Post DBQs here!!! (the success of progressivism)
saml...@yahoo.com
APUSH
04/08/06
During the Progressive Era from 1900 to1920, the reformers
and the federal government were very successful in bringing reform at a
national level. This reform movement had the most influential reformers
and worked more closely with the federal government than any other
previous reform movement in American history. Although not every single
sect of the progressive movement made significant gains, the regulation
of corporations, the fight against child labor and the rights of women
were three movements that were particularly aided by governmental
implementations, thereby acheiving a great deal of success.
For the first time in American history the US government was
responsive to public grievances regarding to the regulation of American
corporations. This movement was fueled by influential journalists who
were known as muckrakers. Among these muckrakers was Henry Lloyd, who
exposed the corruption of the powerful monopolized company, Standard
Oil. Other reformers, similar to Henry Lloyd, exposed the corruption of
these companies to a large audience of citizens and furthermore put the
politicians under great duress to serve the interests of the public in
order to keep their popularity. Theodore Roosevelt was the first
president to defend the public against the powerful companies by
participating in trust busting. The political cartoon (document A)
displays Roosevelt standing upon a Bear that represented "bad trusts"
which he had just hunted down. Roosevelt was the first president to
enforce the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Trust busting was continued by
Taft, Roosevelt's successor, and was taken a step further by Wilson.
Wilson's administration past the Clayton Anti-Trust Act which was
similar to the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, but, as stated in document E,
"[forbid] the antitrust Acts [from being] construed to forbid the
existence and operation of labor unions." These governmental changes,
provoked by the influential reformers of the time are proof of a major
success for progressivism.
The fight against child labor was another area of
progressivism that received good response from federal politicians.
During this period of incredible industry, more and more children were
working to support their families at a very young age. First hand
accounts of factory life shown in the popular novel the Jungle and
reports similar to document B, opened the public eye to the dangerous
realities of industry, an area of society that clearly shouldn't have
been accessible to children. Lewis Hine, a muckraking photographer,
took shots of child labor and raised public empathy for the children
working in such horrific conditions. In document C another prominent
social reformer spoke out about the detrimental effects of child labor
on the physical and mental development of America's youth. Spokesmen
for the child labor movement similar to these aroused growing
discontent of the government's lack of child labor laws and eventually
pushed the federal government to end its age of passivity and restrict
child labor. In 1916, during Wilson's presidency, the Child Labor Act
was passed, outlawing companies from using children under fourteen
years old. Similarly to the trust-busting realm of progressivism, the
anti-child labor movement was able to win over some support from the
federal government and achieve a great deal of success.
Women's rights, and women's suffrage in particular, was
another sect of progressivism that was very successful. During this
radical Era the roles of women were changing dramatically. Women were
increasingly pushing away from the cult of domesticity and transforming
into what is called "the new woman." Woman began to become very
involved in a variety of reform movements. In terms of feminist
movements, women began founding their own political organizations such
as the National American Woman Suffrage Association. The photograph in
document H shows a woman, most likely a member of this organization,
holding a sign denouncing the American public, calling them
self-blinded and demanding female suffrage. Although most of the
politicians of the time were still very sexist they saw the growing
resentment of the public and in 1919 the 19th amendment was passed
giving woman the right to vote nation wide.
In conclusion the progressive movement made up of very
influential reformers was strong enough to win support from the federal
government and achieve monumental success. Although not all movements
achieved such a high rate of success three of the most important
movements - trust busting, anti-child labor and women's suffrage - were
very successful.
J. Pizzle
freshmen get pushed, juniors get a push.
hahahahahahahah get it?
Joseph Poirier
APUSH Per. 3
Sanoff
4/8/2006
The Progressive Era reformers and the federal government were only
able to bring about limited change in the period 1900-1920. The
federal government was only able to bring about limited change in its
trust-busting and child labor laws, while Progressive Era reformers
shed light on subjects such as women's suffrage, unsanitary practices
in the food industry, and African-American civil rights. Although some
reforms were made, the majority of them were conservative by nature,
and had a limited effect.
The federal government was able to make few important reforms, and the
majority of them had a minimal effect. President Roosevelt was able to
intervene on the side of labor for the first time during the Anthracite
Coal Strike of 1902. This act set the important precedent for one of
the most reformative pieces of legislature passed in the period
1900-1920. In 1914, the federal government was able to pass the
Clayton Antitrust Act, which fortified the Sherman Antitrust Act. The
only truly reformative part of the act was the clause that stated:
"Nothing contained in the antitrust laws shall be construed to forbid
the existence and operation of labor organizations." This undermined
the previous practice of the federal government intervening solely on
the side of labor (in incidents such as the Pullman strike and the
Great Railroad strike). This theme of limited reform in the federal
government's activity continued in the development of the FTC
(Federal Trade Commission). This agency's job was to hunt down the
"bad trusts" and keep the "good trusts" under control (as
illustrated in the Document A political cartoon). It had only a
limited effect, however, because it was unable to control the activity
of banks and railroads, two of the most powerful industries in America.
Lastly, the federal government was able to change the way state
senators were elected. Previously elected by state legislatures, they
were now "elected by direct vote of the people instead of indirectly
through the various legislatures" (Document D). This was an
important reform at the time. As is apparent, the federal government
had only a limited effect in bringing about reform at the national
level. It was able to change the way senators were elected, a
relatively small but important reform. In terms of controlling the
previously uncontrolled trusts and corporations, the federal government
had a limited effect. The FTC was able to watch some, but not all,
corporations, an example of the limited nature of legislatures passed
during the time. The federal government was also able to pass the
Clayton Antitrust Act, which prohibited labor unions from being
targeted as trusts, a small but important step. It is clear that the
federal government was able to pass limited reformative national
legislature.
Progressive Era reformers had a similar effect. They were able to
make some changes, but most of them were limited. As W.E.B. DuBois
wrote in The Crisis, America was still "a shameful land" for
African-Americans. Although African-Americans "fought gladly and to
the last drop of blood" in World War One, they returned home to face
"lynching, disenfranchisement, caste, brutality and devilish
insult". Progressive Era reformers did little more than shed light
on the subject of African-American rights. Little was changed for
African-Americans in the period 1900-1920. The limited effect of
reformers can be seen as well in the drop of voting. In 1900, 73
percent of eligible voters voted, while in 1920, only 49 percent voted
(Document J). This drop is indicative of the voter's enthusiasm at
the ballot boxes. Clearly, nearing 1920, voters were less and less
enthused by reformers, and found less reasons to vote. Yet another
example of the limited reform Progressive Era reformers were able to
attain was the Child Labor Act of 1916. Progressive Era reformers such
as Jane Addams fought for child laborers' rights with writings that
posed questions asking if the public was "so caught in admiration of
the astonishing achievements of modern industry that they forget the
children themselves?" Reformers such as Jane Addams helped the Child
Labor Act of 1916 pass with relative ease, but when it came to reform
in the meat-packing industry change was influenced by many things.
Upton Sinclair's chilling novel, The Jungle, showed to all the
horrors of the meat-packing industry. The Neill-Reynolds Report also
laid out the unsanitary conditions in which Americans' meat was
produced. "meat [was] shoveled from filthy wooden floors, piled on
tables rarely washed, pushed from room to room in rotten box
carts...[and exposed to] dirt, splinters, floor filth, and the
expectoration of tuberculosis." Because of documents such as the
above, the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act were
passed, further ensuring quality and safeness in American foods. These
acts, and the Child Labor Act, accurately represent the state of reform
in the period 1900-1920. Ideas that had been proposed for decades were
finally put into action. Nothing extraordinary or drastic happened,
however, these reforms were finally put into action, thanks to
reformers.
The Progressive Era was marked by reforms, however, as many historians
argue, these reforms were rather conservative. The federal government
was able to limit trusts and corporations, but not all of them, as
banks and railroads were excluded. It was also able to change the way
state senators were elected, a valuable reform victory. Reformers were
also able to effect certain change in the meat packing industry. The
Meat Inspection Act was passed as a response to reformers actions, and
the Child Labor Act was passed for the same reason. These acts
affected only certain parts of the corporate world, however, and were
not new ideas. Both the government and the reformers of the period
1900-1920 produced only limited change, however, the change was long
overdue and positively affected society.
Lily
During the period of 1900 to 1920, Progressive Era reformers and the
federal government were only able to get partial reform at the national
level. Both helped with such reforms as to limit the control of
trusts, enact child labor laws, improve sanitation, and give voting
rights to women. Though, these changes were not as effective as they
may seem, since corporations and individuals often neglected them,
making them of no useful value. What is known as the time of progress
was hardly of any benefit to African-Americans, who still were harshly
mistreated and discriminated against in many situations. Thus, although
changes were made, most were often conservative and had little effect
on the actual improvement of society.
