Progressive Era Reforms (1890-1920)

Progressive Era (1890-1920)

• A movement largely composed of the middle class.
• Arose from the belief that unrestricted capitalism led to corruption and social inequality.
• Advocated for a stronger state role in addressing social welfare issues.
• Believed government should be more directly controlled by the people, not monopolies.

Government Reforms

• Initiative: Citizens can directly propose legislation.
• Referendum: Citizens vote directly on legislation.
• Recall: Voters can petition to remove a corrupt politician from office.
• Secret Ballot: Ensures voters can cast ballots without fear of coercion.
• Direct Primary: Voters select candidates, replacing party bosses.

Worker Reforms

• Muller v. Oregon (1908): Upheld laws protecting women workers due to their perceived weaker bodies which was rooted in traditional views.
• Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911): Highlighted dangerous working conditions, leading to calls for federal worker protection regulations and 150 deaths.

Progressive Amendments

• 16th Amendment (1913): Established income tax, a concept supported by the Populists.
• 17th Amendment (1913): Provided for the direct election of senators, also a Populist idea.
• 18th Amendment (1919): Enacted prohibition.
• 19th Amendment (1920): Granted women's suffrage.

Muckraking

• Investigative journalists played a crucial role in the Progressive movement by exposing societal problems.
• Jacob Riis: Author of "How the Other Half Lives".
• Lincoln Steffens: Author of "The Shame of the Cities".
• Ida Tarbell: Exposed the corrupt practices of Standard Oil.
• Upton Sinclair: Author of "The Jungle".

Women in the Progressive Era

• Active in settlement houses and literary clubs.
• Sought additional freedoms while often maintaining connections to the domestic sphere.
• Florence Kelley: A leader in the National Consumers League and a factory inspector.

Theodore Roosevelt's Domestic Policies

• Advocated for a "Square Deal" for labor and the public.
• Focused on the "3Cs": controlling corporations, consumer protection, and conservation.
• Railroad Strike of 1902: Roosevelt threatened federal control of mines, siding with strikers.
• 1903: Department of Labor and Commerce established, empowering the federal government to regulate businesses and break up monopolies.
• Expanded the Interstate Commerce Committee and passed the Elkin and Hepburn Acts.
• Differentiated between "good" and "bad" trusts.
• Attacked J.P. Morgan’s Northern Securities Co.

Conservationism

• Established national forests.
• Planned irrigation projects in the arid West.

Taft's Domestic Policies

• Continued trust-busting efforts, dissolving Standard Oil in 1911.
• Taft's "Old Guard" faction clashed with Roosevelt's Progressives.
• 1912 Republican Convention: A schism occurred, with Roosevelt forming the Bull Moose Party.

Wilson's Domestic Policies

• "New Freedom" program: Favored entrepreneurship and unregulated markets.
• Underwood Tariff: Reduced tariffs to increase competition from foreign goods.
• Federal Reserve Act: Increased the amount of currency in circulation.
• Federal Farm Loan Act: Offered low-interest loans to farmers, fulfilling a Populist goal.
• Federal Trade Commission Act: Established the FTC to investigate businesses involved in interstate commerce.
• Clayton Antitrust Act: Expanded the definition of unfair business practices and protected labor unions.
• Legalized strikes, ensuring unions would not be considered monopolies.

Roosevelt's Foreign Policy

• Big Stick Diplomacy: Advocated using force when necessary to achieve goals.
• Panama Canal: Reduced shipping times between the Atlantic and Pacific.
• Roosevelt Corollary: An addition to the Monroe Doctrine, asserting U.S. authority to intervene in Latin American affairs.

Taft's Foreign Policy

• Dollar Diplomacy: Used American investment to promote political influence abroad.
• Investments targeted Honduras, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua.
• Aimed to prevent economic and political instability, but was often viewed negatively.

