Progressive Era: Roots and Civil Rights

• Progressives were urban, middle-class reformers aiming to expand government's role while preserving capitalist economy.
• Progressives succeeded due to greater success and influence compared to the Populists
• Progressives were a more representative sample of the average American

Roots of the Progressive Movement

• National Woman’s Suffrage Association aimed to create a more decent society and aid the poor.
• Muckrakers were journalists exposing corporate greed and misconduct.
• Muckrakers like Upton Sinclair and Ida Tarbell revealed widespread corruption, creating a moral argument for reform.

The Birth of Modern Civil Rights

• Challenges arose for African American leaders after the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling in 1896, which upheld racial segregation.
• New Black leaders shifted from Booker T. Washington’s approach to more assertive strategies.
• W. E. B. Du Bois advocated African American pride, political activism, and full equality, impacting the future civil rights movement.
• The Springfield Race Riot of 1908 motivated reformers to organize for racial justice.
• NAACP formed in 1909, led by progressive reformers and former Niagara Movement members, with Du Bois as editor of The Crisis.
• NAACP allied with African American women’s clubs, churches, and the National Urban League (1911) to support black migrants and advocate for civil rights.
• These organizations became significant forces in the 20th-century civil rights movement.

Theodore Roosevelt

• Theodore Roosevelt became president in 1901 after McKinley’s assassination, unexpectedly embracing progressive policies.

Trustbusting

• Roosevelt aggressively used the Sherman Antitrust Act to break up monopolies, starting with a major railroad company in 1902.
• He repeatedly took legal action against large corporations, earning the name “Trustbuster”.
• In 1902, the Northern Securities Company was dismantled.

Labor Mediation

• Roosevelt mediated disputes in favor of labor, notably in the 1902 Coal Strike, securing a 10% wage increase and shorter hours for coal miners.
• This action set a precedent for federal intervention in labor disputes.

Consumer Protection

• Inspired by Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, Roosevelt championed the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906, ensuring federal safety standards.
• He pushed for ingredient labeling on processed foods to improve consumer safety.

Conservation Efforts

• Roosevelt advocated for environmental preservation, securing millions of acres of forested land.
• He established the National Park Service and National Forest Service, helping regulate conservation and land use.

Foreign Policy

• He introduced the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, asserting U.S. intervention rights in Latin America for stability and to protect U.S. interests.
• He played a major role in constructing the Panama Canal, boosting global trade.

1904 Election Victory

• Roosevelt won re-election due to his handling of Latin American affairs and progressive leadership.

Republican Party Split (1912)

• Roosevelt initially supported William Howard Taft but later opposed him due to Taft's conservative policies.
• Roosevelt ran under the Progressive "Bull Moose" Party, splitting the Republican vote and enabling Woodrow Wilson to win.

Square Deal

• Roosevelt’s domestic policy agenda aimed to balance the interests of business, labor, and consumers through trust-busting, workers' rights, and consumer protection.

Great Migration

• Driven by wartime manufacturing, the Great Migration created job opportunities in the North.
• W. E. B. Du Bois encouraged Black enlistment, hoping it would lead to social equality.
• The army remained segregated, limiting Black soldiers' roles and opportunities.
• Many Black migrants sought better economic conditions and escape from Southern racial oppression.
• Destinations included New York, Chicago, St. Louis, and Detroit.
• More than 500,000 Blacks migrated from the South in search of work.
• Military assigned African Americans to menial tasks and black combat units to French command.

Racial Strife

• After World War I, African Americans sought full rights as citizens, having fought in the war (350,000 served).
• The Great Migration led to good jobs, voting rights, and strong communities for Black people in northern cities.
• White mobs reacted with increased lynchings, from 48 in 1917 to 78 in 1919, including killings of Black soldiers in uniform.
• The Rosewood Massacre (1921) involved white mobs destroying the town after Black residents defended themselves after a lynching.
• Fights broke out in northern and Midwestern cities over jobs and housing, as white workers got angry when Black workers took jobs, sometimes as strikebreakers.
• Deadly attacks occurred in over 25 cities, including East St. Louis in 1917 (40+ Black deaths) and Chicago in 1919 (five days of violence).
• Tulsa Race Massacre (1921): White mobs, aided by National Guardsmen, attacked the Greenwood neighborhood (“Black Wall Street”) based on a false rape claim, burning 35 blocks and killing dozens.

Welfare Capitalism

• The pro-business environment of the time lead to a temporary decline in labor unions
• Membership levels dropped throughout the decade.
• Businesses aimed to dissuade workers from organizing unions by offering benefits such as pension plans, profit sharing, and company events.
• These practices were referred to as welfare capitalism.