Progressive Era reformers and the federal government both worked to
limit the power of corporations and trusts, although little improvement
was truly made. When Theodore Roosevelt became president he
sympathized with workers, unlike the other leaders of the past who
usually helped corporations. During this time the Federal Trade
Commission was also established, which helped to limit the power of
trusts. As illustrated in Document A, Roosevelt is hunting down the
“bad trusts,” while putting a leash on the “good
trusts” as a means of regulating them. Then in 1914, the Clayton
Antitrust Act was put into place that stated, “nothing contained
in the antitrust laws shall be construed to forbid the existence and
operation of labor organizations” (Document E). For the first
time, the government was helping the workers, and not just siding with
the employers. Matters seemed to change though in September 1919, when
350,000 steelworkers in various eastern and midwestern cities left
their job to strike against bad working conditions. They wanted to
have an eight-hour workday and acknowledgment of their union. The
strike was, “long, bitter, and violent –most of the
violence coming from the employers.” Most steel plants were able
to still run with non-union labor, and the public was so aggressive to
the strikers that the AFL who first was for the strike had to reject
it. Workers were now asking, “Where is that democracy for which
we fought?” Even though there were new measures being made to
help control the power of corporations, the government did not strictly
enforce regulations and many companies tended to ignore such changes,
making reform of little value or significance at the national level.
There were other changes made for bettering society, such as improving
sanitation and opposing child labor, but similarly they had no
significant effect. The Jungle and The Neill-Reynolds Report both
revealed to the public how disgusting and dirty the meat industries
actually were. Descriptions of how “meat scraps were also found
being shoveled into receptacles from dirty floors where they were left
to lie until again shoveled into barrels or into machines for
chopping,”(Document B) helped to enforce the Meat Inspection Act.
Other reformers helped better the conditions for children. In
factories and mines many children were under terrible working
conditions. Boys working in the coal mine in Pennsylvania were
“crawling into newly blasted areas,” as well as other
dangerous circumstances. Jane Addams helped to bring up a good point
about how people were, “so caught in the admiration of the
astonishing achievements of modern industry that they forget the
children themselves”(Document C). With her influence as well as
other reformers, the Child Labor Act was passed. Although regulations
were put into place, many factories and industries still pursued in
their wrong doings, further proving that the reforms had little impact.
Reform was also proven ineffective during this period, because racial
discrimination against African-Americans still persisted. The
conditions and treatments of African-Americans hardly improved during
the Progressive Era. During World War 1 as many as 400,000 black men
had served for the country. The black soldiers were an inspiration to
many African-Americans who believed that the magnificence of black
heroism in the war would be an end to racial inequality and allow them
to be the equal citizens that they deserved to be. Though this was not
the case, sine whites still had the same racist opinions that they had
from before the war. The black soldiers did have a substantial impact
on African-Americans by motivating them to fight for their rights.
Reform sentiment did not seem to stop racial discrimination, but
actually caused there to be an increase in, “lynching,
disfranchisement, caste, brutality and devilish insult”(Document
I). As W.E.B. Dubois said, “we fought gladly and to the last
drop of blood; for America and her highest ideals,” but still,
“this country of ours, despite all its better souls have done and
dreamed, is yet a shameful land” (Document I). Therefore,
reformers fought hard to help eliminate racial discrimination, but yet
their efforts seemed hopeless, since the whites’ attitudes still
refused to change.
For the most part the Progressive Era reformers and the federal
government significantly helped to expose the ugliness that went on
below the surface, yet no actual effect was made at the national level.
Both revealed how disgusting and unsanitary the meat industry was to
the general public, and acts such as the Meat Inspection Act were put
into place. New legislations were passed to limit the power of trusts
and corporations, yet many were not strictly imposed by the government
and were neglected by many companies. Similarly, for child labor there
were legislations passed such as the Child Labor Act, but many mines
and factories still used young children to do dangerous and hard work.
Reformers such as W.E.B. Dubois notably fought for racial equality, but
yet their hard work seemed to go to waste when whites even more
violently discriminated against African-Americans. In reality, minor
improvements were made during the Progressive Era, since many
corporations and individuals neglected such legislations, resulting in
hardly any actual reform to bettering society.
willhu...@yahoo.com
AP U.S. History
Period 3
DBQ, 4.9.06
In the early 20th century, a fervent desire to allow the United States
to escape from the corrupt and unfair politics of the Gilded Age and to
improve life for "the employees in utter ignorance of cleanliness or
danger to [their] health" (Document B) emerged. This great desire to
reform society became known as Progressivism. Under the leadership of
three progressive presidents, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft,
and Woodrow Wilson, the Progressive Era reformers and the federal
government brought slow and moderate national reform, though these
measures often fell short of Progressive ideals. Roosevelt took the
first steps towards reforming American society with his "square
deal," although his willingness to work with corporations and trusts
hampered efforts of more radical Progressives. Taft continued
Roosevelt's policies for a few years, but then seriously hurt the
Progressive movement by allying himself with conservative Republicans.
Finally, Wilson aggressively attacked "the triple wall of
privileges:" tariffs, banking, and trusts. Progressive feminists also
persuaded him to pass the 19th amendment, guaranteeing women's right
to vote. However, these policies were not enough to bring about great
reform at the national level, as injustices, such as racism, continued
to plague American society in the 1920s.
Unlike the presidents of the Gilded Age, who had clearly favored
corporations over labor, Roosevelt and his supporters instead pursued a
"square deal:" a system of compromise between corporations and
laborers. For this reason, Roosevelt separated trusts into two separate
categories: "good trusts," which benefited the American economy,
and "bad trusts," which harmed the public and stifled competition.
Document A clearly shows Roosevelt's policy towards each of these
trusts: "bad trusts" must be destroyed while "good trusts" must
be closely regulated by the government.
For the Progressives, this was both a success and a limitation. As
Roosevelt was the first president to actively regulate trusts and
corporations, some progressives supported his "square deal." His
destruction of the Northern Securities Company and his intervention on
the side of the labor during the anthracite coal strike of 1902 clearly
illustrated his commitment to attaining fairer business practices. On
the other hand, Roosevelt's willingness to let J.P. Morgan of U.S.
Steel purchase shares of the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company to relieve
economic crisis during the Panic of 1907 clearly shows his desire for
fairer business did not surpass his desire for a stable economy. This
uneven treatment of trusts seriously hampered the efforts of
Progressive reform associations, such as the Union Labor Party, from
attaining social justice for workers. For example, no progress was made
on child labor during Roosevelt's presidency (Document C). Roosevelt
began a process of slow and moderate reform, but this reform would be
ignored when necessary.
Taft was more aggressive in his trust-busting policies. To the dismay
of both Roosevelt and J.P. Morgan, Taft dissolved the U.S. Steel trust.
In addition, Taft set up an income tax under the Sixteen Amendment,
which the Progressives had desired ever since the Populist movement of
the 1890s. As time passed, however, Taft began to ally himself with the
conservative wing of the Republican Party. His newly-adopted
conservatism was evident when he passed the Payne-Aldrich Tariff, which
raised tariffs on most U.S. imports. Although Taft led some important
reforms, his later conservatism made reform efforts during his
presidency fall short of the ideals held by many of the Progressives.
Wilson advocated many more reforms than Taft. During his presidency,
Wilson reduced tariffs with the Underwood-Simmons Tariff of 1913,
strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act through the Clayton Antitrust
Act of 1914, which even stated "the labor of a human being is not a
commodity or article of commerce" (Document E). This was a great
victory for labor, as they were now seen as people rather than working
machines. Most importantly, Wilson set up the Federal Reserve System,
providing the nation with the first stable, relatively uncorrupt
banking system since the fall of the Second Bank of the United States
in 1836. Wilson also enacted child labor laws for the first time in
American history. In addition, Progressive reform societies such as the
National Women Suffrage Association convinced Wilson to pass the 19th
amendment allowing women to vote. (Although he did this grudgingly, as
Document H suggests.)
Wilson believed that the "fundamental wrongs of a modern society
[could] be easily and quickly righted as a consequence of a few
laws," as Herbert Croly puts it in Document F. However, Wilson's
vision would be proven wrong. In 1918, the Supreme Court ruled that
the child labor laws Wilson had passed were unconstitutional in the
case of Hammer v. Dagenhart, as laws regulating child labor were
"purely a state authority," thus the laws were "repugnant to the
Constitution". (Document G). Despite the antitrust acts, strikes and
labor violence continued to be a problem. The Ludlow Massacre, a
confrontation between western miners and state militia and the Boston
Police Strike of 1919 exemplify that tensions still existed between
workers and employers.
Finally, the reforms during the Progressive movement did very little to
advance the status of African Americans. The Chicago Race Riots of 1919
showed that racial tensions and discrimination were still present in
the United States. Despite the fact that African Americans had
"fought gladly and to the last drop of blood; for America and her
highest ideals" during World War I, they had to return to the
"shameful land" of the United States (Document I). Thus, Wilson's
antitrust acts and child labor laws had a limited effect on American
society, and the pace of reforming America continued to be a slow one.
