Part 6

The Machine Age (1877 – 1920)

*Famous Inventors and Their New Technologies*

- From 1860 to 1900 a second, more complete wave of industrialization swept the country, this time focusing on new inventions such as electricity rather than the already explored steam power. Some memorable people involved in this were…
Thomas Edison [“The Wizard of Menlo Park”] – Edison first set up his lab in Menlo Park in 1876, and in 1878 he formed the Edison Electrical Company, which was responsible for the invention of the light bulb, the generator, and many other appliances that utilized electricity. Edison was also memorable for his self-promotion and publicity efforts.
George Westinghouse – Westinghouse discovered how to use alternating current and transformers to transmit electricity over long distances. This made Edison’s generators feasible power sources. Westinghouse also devised an air break for RRD cars. 
Granville Woods [“The Black Edison”] – Woods patented 35 electronics/communications things, including the electromagnetic brake and automatic circuit breaker. He sold them to GE. 
Henry Ford – In the 1890s Ford experimented w/the internal combustion engine (i.e. car). But his biggest achievement was his manufacturing scheme – the mass-production of identical cars for mass consumption. Ford created the Ford Motor Company in 1903 and, by doing so, democratized the car.
Du Pont Family – The DP’s applied Ford’s techniques to the chemical industry, resulting in great innovations in plastics (1911) and new forms of efficient management. 
James Bonsack – Bonsack revitalized the tobacco industry by inventing a machine for rolling cigarettes in 1876. His invention was popularized by James B. Duke, owner of the American Tobacco Company.
- These developments encouraged general optimism, even in the South, where mills began to use automatic looms [fewer skilled workers] and electric lighting [longer hours]. These mills, like Southern steel and iron manufacturing, were developed by Northern investors in the 1880s. But e/t the South was improving, it would not really emerge until after WWI. 
- Remember: new marketing techniques and new inventions went hand in hand. The key thing about the successful inventors was that they knew how to sell their stuff. The rise of the machine also led to changes in the economy that made large-scale production more profitable and desirable [economies of scale] and created a new focus on efficiency, as advocated by Frederick W. Taylor [efficiency = science]. 

*The Effect of the Machine on the Economy*

- Industrialization implied that factories had to be large and operate at capacity to make profits; but they also had to sell, which meant prices had to remain low. To make this possible, businesses had to expand production and reduce wages. This required loans, and loans required more production, and so on. This cycle effectively wiped out small firms.
- Consequently, to deal with the constant uncertainly of the market conditions, businesses began centralizing to control their corners of the market. Some consolidating techniques included…
Corporations: Under corporation laws, anyone could start a company and raise money by selling stock to investors, who would face no personal risk other than the money they invested. Corporations gained more power due to SC rulings in the 1880s and 1890s that gave them the same 14th Amendment protections as individuals. 
Pools: Basically, pools were “Gentlemen’s Agreements” between companies that set limits on production and agreed to the sharing of profits. Since they depended on honesty, though, their usefulness had already died by the time they were outlawed among RRDs in 1887. 
Trusts: Originated by Rockefeller, trusts relied on the principle that one company could control another by forcing it to yield control of its stock to the bigger company’s board of trustees. This allowed for horizontal integration, which was pioneered by Rockefeller in 1882 w/Standard Oil [ex. take over all oil refineries].
Holding Companies: In 1888 New Jersey allowed corporations to own property in other states and own stock in other corporations. This led to the holding company, which owned interest in other companies and could help merge them. This led to vertical integration like Gustavus Swift achieved w/meat processing [ex. take over all meat related industries].  
- So mergers were answer to the search for order and profits in the business world. The biggest corporation of the time was the US Steel Corporation, created by J.P. Morgan in 1901. Speaking of J.P., the merger movement created those wonderful people we all know and love, the brokers, who specialized in engineering mergers. Everyone joined the investing frenzy; regulations were loosened, laissez-faire, etc.