Wilson's Foreign Policy & Election of 1912

• Bull Moose Party, Progressive Party: “New Nationalism” for economic regulation, women’s suffrage and minimum wage.
• Democratic Party: Wilson and William Jennings Bryan, New Freedom for banking reform and tariff reduction. Republican Party: Taft, more conservative.

Wilson's Foreign Policy

• Moral Diplomacy: Aimed to influence other countries through democratic ideals rather than force, as was the case with the big stick or dollar diplomacy.
• Latin America: Sent Marines to Haiti in 1915 to protect American interests, deviating from his anti-colonial stance.
• Revolution in Mexico: Wilson supported revolutionaries, intervening with the U.S. Navy.

World War I Background

• Began with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and escalated due to alliances.
• Germany employed unrestricted submarine warfare, sinking Allied ships.
• Lusitania sinking (1915): The sinking of a British ship with American passengers sparked outrage.
• Sussex Pledge: Germany pledged not to sink passenger and merchant vessels without warning, but later broke the pledge.

American Neutrality

• Despite a desire to stay out of the war, the U.S. traded extensively with the Allies.
• Opposed Germany due to its authoritarian regime and actions.
• Invasion of neutral Belgium and unrestricted submarine warfare created a negative image of Germany.

Reasons for U.S. Entry into WWI

• January 1917: Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare, breaking the Sussex Pledge.
• March 1917: Zimmerman Telegram to Mexico was published where Germany promised financial support and to help regain territory lost in the Mexican-American war if Mexico sided with it against the US.
• April 1917: Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war to "make the world safe for democracy".

Impact on American Women

• Filled factory jobs as men went to war.
• Split suffrage movement: Some were pacifists while others supported the war effort, hoping it would advance democracy at home.
• Women volunteered as nurses and ambulance drivers in Europe.
• 19th Amendment (1920): Ratified, granting women's suffrage.

Impact on American Men

• Selective Service Act (1917): Required all males between 18 and 45 to register for conscription
• Conscientious objectors were exempt due to religious or cultural beliefs.

Propaganda in WWI

• Committee on Public Information: Led by George Creel, it aimed to promote the war effort to the public.
• "Four Minute Men": Gave pro-war speeches in multiple languages.
• Germans were demonized through posters, films, and songs.
• Liberty Loans: Citizens loaned money to the government by purchasing bonds.
• Rationing: The Fuel Administration implemented "heatless Mondays," "lightless nights," and "gasless Sundays".

Repressing Opposition

• Espionage Act (1917) and Sedition Act (1918): Reflected American paranoia about Germany.
• Schenck v. U.S.: Ruled that the acts did not violate the First Amendment.
• Anti-war socialists and members of the Industrial Workers of the World were prosecuted.
• American Protective League: Conducted "slacker raids" on those who avoided the draft.

Economic Expansion

• War Industries Board: Coordinated war production.
• Great Migration: African Americans moved to northern cities for factory work.
• Factory opportunities also opened for women.
• National War Labor Board: Settled disputes to ensure war production continued.
• American Federation of Labor (Samuel Gomper) supported the war while Wobblies (IWW) opposed.
• Despite government involvement, America remained largely committed to free enterprise.

Wilson's Fourteen Points

• A vision for peace after WWI
• Focus on no secret treaties, freedom of the seas, and removal of economic barriers.
• Promoted universal demilitarization, and adjustments of colonial claims.
• "Self-determination" for oppressed minorities.
• Proposed a League of Nations to maintain peace.

End of WWI

• Kaiser was overthrown, and Germany surrendered on 11/11/1918 by signing the Armistice.
• Big Four (U.S., Britain, Italy, and France) negotiated terms without German input.
• Wilson’s goal was to create the League of Nations and compromised on issues with imperialism.

