Innovations and Leisure in the Progressive Era

Turn of the Century Innovations

• New inventions simplified daily life, powering homes, workplaces, and appliances like refrigerators and washing machines.
• Automobiles provided easier transportation.
• Telephones improved long-distance communication.
• Radios offered entertainment and news.

Rise of Leisure Activities

• Industrialization created more free time, leading to increased leisure activities.
• Movies provided entertainment and influenced trends.
• Popular sports including baseball, football, and boxing became ingrained in American culture.
• Amusement parks offered family entertainment with rides and games.
• Dancing gained popularity, shaping cultural trends.

Progressive Era

• The government's role expanded, addressing social, political, and economic challenges of industrialization and urbanization.
• Regulations targeted businesses.

Progressive Era Solutions and Progressive Presidents – Specific Laws

• Meat Inspection Act: Established sanitary standards and federal inspections for meatpacking.
• Pure Food and Drug Act: Banned misbranded food and drugs, ensuring consumer safety.
• Keating-Owen Act: Prohibited child labor in factories and mines to protect children from exploitation.
• 17th Amendment: Allowed direct election of senators by the people, reducing political machine influence.
• 18th Amendment: Instituted Prohibition to address societal alcohol issues.
• 19th Amendment: Granted women the right to vote, addressing gender inequality.
• Clayton Antitrust Act: Reinforced antitrust laws, preventing monopolistic practices and addressing corporate abuse.

Theodore Roosevelt – First Modern President

• Expanded executive power, proactively addressing public issues.
• Used the "bully pulpit" for public engagement.
• Sought government intervention in social and economic issues (e.g., trust-busting, labor rights).

Theodore Roosevelt's and Woodrow Wilson's Progressive Policies

• Square Deal (Roosevelt): Focused on fairness by regulating businesses, breaking up monopolies, and supporting consumer and worker protection.
  • Broke up monopolies.
  • Passed the Meat Inspection Act.
• New Freedom (Wilson): Sought to restore competition and reduce corruption.
  • Signed the Clayton Antitrust Act.
  • Created the Federal Reserve.

Theodore Roosevelt’s View on Trusts

• Distressed by unfair practices and monopolies, he supported government regulation to differentiate harmful trusts from beneficial ones.

Conservationists vs. Preservationists

• Conservationists manage resources for sustainable use.
• Preservationists advocate for protecting nature from human interference.

Environmental Impact of Human Activity (19th Century)

• Industrialization, deforestation, and pollution were major environmental concerns.
• Clearing vast forest areas for agriculture.
• Industrial pollution from smoke and waste into air and water.
• Overhunting led to near extinction of species like the American bison.

Taft vs. Roosevelt

• Both supported progressive reforms, but Taft relied more on the courts, while Roosevelt was more aggressive in using executive power.

1912 Presidential Election

• The Republican party split, with Roosevelt forming the Progressive ("Bull Moose") Party.
• Democrat Woodrow Wilson won. Historians viewed progressivism as the true victor, as all major candidates supported progressive reforms.

Women's Suffrage Leaders and Organizations

• Alice Paul and Lucy Burns (National Women's Party): Immediate federal suffrage amendment, protested, and used hunger strikes.
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony (National American Woman Suffrage Association): Advocated for women's voting rights, state-by-state and federal amendment, used lobbying, speeches, and petitions.
• Mary Church Terrell and Ida B. Wells-Barnett (National Association of Colored Women): Focused on suffrage, civil rights, and social reforms for Black women, used activism and community mobilization.

Black American Civil Rights in the Progressive Era

• NAACP fought segregation through legal action.
• Booker T. Washington promoted vocational education.
• W.E.B. Du Bois demanded immediate civil rights.
• Ida B. Wells led anti-lynching campaigns.

American Imperialism Factors

• Economic Interests: Seeking new markets and resources to support industrial growth.
• Military Strength: Building a strong navy and overseas bases for global power.
• Cultural Superiority: Believing in the duty to spread democracy and Western values.

U.S. Investment in Hawaii

• Sugar industry.

U.S. Acquisition of Hawaii vs. Alaska

• Hawaii's annexation resulted from a forced takeover by American sugar planters, while Alaska was purchased peacefully.

Viewpoints on Annexation of Hawaii

• Supporters (U.S. business leaders) saw it for increased trade and military influence.
• Opponents (native Hawaiians and anti-imperialists) feared loss of sovereignty.
• Military perspective: strategic gain in the Pacific.
• Economic perspective: acquisition of valuable industries.

Reasons for the Spanish-American War

• Yellow Journalism: Exaggerated Spanish cruelty in Cuba.
• USS Maine Explosion: Increased tensions with Spain.
• Cuban Independence: Support for Cuba's fight for freedom.
• Economic Interests: U.S. investments in Cuba were at risk.

Yellow Journalism

• Sensationalized news to attract readers, arising from newspaper competition.

Roosevelt Corollary and Monroe Doctrine

• The Roosevelt Corollary expanded the Monroe Doctrine by asserting U.S. intervention in Latin America to ensure stability and prevent European intervention.

Presidential Foreign Policies

• Theodore Roosevelt (Big Stick Diplomacy): Used military power to back up peaceful negotiations.
• William Howard Taft (Dollar Diplomacy): Used economic investments to influence other countries.
• Woodrow Wilson (Missionary Diplomacy): Promoted spreading democracy and moral values abroad.

Spanish-American War Outcomes

• Cuba: Gained independence but remained under U.S. influence.
• Philippines: Became a U.S. colony.
• Puerto Rico: U.S. territory, eventually gaining citizenship.
• Guam: U.S. territory.

Puerto Rico and Guam Political Status

• Both are unincorporated U.S. territories, not states.

Puerto Rico and Guam Rights

• U.S. citizens, but lack voting rights in presidential or congressional elections.

Platt Amendment and Cuba’s Independence

• Limited Cuba's sovereignty by allowing U.S. intervention in Cuban affairs.