*The Effect of the Machine on Labor*

- Mechanization obviously meant big changes for workers, who were forced to acclimate themselves to new factory conditions that minimized their independence. Some significant trends included:
The replacement of the producer by the employee: most workers no longer were their own bosses. Instead, they were paid for time on the job.
Specialization and the devaluation of skilled labor: workers in mass-production assembly lines found themselves doing the same stupid little task over and over again instead of making their own decisions about techniques, starting and stopping times, etc.
Increased company control: in efforts to increase worker efficiency, employers tried to establish temperance/reform societies and control workers’ social lives. Other employers began paying per item produced rather than by hour.
Employment of women and children: as the need for skilled workers decreased, employers cut costs by hiring women and children for assembly lines. Women also worked in the service sector and in sales/secretarial positions. By 1900, some state laws limited the employment of children, but many companies still got away with it. 
Decreased independence: in addition to finding their actual jobs more constricting, workers found that their wages were largely beyond their control and were often unable to find steady work – i.e. they were trapped by the system. 
New threats at the workplace: workers encountered industrial accidents, etc.
- So basically the machine gave the workers the crap end of the deal. Worse still, they weren’t allowed to organize effectively as a result of a series of anti-labor decisions, and free-market views made it difficult for legislation dealing with working hours and conditions to be passed. 
- Supreme Court cases dealing with labor regulation:
Holden v. Hardy (1896) – Court upheld regulation on miners’ working hours
Lochner v. New York (1905) – Court rejected regulation on bakers’ working hours b/c job not considered to be dangerous, interference w/contract = violation of Fourteenth Amendment
Muller v. Oregon (1908) – Court upheld regulation on women laundry workers’ working hours, claiming that women needed special protection, led to laws banning women from occupations
- Generally, though, workers did not make much progress, which led to the…

*The Union Movement*

- Important strikes/events relating to the Unions:
1877: In July, Unionized RRD workers struck to protest wage cuts [b/c of Panic of 1873]. The strikes led to violence, which was broken up by state militia companies hired by the employers. Strikebreakers were also hired. Finally Hayes sent federal troops to quell the unrest. After 1877, the union movement really began picking up speed. Trade unions, which specialized in skilled workers in particular crafts, had been around for years, but no real organizations of nat’l scope survived the panic except for the Knights of Labor.
Haymarket Riot [May 1, 1886]: In Chicago, several groups joined for the campaign for an 8-hour workday and organized mass strikes and labor demonstrations. Workers involved included the craft unions as well as anarchists. Consequently, in response to an outbreak of police brutality a bomb was set off in Haymarket Square [presumably by anarchists], resulting in the arrest of 8 immigrant radicals, some of who were pardoned. The HR led to increased paranoia with respect to anarchism and labor.  
July 1892: AFL-affiliated Iron and Steelworkers Association went on strike in Pennsylvania, causing Henry Frick to close the plant and hire Pinkerton detectives to defend it. Although the strikers eventually gave in, it gave the union more bad PR due to workers attacking, etc. 
Pullman Strike [1894]: To protest Pullman’s policies in his company town, workers walked out at the factory. Pullman would not negotiate, so workers for the American Railway Union called a strike. Pullman closed the factory; the Union [Eugene V. Debs] refused to handle Pullman cars; and finally a court injunction was used to stop the strike. 
- Important workers’ organizations:
Knights of Labor: Founded in 1869 by Terence V. Powderly, the KOL welcomed all unskilled and semiskilled workers on a nat’l level. The basic ideology of the KOL was pretty utopian: i.e. they wanted to get rid of capitalism in favor of a “cooperative workers’ alliance” in which workers worked for themselves. Consequently, the KOL refused to strike, b/c it would go against the “cooperative” idea. As a result of their cooperative policies, the KOL lost influence, esp. after, in 1886, a strike began among a sector of the KOL against RRD boss Jay Gould to protest cut wages. Powderly met with Gould and called off the strike, but Gould would not concede, so the militant unions began to quit the KOL, seeing it as weak. 
American Federation of Labor: The AFL emerged as the major organization after 1866. Led by Samuel Gompers, it avoided the KOL idealistic rhetoric, concentrated on concrete goals [higher wages, shorter hours, right to bargain collectively], and excluded unskilled workers and women. The AFL also avoided party politics.
Industrial Workers of the World [IWW, “Wobblies”]: The IWW, which aimed to unite all workers, was basically a socialist/anarchist organization that believed violence was justified to overthrow capitalism. The organization finally collapsed in WWI. 
- Women in the Union movement: most Unions rejected women due to a fear of competition [women would work for lower wages] and sex segregation. Still, some women formed their own Unions, and in 1903 the Women’s Trade Union League was founded. The WTUL encouraged protective legislation, education, and women’s suffrage – it was an important link between labor and the women’s movements. 
- Immigrants/AA in the Union movement: most Unions also rejected immigrants and African Americans b/c of lower wages, and prejudices were reinforced when blacks worked as strikebreakers. 
- REMEMBER only a portion of workers were in unions; job instability really made it hard for organizations to form effectively. Fraternal societies were also prevalent during the time. 