Under the leadership of Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson, the Progressives
and the federal government made slow and modest improvements. However,
as many progressives hoped to remake American society, these reforms
were often too conservative to satisfy them. Roosevelt's "square
deal" was an important step towards better business regulation, but
Roosevelt's conservatism seriously hampered the efforts of more
radical Progressives. Taft, although he did pursue a more aggressive
trust-busting policy, eventually allied himself with conservative
Republicans, stunting further efforts for reform. Finally, Wilson
passed numerous pieces of legislation, but the passing of these laws
did not completely reform American society as he had hoped. Thus, as
the United States entered a new era, America was not yet a land of
freedom and liberty for all.
Ricky Wat
AP US History
Ben Sanoff
4/9/06
The combined efforts of the Progressive Era reformers and the federal
government can be best characterized as successful because they brought
about significant changes which includes restricting corporate power,
eliminating child labor, and giving women the right to vote.. Many
progressive reformers actively campaign against the powerful
conglomerates and monopolistic practices of big corporations, which in
their words: "hurt the public interest and stifle economic
competition".Big business did not hurt the public's interest, but
physically hurt the public itself. The demands for elimination of harsh
child labor was at its peak during this period, and progressive
reformers worked hand-in-hand with the federal government to seek an
end to this immoral practice. Most particular, were women advocates,
who strongly protested the dangerous conditions of children working in
factories. Women also fought hard to claim their own rights to vote
during this period. The disenfranchisement of women for centuries
invigorated the Progressive era reformers to advocate for absolute
women suffrage in American politics. The efforts of progressive era
reformers in conjunction with the federal government aided trust
busting, anti-child labor, women suffrage movements and helped to
contribute to their overall success.
Between 1900 and 1920, the corporation wielded an iron-fist in both
economics and politics. It was during this period that the federal
government was fully active in addressing the economic and social
issues of the day. Many Americans felt threatened by large trust,
combinations, and conglomerates of the day like Rockefeller's Standard
Oil, Carnegie Steel Company, and JP Morgan's banking empire. The
Progressive era reformers were adamantly opposed to large monopolistic
practices of big business. The progressive era reformers worked
hand-in-hand with the federal government to curb practices that might
led to monopoly. President Theodore Roosevelt is an excellent example
of where the government takes up and implements progressive reform idea
of trust-busting. Roosevelt actively campaigned for the restriction of
giant corporations because they "stifled" competition.. However, as
evident in the image document A, Roosevelt does not entirely seek to
destroy all trust and all corporations. He steps a fine line to appeal
to both Progressive era reformers and big business corporations by
differentiating between 'good' trust and 'bad' trust'. 'Good trust'
says Roosevelt, through efficiency, can lower consumer prices, and
'bad' trust are bad because they harm the interest of the public, and
eliminate small business through unfair competition. One of his first
'bad' trust targets was the powerful railroad industry. The Interstate
Commerce Act of 1887 (ICC), had been an early effort to regulate the
industry; but over the years, the court had sharply limited its
influence. To satisfy both the Progressive era reformers and big
business corporations, Roosevelt asked Congress for legislation to
increase the government's power to oversee railroad rates The Hepburn
Railroad Regulation Act of 1906 sough to restore some regulatory
authority to the government. This is very important because major
concessions were given by the federal government to both progressive
era reformers and big businesses so that a temporary alliance could be
forged between them. The significane of this is that Theodore Roosevelt
brought a multilateral cooperation between reformers, big business, and
federal government in terms of economic regulation and anti-trust
reform.
To a much lesser degree, child labor was recognized as a severe threat
to public health and society itself but failed to make any drastic
change until the . What is child labor? It is the term for employment
of children and it is the systematic exploitation of children for their
labor, with little compensation or consideration for their personal
development, safety, education, health, and prospects of their future
years. The federal government tried to address the public grievances of
the day, which include complaints of the harsh and dangerous conditions
in which children were expected to work in. Long working hours and
unsanitary environments caused many progressive era reformers to demand
for the intervention of the federal government. The government
responded, and in 1916, the Keating-Owen Act was pass, and it was the
first federal law regultating child labor. The measure prohibted the
shipment of goods produced by undersage children across state lines,
thsus giving an expanded important to the constitutional clause
assigning Congress the task of regulating itnerstate commerce. This
measure was hardly enforced due to loose interpretation and
invalidation by the court in 1918. The federal government, in joint
alliance with progressive era reformers help to achieve a new law which
attempted to achieve the same goal by imposing a heavy tax on the
products of child labor. The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 domonstrated
another way in which the federal government and progressive era
refoorrmers could influence local behavior and set precedence for
further cooperation and between the two groups, such as on the issue of
women's suffrage.
The idea of women suffrage have been an important issue during the
progressive era period. It is sometimes difficult for today's Americans
to understand why the suffrage issue could have bbecome the source of
such enormous controversey. Many suffrage advocates believed that
women deserved the same rights as men - including the first and
foremost, the right to votte. As suffragist became better organized and
more politically sophisticated than their opponents, they began to
overcome their oppositiosna dn win some substantial victorties. They
slowly gain a powerful relationship with the federal government in
advancing their philosophical ideals of women suffrage across the
nation. It first started at the state level, within Ilinois becoming
the first sttate east of the Mississippi to embrace women's suffrage in
1913. Gradually in 1917 and 1918, New York and Michigan - two of the
most populous statesin the Union - gave women the vote. By 1919,
thirty-nine states had granted the women the right to vote. This is
signifcant because it illustrates how much cooperation the progressive
era reformers had within local state legilslation. In 1920, finally,
suggragist won ratification of the Nineteenth amendment, which
guaranteed political rights to women throughout the nation. This is
extremely important because it illustrates the transition of
progressive era reformers from relying on state governments to federal
government for advancing and implementing their political ideals of
women suffrage across the America.
Overall, the progressive era reformers have closely collaborated with
the federal government to advance all their ideals and making them into
law. The single most important reason why progressive era reformers
depend on the federal government is that it possess the power to make
their ideas such as trust-busting, anti-child labor, and women suffrage
into laws that apply throughout the nation. Even more important than
the ability to create the laws is the ability to enforce them. The
progressive era reformers heavily cooperated with the federal
government to see that their ideals are implemented and enforced on a
nation-wide basis. The federal government has much to gain from the
progressives too. Within America, a large pool of voting class people
were avidly against large corporations and monopolistic practices of
big businesses. The government sought to satisfy and appeal to this
large class of voters by implement laws that would supplement their
economic interest. Similarly, a large pool of potential voters were
adamantly opposed to child labor due to the harsh and brutal conditions
in which they had to work. By giving into their demands, the federal
government gain a bigger pool of supporters, which is very important
when it comes to election time. Most important of all is the
controversial issue of allowing women the right to vote. The federal
government would gain a vast new audience of voters if they allowed
women the right to vote. The government would benefit from granting
women suffrage because most likely, the same women that were allowed to
vote would sponsor and support the same government for allowing them to
vote in the first place. Its a situation which benefits both the
progressive era reformers and federal government, so its an advantage
that both sides collaborate with each other so each side gains
political and economical incentives for doing so.
~ Ricky Wat
Jarvis
relatively successful and effective at bringing about some essential
forms of national reform like tariff adjustment and trust-busting,
there were still many important reforms that many politicians chose to
overlook when it came to substantially changing America in the
1900-1920 period. Presidents like Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard
Taft and Woodrow Wilson were all particularly influential when it came
to changing many aspects of American politics, economy and society, but
each had a very specific idea of which reforms should be instated and
which should be ignored. By the end of the 1900-1920 period, many of
the progressive groups had gotten their reforms passed, but many of
these reforms, like the 19th Amendment, were not instated until very
late in the era. The delay of progressiveness when it came to other
reforms such as those demanded by both women and blacks prevented the
Progressive Era from being as effective as it could have been.
The Progressive Era included many ideas that ranged from women's
rights to vote to the destruction of trusts. Trust-busting was really
the first Progressive ideas that was initiated. Roosevelt was the first
president who fought against trusts and enforced many of the
Progressives' ideas. In a speech Roosevelt made on February 22, 1912,
he states that senators should be elected by direct vote, an idea that
can most definitely be considered progressive. However, as Document A
shows, Roosevelt limited his trust-busting to what he considered bad
trusts, leaving the "good trusts" as they were. Despite the fact
that Roosevelt left many trusts un-busted, these remaining trusts
eventually fell to the Clayton Antitrust Act which was a much more
powerful force against trusts than the old Sherman Antitrust Act, which
had only been used against labor unions. This act, in addition to
Roosevelt and Taft's work against trusts was effective in reforming
much of the corporation-worker relationship, but trusts were a
relatively small part of the Progressive movement. While the defeat of
trusts and the advocation of directly voting for senators can be viewed
as a very important step in the Progressive Era, the era could still
have been much more effective had other important reforms been included
in the presidents' agendas.