Treaty of Versailles

• Established the League of Nations; Germany and Russia were excluded.
• Territorial Losses: Germany lost land to France and overseas colonies.
• Military Restrictions: Limits were placed on Germany's army, manufacturing, and military capabilities.
• War Guilt: Germany was forced to take responsibility for the war and pay reparations.
• U.S. Congress rejected the Treaty due to concerns over the League of Nations and potential involvement in European affairs.

Cultural Trends of the 1920s: Religion

• Modernism: Interpreted the Bible through a historical lens and reconciled religious faith with evolution.
• Fundamentalism: Advocated for a literal interpretation of the Bible.
• Revivalists: Religious leaders used mass communication to spread fundamentalist messages.
• Scopes Trial: Focused on teaching evolution in public schools.

Cultural Trends of the 1920s: Prohibition

• 18th Amendment: Banned the manufacture and sale of alcohol.
• Difficult to enforce, leading to bootlegging, speakeasies, and organized crime.

Cultural Trends of the 1920s: Arts and Literature

• Disillusioned artists and writers criticized the war and materialism which was inspired by war propaganda.
• Sinclair Lewis: Won the Nobel Prize for literature and critiqued materialism.

Cultural Trends of the 1920s: Women

• "New Woman": Independent women embraced shorter skirts and rejected traditional norms.
• Margaret Sanger: Advocated for access to birth control.
• Alice Paul: Established the National Women’s Party for an equal rights amendment.
• Separation between men and women continued.
• Women in the workforce were still limited to certain categories and paid less than men.

Cultural Trends of the 1920s: Harlem Renaissance

• African American culture flourished, fostering Black pride.
• Harlem became a hub for talented actors, artists, musicians, and writers.
• Langston Hughes and Jazz musicians like Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong rose to prominance and were enjoyed by all races.
• Marcus Garvey: Urged racial pride and created the Negro Improvement Association.

Intolerance of the 1920s

• Increased immigration after WWI, with new arrivals from eastern and southern Europe.
• Nativists feared competition and believed immigrants would incite revolution.
• Immigration Quota Act of 1924: Limited immigration based on the 1890 census.
• Red Scare: An anti-communist hysteria
• Palmer Raids: Raids on suspected radicals and radical organizations.
• KKK: Rose again and was a more extreme expression of nativism and targeted Catholics, Jews, Foreigners, and Communists.

Shift Toward a More "Modern Society" in the 1920s

• Increased economic activity and prosperity, particularly in urban areas. -Increased standard of living, most homes had electricity and indoor plumbing
• Effective advertising and buying on credit increased consumerism
• Tax cuts favored big business, and the Federal Reserve offered low-interest loans.
• Farmers and laborers did not share in economic prosperity.
• Welfare Capitalism: Offered employees more benefits and higher wages to avoid unions.

Religion + Gender

• More modern approaches to defining women: "Flapper women" emerged as more independent women.
• Religious fundamentalists still remained.
• Jazz, radio, movies, and sports became popular.

Causes of the Great Depression and Immediate Effects

• Wall Street Crash: Stock market crashed, leading to bank failures due to investments.
• Hoover adhered to laissez-faire policies and emphasized on self-reliance.
• Hawley Smoot Tariff: Increased taxes on imports, leading to retaliatory tariffs.
• Dawes Plan: US gave money to Germany to rebuild their economy so that Germany would then pay off its debts to other European countries who then pay back debts to the US. When US economy failed after the stock market crash, Dawes Plan failed.
• Reconstruction Finance Corporation: Provided loans to businesses but gave no relief for people.

Effects of the Great Depression

• All classes were impacted. Farmers and AAs had increased difficulties
• Homelessness, poverty, and family stress increased.
• People still moved from rural to urban hoping there would be more jobs.
• There were Protests, bonus march, and farmers: The desperate workers (unemployed WWI vets) in 1932 marched on Washington DC and violence w/ police led to the death of two vets.

