worked toward these goals.

Some of those responsible for igniting the Progressives included writers such as Upton Sinclair with his book The Jungle, which exposed the evils of the meat industry; Edward Bellamy with Looking Backward, a utopian look at a future America without political corruption or poverty; and Henry George with Progress and Poverty. Other writers, often called muckrakers because they dug into the dirt of companies and their practices, also alerted the public to the scandalous behavior of city officials and companies like Standard Oil.

Those works exposing the wrongs of politicians and large companies spurred the reform movement. Membership in both labor unions and in the socialist party increased as a result. Though most Progressives were not socialists, they worked to reform corrupt government organizations and to guard the welfare of the working class and the poor. Many women were involved in Progressive reform. Female leaders such as Florence Kelly and Mother Jones came to the movement from vastly different backgrounds but worked tirelessly for change. Women believed that these issues were key to protecting their families. They felt that they needed to vote and be politically involved for their families’ sake.

Section 2: Progressive Legislation

Main Ideas

  • Progressive demands during the early 1900s resulted in a large amount of Progressive legislation at the city, state, and federal level.
  • Theodore Roosevelt was a powerful voice for Progressive change.
  • Progressive legislation affected all aspects of American society—from conditions in the workplace to prices on the railroad.

Summary and Analysis
Progressive activism was very successful in pressuring the government to make changes. Many of the earliest changes were at the municipal level as Progressives sought to free the cities from political bosses. Sometimes they succeeded in overturning the bosses; at other times, bosses simply succumbed to political pressure and cooperated with Progressive goals. The Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in 1911, which resulted in the deaths of 146 women trapped on the roof of a building and the powerful response it engendered, forced Tammany Hall, the New York political machine, to begin regulating workplace safety and conditions. Cities also reformed their governments by taking control of utilities and providing some welfare services for their poorest citizens.

Reform also took place on a state level as voters were given the direct vote to elect their senatorial representatives. The referendum, ballot initiatives, and the recall election also gave voters more power to choose their elected officials. Wisconsin served as a model of reform under Governor Robert La Follette.

Theodore Roosevelt became a champion of Progressive reform at the federal level. He strengthened the power of the unions by refusing to use federal power to interfere in a strike and insisting that both sides submit to arbitration. He strengthened antitrust legislation by using the Sherman Antitrust Act to take legal action against monopolies that hurt the public good. He won passage of the Hepburn Act in 1906, which gave the Interstate Commerce Commission strong enforcement powers to regulate the railroads. He established the Department of Labor to regulate labor conditions and promote the welfare of workers. Finally, in an effort to preserve some of the nation’s natural resources for everyone, he created the National Forest Service and set aside more than 200 million acres for national use. Three Constitutional Amendments passed during his term. The Sixteenth Amendment established the federal income tax, the Seventeenth Amendment required the direct election of Senators, and the Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the production and sale of alcoholic beverages.

Section 3: Progressivism Under Taft and Wilson

Main Ideas

  • Although President Taft had a solid record of supporting reforms, he ran into difficulty and alienated Progressives.
  • Progressives broke away from the Republican Party during the 1912 presidential election and began the Progressive Party with Theodore Roosevelt as their candidate.
  • The split in the Republican Party allowed the Democratic candidate, Woodrow Wilson, to win the presidency. He continued Progressive reform until the nation became bogged down with concern over World War I.

Summary and Analysis
William Howard Taft, Roosevelt’s handpicked successor, could not fill Roosevelt’s large shoes. He did not have the strong personality needed to fight the powerful Republican Congressmen who opposed Progressive reforms. He gave into compromise measures such as the Payne Aldrich Tariff Act, which did not sufficiently lower tariffs to satisfy Progressive interests. He also got involved in a controversy by angering conservationists in supporting the sale of millions of acres of land in Alaska to business interests. Progressives caused turmoil in the Republican Party and when Teddy Roosevelt returned from a two-year African trip, he began to campaign against Taft. In 1912, the Progressives left the Republican Party to run their own candidate, former President Roosevelt, thereby creating a party Roosevelt christened the Bull Moose Party. With four candidates running for office and dividing voters: Roosevelt, Taft, Woodrow Wilson (Democrat), and Eugene Debs (Socialist), Wilson easily ran away with the election.

Wilson continued Roosevelt’s policy of supporting reform. He reduced tariffs with the Underwood Tariff Act. He continued to attack trusts by guiding Congress to pass the Clayton Antitrust Act, which defined illegal business activities with specificity. He supported the establishment of a Federal Reserve System that would help protect the economy by helping banks avoid panics. Finally, he made a strong Progressive statement with his appointment of Louis Brandies, a Jewish Progressive lawyer, to the Supreme Court in 1916.

Progressivism did not help all Americans. It gave little relief to African Americans in the South who still struggled to survive under Jim Crow laws and gave little relief to tenant and migrant farmers. However, the reforms of early-twentieth-century America had made broad changes in society, government, and business for the benefit of most Americans.

Section 4: Suffrage at Last

Main Idea

  • Women finally gained the right to vote in 1920.

Summary and Analysis
The Progressive movement was largely on the wane after the U.S. entry into World War I in 1918, but one major reform was still to come: women’s suffrage. Although women had been actively pursuing the vote since the Seneca Falls Conference in 1848, the movement had stalled after 1896. Women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony had fought the good fight but had died without seeing their goals achieved. Many women had participated in acts of civil disobedience and had even been arrested, yet the goal of suffrage still seemed unattainable. Suffragettes had used two different strategies to achieve their goal. One strategy was to agitate for a Constitutional Amendment allowing women the vote. The other was to attempt to gain suffrage state by state. This policy seemed to work best at first. Women gained the vote in several western states, where women’s influence and work was more valued.

In 1890, Susan B. Anthony joined with younger leaders in forming the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA). New leaders, particularly Carrie Chapman Catt and Alice Paul, came to the forefront of the movement after 1910, revitalizing it. They developed a six-year plan with a red-hot campaign in every state. By 1917, NAWSA had 2 million members. U.S. entry into World War I had a great impact as women took over many previously male occupations to free up men for the military. In 1919, Congress finally proposed an amendment granting women suffrage. The Nineteenth Amendment was ratified by the thirty-sixth state necessary, Tennessee, in August of 1920. It was the last major reform of the Progressive era.

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