Woodrow Wilson had one of the most specific agendas of any Progressive
Era president. He worked very hard to reform both the national bank and
the tariff system, and yet he ignored both the women's suffrage
movement and the black equality movement. While Wilson's economic
reforms were very effective for the economy, they were not as effective
as they could have been had they affected the roles of women and black
people in society. W.E.B. DuBois voiced his frustration at this in The
Crisis on May 1919, where he pointed out how so many black men had
fought and died for a country in which lynching and racism still ran
rampant. Women also voiced their anger at Wilson and his lack of reform
variety, as is shown in Document H where a woman complains about the
fact that women still do not have the right to vote. Wilson cannot be
called completely un-Progressive, but his lack of reforms when it came
to women and black people helped to prevent the Progressive Era from
being as effective as it could have been.
That is not to say the Progressive Era was not effective, Roosevelt,
Taft and Wilson did effectively initiate many Progressive ideas that
helped to reform many aspects of the nation. However, there were many
more potential Progressive reforms that went untouched. While trusts
and monopolies were done away with and the economy was improved, racism
and sexism both remained as they had been. Eventually, towards the end
of the Progressive Era, women were given the right to vote, but this
can hardly be considered efficient when it took so long to occur, and
an era cannot be effective without being efficient. The Progressive Era
was a very successful time in American history for the Progressive
Party but it could have been so much more successful had more reforms
been touched upon.
slugge...@yahoo.com
The Progressive Era from 1900-1920 was not effective of bringing
about true progressive reforms at the national level because it had
been a slow process by the presidents co-opting the ideas of true
progressives, limited trust busting, which led to corporations
expanding abroad, and continuous racial injustice towards African
Americans. Even though there were some improvements made, such as
women's suffrage, the reform of unsanitary practices in the food
industry, and child labor laws, these changes occurred at a
conservative pace, not at all radically. The Progressive Era brought
about limited reform movements gradually.
The true progressive movement began with muckrakers, journalists
who exposed scandals, corruption, and injustice to public view. They
opened discussion for a better society and first targeted the trusts,
particularly the railroads. They considered them dangerously powerful
and deeply corrupt. Muckrakers advocated for an uncorrupted politics,
which had been a central problem during the Gilded Age. Upton Sinclair
was also one of the true progressives, intent on radically changing
how poor urban workers lived. His novel, the Jungle described horrific
conditions in the meat packing industry in Chicago. As in Document B
in 1906, it describes how the meat packing process was completely
unsanitary, and during the process, "gathered dirt, splinters, floor
filth, and the expectoration of tuberculosis and other diseased
workers." Just as these descriptions were included in the jungle,
this led to the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. However Sinclair's
novel was initially supposed to convince Americans that socialism was
their only hope (as in the Jungle, the protagonist finds socialism as
his way of escaping poverty). As well as meat packing problems
occurring in factories, children were working in factories at a very
young age. Reformers such as Jane Addams stated in Document C, "...so
caught in the admiration of the astonishing achievements of modern
industry that they forget the children themselves?" In 1916 Wilson
supported the Keating-Owen Act, the first federal law regulating child
labor. Although efforts to place limitations on child labor occurred,
they were routinely thwarted by the courts, and invalidated it in 1918.
In Document J, it is even shown that the percent of eligible voters
decrease from the 1900s to the 1920s. Although there were improvements
made, it was not the initial goals of the true progressives that had
sparked the movement.
As the progressive movement began to spread, Theodore Roosevelt
began co-opting the progressive movement with his campaign. It was a
way to gain votes; however, created a new more conservation progressive
view. While he co-opted some reforms of the progressives he did not
fulfill all of the progressive's goals. It was even stated that
Roosevelt was not a trust-buster in heart; however, he did bust a few
trusts that he considered bad. As in Document A, Roosevelt is depicted
as a hunter, conquering the bad trusts, and letting the meek good
trusts alive. While Roosevelt busted some trusts, he did so just to
appeal to the people, not because he was truly against the corruptness.
However, he was the first president to use the Sherman Anti-trust act
against the employers, instead of breaking up strikers. Wilson also
signed the Clayton Antitrust Act in 1914, Document E, which stated that
it was the agency would have authority to launch prosecution against
unfair trade practices. However Wilson did little to protect it from
conservative assaults, which greatly weakened it. Roosevelt had
other attempts to co-opt the ideas of progressives as in Document D
where he states that direct vote of the people instead of by indirect
vote through the Electoral College, would lessen corruption. A bit
ironic, was Taft, who was supposedly also a trust-buster, but spread
corporations abroad by using the Dollar Diplomacy. Although presidents
during the Progressive Era strive to co-opt some progressive reforms,
it led to breaking away from the original complete anti-monopoly
definition of progressivism.
Lastly, socially there was improvement for women. Middle-class
women broke away from sticking to mainly domestic responsibilities,
gained their own salaries , and even some advocated for the vote. As
in Document H, a woman stands beside a sign advocating for women
suffrage. Even though there women were organizing for the cause,
Wilson refused to support the movement for national woman suffrage.
Most of all, as the muckrakers advocated for social justice, a majority
of African Americans were still treated horribly. In Document I,
W.E.B. DuBois explains how the blacks returning from fighting in WWI
expected that there would be more equality. However, "America
represents and gloats in lynching, disfranchisement, caste, brutality
and devilish insult...and is yet a shameful land." As
African-Americans returned from fighting and saw a lot of white
resistance of rights for blacks, especially in the South, it led to
brutal violence when both sides fought back against each other. Even
as reform movements improved things such as Women suffrage, it was a
slow process, and even slower for the African-Americans.
In conclusion, although the Progressive Era had been marked with
reforms and an improved lifestyle for many, it proved to be slow
conservative process. The movement moved farther and farther away from
what it had originally had been when presidents began co-opting them to
appeal to the people. America still had a long way even though some
reform movements were successful.
mbbu...@yahoo.com
AP US History
Period 3
9 April
The Progressive Era reformers and the federal government did bring
about many reforms at the national level. The Progressive reformers
were able to bring issues such as women suffrage, and black rights into
the consciousness of Americans, but these two reforms were forgotten by
President Woodrow Wilson. The reformers were more successful with
improving working conditions in the meat packing industry. The more
successful reforms by the federal government were trust busting and the
passage of child labor laws, which was also brought about by the
Progressives.
One of the largest and most well known Progressive reforms was
women's suffrage. In the late 1800s women became involved in
political issues such as the temperance movement by forming the
Women's Christian Temperance Union. Later more then 500 such clubs
emerged with one million members by 1917. Women used the power of
their numbers for suffrage. When President Wilson was elected, he
didn't embraced suffrage as past presidents had. In fact he began to
neglect most of the issues important to women. Document H illustrates
the anger many women were feeling. They felt as if they were being
cheated out of their right to vote and their right to participate in
government. The same was true for African Americans' civil rights.
Document I, which was written by notable activists W.E.B. DuBois,
discussed how African Americans were helping America fight in World War
I and shedding blood and yet not receiving anything in return. At this
time President Wilson wasn't supporting these issues, and ignored
them. The Progressive reformers brought civil rights to a national
stage, but the president he chose not to help the cause.
A more successful reform made by the Progressive that received much
public notoriety was the reform of the meat packing industry. This was
sparked by a novel called The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair. In this
novel, for the first time, the horrors of the meat packing factories
were made known to the general public. Other reports began to emerge
about the industry such as the Neill-Reynolds Report (Document B).
According to Document B, "...we saw meat shoveled from filthy wooden
floors, piled on tables rarely washed, pushed from room to room in
rotten box carts, in all of which processes it was in the way of
gathering dirt, splinters, floor filth, and the expectoration of
tuberculosis and other diseased workers". In response, President
Roosevelt passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, and he also pushed
Congress to pass the Meat Inspection Act. This was a successful reform
both for the Progressive reformers and federal goverment.
The federal government's major reform was trust-busting. President
Roosevelt was the most active in trust busting. Trust busting got to a
point though where the government was just rendomly picking and
choosing which trusts were good and bad. Document A illustrate this by
showing Roosevelt shooting bears where one bear is a good trust and the
other is a bad trust. There was no merit or system in choosing which
trust was bad. Later the federal government wrote the Clayton
Antitrust Act (Document E). It states "That it shall be unlawful for
any person engaged in commerce...either directly or indirectly to
discriminate in price between different purchasers of commodities which
commodities are sold for use, consumption or resale within the United
States..." This antitrust act the government to have a tighter hold
on corporations and reduce monopolies and trusts.
Child labor laws were another major reform for the federal government
as well as Progressive reformers. In the 1800s many children at very
young ages went to work to contribute income for their family. Many
people such as Jane Adams began speaking out for child labor laws. In
document D she talks about how, instead of going to school, children
were going straight into the factories. She asked why the government
was doing nothing to prevent this situation and help the children.
There was a setback in child labor laws with the case of Hammer vs
Dagenhart (Document G), in which stated that the federal government
couldn't interfere in state child labor laws. While this was a
futile attempt by the federal government to control child labor laws,
it kept the ideas in the backs of people's minds.