Attempts to Fix the Depression and Hoover's Economic Policies

• Hoover stayed committed to laissez-faire policies.
• Hawley Smoot Tariff: increased taxes on imports from 31 to 49%
• Reconstruction Finance Corporation; gave loans to businesses, banks, and governments.
• Trickle-down economics: Hoover thought that stabilizing key businesses would eventually lead to smaller businesses recovering but this lead to Democrats thought that this would only help the rich.

FDR's New Deal and Aims

• Elected in 1932.
• Called in a special 100-day session where new laws and agencies were established.
• Aims were to: offer Relief for people out of work, offer Recovery for business and the economy and enforce Reform for American economic.
• Bank reform, ordered all banks to close for reorganization and only reopen those that were safe.
• FDIC was created to end bank failures.
• FDR's Fireside Chats, which were informal radio broadcasts that united and assured the public.

FDR's New Deal Programs and Similarities to the Progressive Era

• Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC): Employed 3 million men in environmental projects.
• Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA): Led by Harry L. Hopkins, it offered direct relief for jobless workers.
• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) : Built dams to create hydroelectric power for 7 Southern states.
• Workers Progress Administration (WPA): Provided jobs building infrastructure and for artists: and unemployed artists.
• Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA): Paid farmers to grow less to drive prices up.
• Social Security Act: Used to make monthly payments to retired over 65 (Old Age pensions & disability insurance).

Change in the Role of the Federal Government Under the New Deal

• Increased executive and federal power.
• Government began to play a specific role in promoting economic growth.
• These ideas become modern American liberalism.
• Programs implemented for different aspects of relief, recovery, and reform.
• Opposition to the New Deal was from liberals and conservatives.
• Conservatives thought that the economy could stabilize by itself and thought that large government was not needed and the American Liberty League was made of them.

US Policy of Neutrality on the Eve of WWII

• After WWI, America did not join the League of Nations and remained isolationist.
• American isolationists did not want United States to enter into war and foreign policy was limited.
• Neutrality Acts 1935,37,39, made it illegal to sell warms of war, give loans, or travel to Countries at war.
• WWII started 1939 when Hitler broke Munich agreement 1938, sent troops to occupy all of Czechoslovakia.
• Britain and France pledged to fight if Poland was attacked
• Through the Cash and Carry policy, countries were allowed to purchase US arms if it used its own ships and paid cash.
• The US had enforced Neutrality Acts, but FDR found ways to support Allies by slowly changing policies.
• The US had enforced Neutrality Acts, but FDR found ways to support Allies by slowly changing policies.

Opportunities and Hardships for Americans at Home and Overseas

• There was an increase in factory jobs as millions left rural areas for industrial jobs.
• Increase in factory jobs as the US army needed more resources
• AA move to northern Jobs, still faced discrimination and segregation in the army.
• A 1942 agreement with Mexico allowed Mexican farmworkers, braceros, to temporarily work in the US during harvest season.
• Increase in Mexican immigrants caused resentment and the emergence of Zoot Suit riots in 1943.
• Women took on jobs that were left by the men.
• Japanese American internment camps formed when they were ordered to leave their homes specifically on the West coast and the Supreme Court upheld the internment policy in Korematsu v. US.

America's Contribution to the Allied Victory on Both the European and Pacific Fronts.

• US and British forces focused on breaking down German submarines and bombing German cities in order to reduce industrial capacity and its ability to keep fighting.

European Front Victories

• The US then fought alongside the British in North Africa to defeat Germany at sea
• Eisenhower had planned to the attack the underbelly of Italy and successfully took Sicily to overthrow Mussolini
• The Allies used the victory in D-Day to liberate France and weaken German armies.

Pacific Front Victories

• The Pacific was mostly fought between the US and Japan.
• After Japan led an attack on Pearl Harbor, the US defeated them and took control in the Battle of Midway.
• The US army used island hopping tactics and would conquer islands as they marched closer and closer to Japan.
• With this strategy, Japan had surrendered after the US had dropped two atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.