Modern Culture from the 1920s

• Automobile symbolized the new spirit of the nation.
• Henry Ford perfected the assembly line, making automobiles affordable.
• Many Americans moved away from cities, leading to the development of suburbs.
• Radio greatly impacted American culture during the 1920s.
• Flappers emerged as a symbol, representing women who lived in the city, worked, and wore waistless dresses, hats, and lipstick.
• Movies became popular, often focusing on an idealized America.
• Sports gained popularity during the 1920s, with Babe Ruth becoming a hero to millions.

Backlash Against Modern Culture

• Some Americans resisted the transition to the modern age.
• The Ku Klux Klan grew to over 5 million members in the 1920s.
• The Klan targeted blacks, Jews, urbanites, and anyone who deviated.
• Southern and Eastern European immigrants were targeted.
• The Sacco and Vanzetti Case involved two Italian immigrants convicted of murder and robbery with limited evidence, believed to be framed as a result of their anarchist and pro union beliefs.
• The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 restricted immigration, discriminating against Southern and Eastern Europeans.
• The Scopes Monkey Trial (1925) occurred after Tennessee banned teaching evolution.
• John Thomas Scopes was found guilty of breaking the law, but the verdict was overturned.
• Prohibition banned the manufacturing, sale, and transport of alcohol, with the 18th Amendment outlawing the American Liquor Business.
• The 21st Amendment (1933) repealed Prohibition.

The New Deal

• Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) promised relief payments to the unemployed and a more active government upon winning the presidency.
• Declared war on the Depression, seeking broad presidential powers.
• His reforms were known as the “New Deal”.

Roosevelt’s “First Hundred Days”

• The Emergency Banking Relief Bill put the government in charge of poorly managed banks.
• Fire Side Chats: Roosevelt used radio shows to reassure the public about the security of banks.
• Banking Act of 1933: FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) guaranteed bank deposits.
• Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA): Provided payments to farmers for cutting production by up to ½ due to overproduction.
• Public Works Administration (PWA): Allocated $3 billion for jobs building infrastructure.
• Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC): Provided grants to states for managing their programs.
• The First New Deal was an immediate success, lowering the unemployment rate.
• Conservatives disliked the New Deal due to higher tax rates and increased government power.
• Liberals felt the government was pro-business and that businesses should be nationalized.
• The Supreme Court challenged Roosevelt’s New Deal, questioning his powers, leading Roosevelt to propose “packing the courts” by increasing the number of judges.
• Congress rejected the court-packing attempt.

ROOSEVELT’S 2nd New Deal

• Focused on job creation through the WPA (Works Project Administration), which created 8 million jobs.
• The WPA employed writers, photographers, artists, and local historians.
• During the summer of 1935, Roosevelt strengthened unions and created the Social Security Administration, providing benefits.
• The government increased taxes on the wealthy and big businesses.
• The policies created the “New Deal Coalition” of union members, urbanites, working class, and Black Americans up until 1980.
• Roosevelt’s 2nd Term saw another recession in 1937, due to cuts in government spending and increased interest rates by the Federal Reserve.
• Many escaped poverty, banks reformed, and unions grew stronger because of the New Deal.
• Unemployment remained high and minorities did not benefit as much as White Americans.

Why The Atomic Bomb was Dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki

• The atomic bomb was dropped to end the war quickly.
• Some argue its use was due to Japanese refusal to surrender, to intimidate the Soviets, or to justify the cost of the Manhattan Project.
• A land invasion against Japan would have cost many American lives.

Yalta Conference

• The U.S (Roosevelt), Britain (Churchill), and The Soviet Union (Stalin) met to discuss postwar Europe.
• Soviets established satellite states in Eastern Europe as buffer zones.

Potsdam Conference

• Allies met again after the war, but disagreements grew as Truman lacked Roosevelt’s rapport.
• Germany was divided into four occupied zones controlled by The U.S, Great Britain, Soviet Union, and France.

Japanese Internment

• During WW2, Japanese-Americans were imprisoned in camps, unlike German and Italian immigrants.
• California had a background of anti-Asian discrimination.
• Paranoia existed that Japanese-Americans were spies which was the reasoning behind the internment.
• Executive Order 9066 authorized the War Departments to force Japanese Americans into relocation camps.
• More than ⅔ of Japanese-Americans were native-born.
• Japanese Americans lost between $2-5 billion during relocation (businesses, houses).
• In Hawaii, Japanese people weren’t interned because they made up ⅓ of the population, so they were too valuable for the economy.
• Hirabayashi vs. U.S (1943) and Korematsu vs. U.S (1944): The Supreme Court allowed for the removal for “military necessity” but avoided ruling on the constitutionality.
• In 1988, Congress apologized and awarded $20,000 to the 80,000 survivors.