Between 1900-1920 the Progressive reformers were very busy. The
Progress Era reformers influenced the federal government and achieved
changes at the national level. Initially some of the reforms seemed
unsuccessful, but the more people heard about existing injustice, the
more the government began to reform. Because the reforms achieved
nationwide attention, the issues remained important to Americans, and
the reforms were eventually achieved.
becca
limited success with national reform. Although they achieved a few
significant successes, such as child labor laws, antitrust acts,
education reform, and women's suffrage, World War I shattered the
idealistic nature of national reform. Presidents of this era, such as
Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, were prevented from sustaining a
public mentality for national reform by forces of industry and
conservative opposition. Reform proved to be overwhelming and
unfocused, and only a few ideas for national improvement were enforced
or maintained.
The federal government's unrealistic view of the Progressive Era
limited its success. President Wilson's inability to address the
various reform issues in the period 1900-1920 caused the public to lose
faith in reform movements as a whole. Herbert Croly expresses this
sentiment in 1914: "How many sincere progressives follow him...there
remains an ominous residue of sheer misunderstanding." Croly's
article continues by recognizing that Wilson's struggle to assess the
issues of modern society spread public suspicion of his authority. In
this case, the federal government was not effective in gaining public
support of reform legislation or a federal role in national reform.
Although Roosevelt was more effective in generating public and
political support for national reform legislation, the 1907 Washington
Post cartoon of Roosevelt overestimated his impact on industrial
reform. Although he did pass legislation monitoring the conditions of
meatpacking factories (described in the 1906 Neil-Reynolds Report),
child labor regulation, and the Pure Food and Drug Act, Roosevelt was
restricted by a desire to please both reform-minded and conservative
Americans. In allowing J.P. Morgan to purchase the Tennessee Coal and
Iron Company in response to the Panic of 1907, Roosevelt showed his
inconsistent commitment to national corporate reform. Roosevelt
couldn't fully endorse Progressive Era reforms without losing
conservative support, and Wilson misunderstood the progressives and the
requirements of successful national reform. In these ways, the federal
government failed to bring about substantial and sustainable reform.
Although they did instigate some effective change, many Progressive Era
reformers had trouble uniting behind focused justifications and plans
for reform. As Jane Addams writes in 1909, the "astonishing
achievements of modern industry" make it difficult for people to
remember the importance of education and the harm that factory life can
cause urban youth. The daunting effects of industry are also relevant
in analyzing unsuccessful corporate reforms; while the drawbacks of
factory life and monopolizing trusts were obvious, the success of
industry overpowered many attempts to reduce corporate power.
Conflicting justifications for women's suffrage prolonged passage of
the 19th amendment, and national reforms did not include significant
social change.
Both Progressive Era reformers, such as labor and women's rights
unions, and federal authority could not effectively enforce or maintain
many significant reforms. Industry, a powerful conservative voice, and
conflicting, unrealistic ideas for social improvement all limited
reform. The period of 1900-1920 did not experience major changes in
social structure; reforms did not penetrate the significant class
issues. This is evident in the American reception of black veterans
after World War I. An increase in violence, hostility, and economic
disillusionment for African Americans displays the ineffectiveness of
strong and perpetual national reform.
Eva
political and social changes that ultimately led to a higher quality of
life for many groups. The progressive reformers as well as the federal
government successfully modified certain problematic aspects of society
but their efforts were often limited by factors outside of their
control. Voter participation, which actively influences the decisions
made in this country, was significantly improved through the appearance
of more opportunities for direct election of state and federal offices;
however, reformers were unable to remove boss rule and other corruption
problems. Trust-busting and regulation of monopolies were also
moderately enforced during the progressive era. And two unfairly
treated groups of people - African-Americans and women - formed
several important organizations and earned more social freedoms
nationwide (to a certain degree).
Two of the main political problems that progressive reformers
targeted were the political manipulation of voters by party candidates
and the dominance of party bosses in state conventions. Political
manipulation was reduced by the introduction of the secret ballot in
1888, and by 1910 all voting was done behind closed curtains. Then came
the process of nominating state and federal candidates through direct
primaries, which gave more power to the public but was not very
effective in reducing boss rule. Party bosses still came up with
tactics to influence voters and some southern states used primaries to
exclude African Americans from voting. But reformers succeeded in
implementing the direct election of senators, which became an amendment
in 1913. This was supported by President Roosevelt, who believed that
"actually experience convinced our people that presidents should be
elected by direct vote of the people" and therefore "senators
should be elected by direct vote of the people instead of indirectly
through the various legislatures" (Document D) for the same reason.
This new system eliminated some of the supremacy that big businesses
had in the Senate, but the reformers were unable to change the state
legislatures that were controlled by political bosses. On the state
level, new methods such as initiative, referendum, and recall enabled
the people to have a more direct say in state laws and the removal of
unsatisfactory politicians. On a national level, these new changes in
voter participation only gave the public more control over the senate
elections. Most of the reforms only changed the outcomes of state or
local elections, and even those were still widely influenced by the
power of political machines.
Theodore Roosevelt's rise to presidency initiated a series
of reforms and regulations of monopolistic trusts, as well as new laws
protecting consumers. His "Square Deal" marked a change in history
for presidents - Roosevelt was the first to support the labor cause
rather than side with big businesses. His meeting with the union
leader and the coal mine owner produced an outcome no one had seen
before - the owner was actually forced to agree to reduce the workday
of the laborers as well as increase their wages. Roosevelt then
progressed to attack trusts by enforcing the Sherman Antitrust Act. He
broke down the Northern Securities Company, took action against
Standard Oil, and limited the power of over 40 other corporations. But
his most effective attribute was his distinction between good and bad
trusts. As shown in Document A, Roosevelt was known to "kill" off
bad trusts that harmed the general public while at the same time
putting good trusts under government control in order to make sure they
were engaged in lawful business. Also, the ICC with the power of the
Elkins Act and the Hepburn Act regulated railroads. However, an attempt
to implement another antitrust act in 1912, the Clayton Antitrust Act,
was weakly supported by President Wilson. Even though the Act stated
that "nothing contained in the antitrust laws shall be construed to
forbid the existence and operation of labor organizations" (Document
E), the postwar recession aroused a number of strikes that were struck
down by the military and not allowed to achieve their goals. And
finally, the emergence of consumer protection acts raised the sickening
sanitation standards in meatpacking industries from "meat shoveled
from filthy wooden floors" (Document B) to more acceptable levels.
Women made substantial progress during this era, especially
with the introduction of the nineteenth Amendment, but African
Americans were severely limited in their fight for civil rights.
Campaigns for suffrage led by feminists such as Carrie Chapman Catt
convinced state governments at first to grant them the right to vote
and later the national government. The formation of the NAWSA, the
National Women's Party, and the League of Women Voters not only
convinced the nation that women could participate in politics as well
as men could but also achieved educational equality, improved divorce
laws, and reduced discrimination. But as seen in Document J, the
percent of voters participating in presidential elections actually
decreased drastically with the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment.
This shows that women were not taking advantage of their new rights but
it was their own fault that the progressive action in their name was
not put to use. African Americans on the other hand were excluded from
progressive reforms because most progressives did not believe civil
rights issues were as important as other areas of politics. Therefore,
whatever progress was made had to come directly from the voices of
blacks themselves. Especially after the war, the attitudes of blacks
became more bitter as thousands of troops returned home to "the
America that represents and gloats in lynching, disenfranchisement,
caste, brutality, and devilish insult" (Document I). They were
forced to endure thousands of lynchings upon their return and riots
erupted in several main cities. So while women raised their social
standing during the progressive era, blacks were basically excluded and
discriminated against.
In theory, the progressive reforms of the early twentieth
century granted a wide variety of hope to many different groups of
Americans. The public was given a more direct form of power in electing
their laws, representatives and senators through primaries and other
systems such as the referendum. But these reforms were limited by the
prevailing influence of political machines. The trust-busting
activities started by Roosevelt held strong throughout his presidency
as well as through Taft's and Wilson's, and many harmful trusts
were eliminated while good trusts were placed under government
supervision. And even though women won the right to vote in 1920, the
percentage of voters that year decreased over 10% since the previous
presidential elections. And African Americans made very little
advancement in civil rights - they were basically ignored by
reformers and injured by racist southerners. The progressive reformers
and presidents were moderately successful in bringing about change, but
their efforts only extended to certain privileged groups and did not
bring about any significant reforms to lower social classes.
akada...@gmail.com
APUSH
Period 3
April 9, 2006
The Progressive Era from 1900-1920
Progressive reformers were successful in producing reform and receiving
national attention during the early stage of the progressive movement,
but as America entered into the Great War, the government ceased to aid
the movement, hence ending the era of reform from 1900- 1920. Up until
1917, the progressive movement was successful in bring federal
attention to issues such as monopolies and trusts, the working
conditions in factories and the women’s rights movement. Strong
reformers and the support from active presidents like Roosevelt and
Wilson encouraged the progressive movement to flourish and pass bills
and amendments, but when Wilson declared that America was to go to war
against Germany in 1917, the movement which should have continued was
ended because of the aftermath of the war. Because of the war, the
Progressive Era reformers and the federal government were moderately
successful in bringing reform to America, but they were prevented from
being truly being successful.
The Progressive Era brought trusts and big businesses into the public
eye and with the help of reformers and Teddy Roosevelt; bills were
passed to limit the power of the big businesses that were dominating
the American economy. With the help of the muckrakers who were
journalists who uncovered the corruption in corporate America, the
public got to see how exactly the big business capitalists were making
their money. As more and more Americans realized that trusts were
manipulative, there was more public outcry for reform. The election of
Theodore Roosevelt also aided the crusade against trusts. Roosevelt was
one of the first presidents who enforced the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and
who wanted to limit the trusts to some extent. Obviously, Roosevelt
couldn’t abandon all of his connections with the “robber barons” who
owned the trust, because then he would lose all of his diplomatic
standing with the more conservative republicans in congress, but
Roosevelt really showed to America that he would make sure that trusts
wouldn’t run free as they had during the gilded age; this is shown in
the cartoon of Document A. Teddy Roosevelt also set a precedent for
succeeding presidents on how to handle trusts, as Taft was also
considered a “trust buster” and Wilson passed the Clayton Anti-Trust
Act, which was similar to the Sherman act and stated that there could
be no discrimination of prices that would “substantially lessen
competition…” (Document E). Wilson also went so far as to create the
Federal Trade Commission which ensured that America’s economy was open
and thriving and wasn’t in the hand of big businesses. With the help of
reformers and the Progressive Era presidents, trusts were limited and
more attention was placed on industry, causing more attention to be
placed on labor.
This era of reform also brought attention to the working conditions in
factories, the use of child labor and the health issues for factory
workers that compelled the government to make changes. The Progressive
era brought an increase in moral standards for Americans. Because of
this, muckrakers went to work again and uprooted the horrors of
industrial jobs. With the publishing of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle,
which depicted the horrific meatpacking industry and reports of the
factories such as Document B, the public was informed of what they were
receiving from factories and how factory workers were living. The
disgusting conditions compelled some reformers to get to work and
change the conditions of factory workers. Jane Addams created
settlement houses in the heart of cities and was also a leading
activist against child labor. The conditions of the factories were no
place for adults to work in, nonetheless children, yet because of
immense poverty many children had to work to help support their
families. Because of this, many reformers called for federal help and
change. With the pictures of Lewis Hines, who captured children working
in precarious positions, and Jane Addams (Document C), Wilson finally
agreed to pass the Child Labor Act which prevented children under the
age of fourteen from working. Although this still allowed children to
work, it was considerably better than before. This era also called for
more labor unions and better protected labor unions that that of the
gilded age. Women’s unions like the Women’s Trade Union League, arose
and the government enforced the supreme court case which gave unions
the right to assemble and strike through Wilson’s Clayton Anti-Trust
act, which states “Nothing contained in the antitrust laws shall be
construed to forbid the existence and operation of labor
organizations.” (Document E). With the urging of reformers, the
government finally made some changes to enforce better conditions for
workers, young and old, male and female.
As the Progressive movement continued, one of the major calls to
reform came from women, who demanded equal rights and suffrage, which
they eventually received. The Progressive movement brought back reforms
that were started during the Reform Movements of the 1820s, one of them
being the Women’s rights movement. More and more women began to drop
their traditional roles as matron and housekeeper as technology
advanced to give them less to do in their “domestic sphere.” This
allowed them to get jobs and be active members in society and become
“new women.” As this happened, more women wanted a political voice in
society so many women’s organizations and clubs were started such as
the Federation of Women’s Clubs, and the National Women’s Party. Along
with the organizations were the more radical suffragettes who picketed
for women’s rights, such as the one shown in Document H. With the help
of active members of the party like Alice Paul and all other women
reformers, this party strove for women’s suffrage, which it achieved in
1920 with the nineteenth amendment. This amendment was a triumph for
progressivism but it came at the end of the Progressive Era.
The Great War acted as a major hiatus in the Progressive movement, as
it brought much social and economic unrest to the nation that ruined
the Progressive movement. Because the war took away a lot of attention
from reforms to battle, the movement was halted to some degree. The War
also brought back the Sedition Act, which forbade any American from
speaking badly of the government and the whole “Red Scare” after the
war, which was against communism brought censorship and fear into
American society, which was very anti-progressive. The war also created
great social turmoil for the working class, as labor union membership
soared and there were an increasing number of strikes and unhappy
workers. Along with all of this came huge racial tensions and more and
more African Americans demanding their rights. After fighting for their
country, African American troops were esteemed highly in their own
communities but received no attention from the Whites (Document I).
This disrespect on the white’s parts lead to many race riots in the
South and in Chicago. Through all of this turmoil from the Great War,
the progressive movement was defiantly ended.
Although Progressive reformers and presidents during the Progressive
Era established some great changes to America, they were hindered by
the Great War from fully reforming society and carrying on their goals
to create a better America. Through the maintenance of trusts, the
enforcement of labor laws and better conditions for laborers and
women’s rights and suffrage, America made some radical steps to be a
modernized and reigning nation. But conflict between Europe’s leading
powers beckoned America out of her golden Progressive Age and into war.
Although the reform movement could have continued past the Great War,
post-bellum America was too shook to continue the reform movements and
the doors were opened for a whole new era from the one started by
muckrakers and reformers, Roosevelt and Wilson.
Max to the Borg
Progressive Era DBQ
APUSH P. 4: Ben Sannoff
April 9, 2006
During the period referred to as the "Progressive Era (1900-1920),"
the progressive reformers and the federal government were only mildly
successful at bringing about reform at the national level. The
government was successful at limiting the potential of corporations to
monopolize through their system of trust-busting. The federal
government was also successful at creating child labor laws that
restricted children under a certain age from working. Although there
were child labor laws being enacted, the sanitary standards of many of
the corporations were decent as a best case scenario, atrocious at the
worst case. There was also an improvement and development in woman's
suffrage or the right to vote. However, allowing woman to vote was not
very significant as many of the American women were not using their
opportunity to vote. Also, there was little if any progress made for
the civil rights of African Americans. African American civil rights
were a progressive goal that was never completed.
The progressive reformers as well as the federal government certainly
deserve some credit for bringing about reform at the national level
during the progressive era. The federal government, led by presidents
Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft,
and Woodrow Wilson were generally successful in trust-busting efforts
to limit corporate potential to monopolize. Document A, an
illustration from the Washington post in 1907, the middle of the
Progressive Era, does a great job of showing the destruction of the
"bad trusts." It shows what appears to be a stomping a bear
labeled "bad trust." The hunter is standing in a very
authoritative position, likely illustrating that the government has
full control over the bad trusts and corporations. It also shows the
hunter having a leash on the bear labeled "good trust" to show that
the government has control over the entire corporate economy. There
were also improvements made to restrict child labor in the corporate
workplace. There were now state to state restrictions on the labor by
children between the ages of 14 and 16. The progressive movement was
also successful in granting the right to vote to over 20 million women.
Although there were great attempts at reforming the country by the
national government and various reformers, much of the progress made
proved to be dilatory as many new problems emerged with these various
new progressive solutions to the problems of society. As trust-busting
emerged, the federal government, pre-occupied with their attempts at
dealing with the bad corporations and trusts, and overlooked the
problem of sanitation in the workplace. According to Document B, from
"The Neill-Reynolds Report," referring to a meat processing
factory, "Meat scraps were also found being shoveled into receptacles
from dirty floors...these floors, were in most cases damp and soggy,
and in ill ventilated rooms...were brought from room to room in rotten
cart boxes." The report goes on to say that this led to many workers
having tuberculosis as well as other diseases. Another governmental
reform which created some new problems for the American people was the
emergence of child labor laws. While it was successful in promoting
the safety of children in the workplace, it also created a problem for
many parents who depended on their children's income to survive.
Document G features a father complaining about the fact that his
children not being aloud to work at certain times. It does not seem
right that it is the rich politicians deciding that child labor
restrictions are right for the American people, yet the people who it
is actually affecting are the ones complaining about the restriction.
The emergence of woman's suffrage during the progressive era was
significant step taken towards equal civil rights; however, the
government was excluding the right to vote from immigrants. There
federal government also failed to deal with the issue of African
American civil rights. Many of the American people were angered at the
granting of suffrage to American females for various reasons. One of
the main reasons was that the government failed to recognize immigrants
in the voting rights movement. As illustrated in Document H, with a
woman holding a sign that says: "Have you forgotten your sympathy
with the poor Germans because they were not self governed? 20,000,000
American women are not self governed. Take the beam out of our own
eye." The woman is questioning that the government can recognize a
woman's right to vote without recognizing the immigrant's rights to
vote. After all of the work done by the progressive reformers to grant
women the right to vote, it seemed to have gone to waste as the woman
were not using their opportunity to vote as much as was expected.
According to Document J, the percentage of eligible voters voting
decreased from 73% in 1900 to 49% in 1920. This means that nearly 50%
of woman was not exhibiting their right to vote as the amount of
eligible voters increased by 50% yet the percent of voter voting
decreased by nearly 25.
During the progressive era, the federal government and various
reformers were only able to create a limited amount of improvement to
American society as the improvements made all had little significance
in their role of changing and improving society. The emergence of the
child labor laws created problems for the parents of the laboring
children who depended on their income to put food on the table. The
amount of governmental energy put into the trust-busting of
corporations distracted the government from regulating workplace
sanitation. Finally, the emergence of woman suffrage was not as
significant and beneficial as the reformers hoped because only 50% of
the eligible women used their right to vote. On top of that, the
developed right for women to vote created numerous complaints and calls
for immigrants rights to vote.
happykit...@yahoo.com
federal government did bring a complete reform to a national level
because many changes were made nation wide such as the child labor law
and factory sanitation laws. These successful accomplishments not only
helped millions of children and factory workers, they also emphasized
the importance of having elected officials to listen to the people's
concerns. These national reform movements once again reminded the
officials that politics should not be about holding patronage but who
they are representing.
As shown in document A, President Roosevelt believed the
government should have regulations limiting the power of the bad
trusts. This was a major emphasize on the progressive movement that it
was the government's job to regulate different corporations. Although
Roosevelt did not reinforce this policy with an aggressive attitude,
through gradual change, many bad trusts were taken down. With a less
forceful attitude, Roosevelt was able to make compromises between the
people and the corporations. The President along with Congress was able
to lead their people towards prosperity by listening to their concerns
and play an active role.
Besides economic concerns, women's suffrage was also part
of the national issue. Through document H, the message was clear- women
should be able to vote because it was their right. With the help of
many reformers, some feminists, they were able to raise the awareness
of the public about women's suffrage. This was a tremendous movement
for women to express their concerns and opinions to the national
government. Although as shown in Document J, the percent of who cast
ballots in presidential elections dropped from seventy three percent to
forty nine percent, it did not mean that women should not have granted
the right to vote. That is because from 1900 to 1920, the America
society was under a dramatic change; with these variations, it was hard
for people to interpret each party's platform. As women gain their
right to vote, the government was bringing in more educated voters and
it helped to engage other parts of society into the American
government.
Addition to these two great accomplishments is the success
with child labor laws. Before the progressive movement, thousands of
city youth worked under terrifying conditions and were paid unfairly.
As written in Document C, it was crucial to have governmental laws to
protect these children from their employers. With reformers such as
Jane Addams, they presented this issue to Congress and raised their
awareness of the children's working condition. With such a great
effort, children got protection from the federal government and their
need was met.
The progressive era was really a period of time when the
government worked with its people. It was a time when the President
truly listens to his people's concerns and infused into policies.
Clearly, America was not ready for a drastic reform movement. However,
with gradual moderate changes, many compromises were made. This way,
the public's problems were addressed, and the corporations were
wiling to work together with the government. Therefore, the progressive
era reformers and the government truly were able to bring the reform to
a national level.
whit...@gmail.com
April 9, 2006
APUSH
Progressivism DBQ
Evaluate the effectiveness of Progressive Era reformers and the federal
government in bringing about reform at the national level. In you
answer be sure to analyze the successes and limitations of these
efforts in the period 1900-1920.
Although the reformers of the Progressive Era were able to win various
legislations, they were not able to achieve the level of reform they
desired because America was not ready for drastic reform. While
progressives like the Muckrakers were able to shed light on many topics
for reform, they were only able to bring about limited change. While
he was president, Theodore Roosevelt said that reform was needed only
to protect society from radical change. This represented the views of
many Americans at this time, which made it difficult for progressives
to gain radical reforms.
The Muckrakers advocated social change and tried to gain public support
of many reform movements with their journalism. This is shown in the
cartoon from the Washington Post, where Roosevelt is depicted as
killing the bad trusts. Roosevelt's view at this time was that big
businesses needed to be regulated rather than eliminated, a view that
was supported with Wilson's passage of the Clayton anti-trust act and
the Federal Trade Commission act. Reports during this time period also
shed light on working conditions, living standards etc. The
Neill-Reynolds Report demonstrates how some wrote about the meat
industry, like Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, leading up to the passing
of the meat inspection act and the pure food and Drug act. W.E.B
Dubois' The Crisis shows how he fought for reforms for African
Americans. The Clayton Antitrust act showed how progressives won
reforms, but some were not widely enforced. The Sherman antitrust act
in particular was hardly enforced when it was passed, and showed how
the federal government did not wholeheartedly support reforms.
The lack of public support is shown with the voter percentages. From
1900 to 1920, voter participation decreased by 24%, demonstrating a
lack of involvement and interest in politics. This meant that there
was a decrease in support for active reform and progressivism. Herbert
Croly's New Republic talks about the problems in a society cannot be
fixed by only passing a few laws. This exemplified the reform
movements at this time because they were winning laws in Congress but
it was limited to that. The progressives also struggled to convince
the public of their cause. The Hammer v. Dagenhart ruling shows how
the Congress passed child labor laws like the Keating Owen act, even
though they were eventually repealed by the court.
During the Progressive Era, reformers struggled to win public and
federal support of their causes. Although they were able to get the
federal government to pass regulations, they experienced limited
success during this period. America was not ready to accept drastic
reform, but progressives like the muckrakers prepared the public for
more reforms to come.
elvent...@yahoo.com
4/9/06
APUSH p. 3
During the Progressive Era reformers and the federal government were
for the most part successful in bringing about reform at the national
level in the first 20 years of the 20th century. Reforms were made in
the improving of working conditions in factories, and the elimination
of commerce in the products of child labor.
In the early years of the 20th century working conditions,
particularly in meatpacking factories, were unsanitary and often
dangerous to those working there only for a paycheck of less than a
dollar a week. Document B says that in meat packing factories, scraps
of meat were "shoveled into receptacles from dirty floors" and
"piled on tables rarely washed, pushed from room to room in rotten
wooden box carts..." These unsanitary conditions resulted in many
workers getting diseases such as tuberculosis. Reforms began after the
release of Upton Sinclair's novel "The Jungle". The book
describes in sickening detail the conditions under which workers did
their jobs. Upon reading this book, people, including President
Roosevelt, were outraged and demanded radical change. Several Laws
were passed, including the Pure Food and Drug Act, and the Workers
Compensation Act insuring that conditions will improve and workers will
be treated better.
Document C suggests that children are stuck in this new modernized
world that their parents are still adjusting to. As a result parents
are inevitably pushed into this new modernized world that they forget
about the children. In a lot of factories, there were children who
began working at very young ages. Children entered factory work as
early as their state would permit. In the 1918 court case, Hammer vs.
Dagenhart (Document G), a father has two sons ages 13 and 16 who work
in a cotton mill. His argument was whether it was within the authority
of Congress in regulating commerce among states in the transportation
of products made in a factory that employs workers under the age of 14.
The opposing argument stated that it was simply a state matter and
Congress wouldn't intervene. Four years earlier the Clayton
Antitrust Act (Document E) was passed. It stated that "the labor of a
human being is not a commodity or article of commerce. In other words,
the laborers themselves didn't matter even though they are
responsible for creating this growth of commerce in the first place.
It isn't until a few years later with Hammer vs. Dagenhatrt that
these changes began.
Many people, including children as young as 12, were working in
factories in an effort to support their families. With tyrannical
bosses who could fire them if they were injured and unsanitary working
conditions, workers were stuck because of the laizze faire government.
When the truth about what was going on was finally revealed, there were
rapid changes for the better: Wages were raised and a minimum wage was
established, workers now couldn't be fired for injuring themselves on
the job as a result of the Workers Compensation Act, food was better
inspected and as a result was healthier to eat, and children now
didn't have to be a commodity of commerce.
alan.i...@gmail.com
APUSH - Sanoff
During the Progressive Era, reformers and the federal government had
limited success in establishing national reforms, specifically
concerning trusts, women's rights, and labor issues. Although there
were a plethora of reforms established, some areas did not fair as well
as others. There were reasonable reforms on issues concerning labor
disputes, moderate reforms dealing with women's rights, and
substantial reforms regarding movements for antimonopoly. Overall,
Progressives had limited effect in bringing national reform.
The most significant reforms were established in the economic area
concerning trusts. Progressives feared the concentrated power of the
monopoly and preached to limit and disperse authority and wealth.
President Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to engage in
trust-busting politics. His first order of trust-busting came in 1902
when he invoked the Sherman Antitrust Act against the Northern
Securities Company, which was trying to gain a railroad monopoly in the
northwest. Later during his presidency he established the Interstate
Commerce Commission (ICC) and the Hepburn Act both to regulate the
railroad industry. Roosevelt was key figure in destroying trusts and
had a general large impact in doing so. However, although he
established many antitrust reforms, his heart was not fully into
trust-busting. As Document A shows, Roosevelt only targeted "bad
trusts" and left the "good trusts" unhampered. Roosevelt's
inability to destroy all trusts is shown in 1907 when he allowed U.S.
Steel, run by J.P. Morgan, to purchase Tennessee Coal and Iron Company.
This act showed how limited Roosevelt really was in trust-busting.
Other presidents were also able to establish antitrust reforms.
President Woodrow Wilson established the Federal Trade Commission Act,
aimed to prevent monopoly, and the Clayton Antitrust Bill. As Document
E illustrates, the Clayton Antitrust Bill claims it unlawful to
"lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly in any line of
commerce". Although Presidents Roosevelt and Wilson established
reforms to stop monopoly, they still had many holes in their
trust-busting campaign which severely limited the full effects of
trust-busting. Similar to antitrust reforms, women's rights reforms
had significant, but limited advancements.
Even before the Progressive Era, there had been much fervor for
increasing women's rights, especially women's suffrage. In 1893,
the National American Woman Suffrage Association was created and by
1917, it had over 2 million members. The NAWSA and those who believed
in women's suffrage argued in terms of "natural rights," that
women deserved the same rights as men. As Document H shows, a woman,
who is probably apart of a reform organization, is standing next to a
sign advocating for the suffrage of over 20 million women. Eventually
these reform organizations were heard and slowly states began extending
suffrage to women. Finally in 1919, the Nineteenth Amendment was
ratified, guaranteeing political rights to women throughout the nation.
As great as this accomplishment seemed, many women wanted stronger
reforms. The inability to achieve any more advancement in reform
greatly limited the outcome of the movement. Alice Paul, who was head
of the National Women's Party, argued that the Nineteenth Amendment
was not strong enough to protect women's rights. She preached for a
constitutional amendment, the Equal Rights, Amendment, which would
provide clear, legal protection for women's rights. In the end, her
ideas were never strongly backed up and the Equal Rights Amendment was
never passed. Although women achieved great advancements, the inability
to achieve full and guaranteed rights greatly limited the outcome of
the movement. Similar to the women's rights reforms, those who
supported labor issues were only able to pass few reforms.
Lastly, reformers of labor issues only saw limited gains in their
movement. A major part of their movement concerned the meat packing
industry and the conditions of work places. In his book The Jungle,
Upton Sinclair illustrated the horrendous and utterly disgusting
conditions of the meat packing industry. The Neill-Reynolds Report, as
Document B shows, creates grotesque images of the atrocious conditions
of the industry. It was after these documents were published that
President Roosevelt finally established the Pure Food and Drug Act as
well as the Meat Inspection Act. Although these acts greatly improved
the conditions of the industry and eliminated many diseases that
previously plagued the industry, President Roosevelt pushed for greater
reforms. He pushed for measures that included eight hour days and
worker compensation. However Congress greatly impeded the establishment
of his goals and therefore limited the overall gains of the movement.
Another part of the labor issue concerned child labor. Many reformers
were completely against child labor and sought that it come to an end.
As Document C shows, popular reformer Jane Addams talks about how the
government is so concerned with industry that they were completely
forgetting the welfare of children. It wasn't until 1916 that
President Wilson supported the Keating-Owen Act, which would regulate
child labor. However, the act was shot down in the Supreme Court and
never was established. It wasn't until later on that the Child Labor
Act was eventually passed. The overall advancement in labor issues,
although improving significantly, was limited in terms of what could
have been established.
All in all, although there were multiple acts established to adhere to
reformists, the overall success for reforms was limited. It is true
that Roosevelt stopped many monopolies from occurring, women gained the
right to vote, and the conditions of the meat packing industry
improved. However, these gains could have gone to the point where no
monopoly would ever exist again, women would have guaranteed rights in
a constitutional amendment, and workers would have more benefits and
children would have stopped working much earlier. Overall the reforms
of the 1900s were limited in what actually happened and what could have
potentially happened.
jedimafia
AP US HISTORY
BEN SANOFF
4/9/06
Evaluate the effectiveness of Progressive Era reformers and the federal
government in bringing about reform at the national level. In your
answer be sure to analyze the successes and limitations of these
efforts in the period 1900-1920.
Progressive Era reformers and the Federal government made slight
significant changes on issues such as women suffrage, sanitary in food
industries, African American Suffrage, child labor and the regulation
of corporations.
The effect of these reforms made by the federal government was not of
great significance because it did not result into radical changes in
relation to the need for it. The Federal government for the first time
passed such reformative laws that prohibited trusts. Such laws are the
Sherman Anti Trust Act and the Clayton Anti Trust Act-, which Sherman
Anti Trust Act with the Statement- Nothing contained in the antitrust
laws shall be construed to forbid the existence and operation of labor
organizations". The Anti trust law is put into effect as showcased in
Document A -(President Roosevelt stood on a bear that represents Bad
trust after hunting it down while the good trust are left alone.)
through organizations such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Examples of these Bad trusts are big companies such as Standard Oil.
Roosevelt too great measures into taking anti trust action towards
Standard Oil and other large corporations. The weakness and challenges
of these organizations was the inability to handle the activities of
Railroads and Banks- the leading industries of the United States.
The process of Election of Senators was altered from being elected by
State legislature to being elected by direct vote from the people as
illustrated in Document D- "I believe in providing for direct
nominations by the people including therein direct presidential
primaries for the election of delegates to the national nomination
conventions..."
The Nation facing both political reforms also experienced reform in
areas such as the food packaging. At this point in time, it seemed like
the people do not understand or just ignored the importance of
sanitary- also might be due to industry's motives- profit. The Neil
Reynolds Report illustrates the condition of Meat packaging industries.
It states, "Meat scraps were also found ...shoveled into receptacles
from dirty floors...floors were in most cases damp and soggy, in dark,
ill- ventilated rooms. With the government's realization, it passed
the Meat Inspection Act 1906, which provided that federal inspectors
visit meatpacking plants to ensure that they met minimum standards of
sanitation. Another law The Pure food and Drug Act -1906 also passed in
was also put in place that forbade manufacture, sale, and
transportation of adulterated or mislabeled foods and drugs. As reform
took place for the betterment of health and sanitation, it also took
place for the betterment of Children- laws was established that stated
some conditions under which children may work. Conditions for children
working in factory, mines were very brutal. The call for reform led to
the government passing the Child Labor act. As Document. G states,
"..... The controlling question for this decision, is it within the
authority of Congress in regulating commerce among states to prohibit
the transportation in interstate commerce of manufactured goods, the
product of a factory in which ......children under the age of fourteen
and sixteen years have been employed or permitted to work more than
eight hours in any day or more than six days in a week. Even with the
law in circulation, it was not properly enforced, limiting the
effectiveness of both the government and the reformers.
Children, Women and Also African Americans wanted to alter their
position in the society to a better one. Racial discrimination against
African America never really suppressed although the continuous effort
that had been made towards it. The African Americans who help fought in
World War I thought their patriotic acts would earn them more rights
just as they did during the end of the Civil War, but they were wrong.
As Stated in document I by W.E.B Dubois- a reformer who advocated for
better life style for African Americans, "For America that represents
and gloats in lynching, disfranchisement, caste, brutality and devilish
insult- for this, in the hateful upturning and mixing of things, we
were forced by vindictive fate to fight also". African Americans'
persistency of a transformation into an egalitarian society resulted to
have little impact.- As illustrated in Document I, it is also
illustrated in Document J- the decrease in eligibility of voters-
including African Americans, who cast ballot in presidential elections.
A very important movement during the Progressive Period was Women
Suffrage. Women Suffrage was a very controversial issue at this era.
Women proposed that they should be granted the same rights just as men,
including the right to vote. Although at this point, not the majority
supported this movement because they feared the little suffrage they
possess would be withdrawn. As advocates gained recognition nationwide,
Mississippi became first the to accommodate suffrage for women in 1913,
then states support increased and impact occurred gradually and
significantly. The State of such as New York and Michigan followed in
1917 and 1918. By 1919, thirty-nine states had followed in their foot
steps- had granted women the right to vote. Reformers effort was
significant and changes commenced. By 1920 ratification of the
nineteenth amendment granted women political rights nationwide. The
reformers were able to manipulate the state government into accepting
women and suffrage, with support from state level; they gained
recognition on the national level. This had been a very significant
undertaking made by the reformers in collaboration with the government.
Campaign for women suffrage is illustrated in Document H.
In Conclusion, the Progressive Era made slight significant change, most
change occurred in the situation of women although it took time for the
suffrage to gain its full meaning and practices. As changes occurred in
the societal setting, it occurred politically too. Children
exploitation by factory owners was beginning to be restricted while
industries barely abide by the rules. Also sanitization law passed to
direct food industries as to how to treat food was put into effect to
keep the people healthy but was barely followed. And finally, Companies
that engaged in trust bonding were being busted. It is true that all
these reforms didn't produce the best results, it set and laid the
foundation as to what the future of these issues would become. Today,
these issues are not the most important issues facing our society but
have become a proud part of our society in which we
jedimafia
sorry- it gat cut off.