*Standards of Living*

- Industrialization created the beginnings of the monster we now know as our fully commercialized society. Formerly isolated communities began to, through electricity and communications, get access to good and services. Status became more based on $ [more mobility]; but the gap between rich and poor grew. 
- Incomes rose a lot, but then again so did prices. Working class families could hypothetically afford new stuff, but they would have had to find additional sources of income [i.e. subletting, child labor]. Overall, though, paid employment became more prevalent, leading to the growth of our commercial society.
- Some symptoms of commercialization: higher life expectancy due to advances in medical care and better diets, more upwards mobility [education became key], flush toilets, processed and preserved foods, ready-made clothing, department and chain stores, and my personal favorite, advertising.  
 
*Ideologies of the Time*

- So what do you say when many small businesses are being ruthlessly crushed by mega-big moguls? It’s easy! Social Darwinism, originally advocated by Herbert Spencer, was taken over by Yale professor William Graham Sumner and stated that the survival of the fittest implied that the gov’t should stay out and let the rightful winners take their share. Monopolies = natural accumulation of power.
- To add on to that, there was the Andrew Carnegie Gospel of Wealth concept: wealth carries moral responsibilities, and it’s good we moguls have it all b/c that way we can be the guardians of society. Gimme a break! Still, some industrialists did give a lot to charities. 
- It’s important to note that, though laissez-faire was the big concept, business leaders still pressed the gov’t for assistance, which it provided in the form of tariffs on foreign goods [allowed them to raise prices], subsidies, loans, and tax breaks. 
- Naturally, all this activity didn’t go by unnoticed, and some people certainly spoke out against it, portraying corporations as greedy and voicing fears of monopolies. 
- Some favored gov’t regulation or even socialism: in 1883 sociologist Lester Ward appealed for gov’t intervention and a cooperative philosophy in Dynamic Sociology, in 1879 writer Henry George asked for a tax on the rise in property values in Progress and Poverty, and in 1888 novelist Edward Bellamy wrote of a utopian, council of elders controlled city where jobs were managed by a small elite in Looking Backward. 
- As a result of popular pressure, states began to prohibit monopolies. But a nat’l level of legislation was needed, and it only came in 1890 with the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which was left vague but made illegal anything that was in “restraint of trade.” Ironically, through, the act was used against striking workers more than it was against trusts.  
- A short list of SC cases regarding trusts:
Munn v. IL (1877) – RRDs discriminated against farmers, so IL passed pro-farming legislation in the Grange Laws. This was challenged by the corporations, but the SC ruled in favor of state regulation b/c it had a direct effect on the general public. 
Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific RR Co. v. IL (1886) – Reversal of 1877 decision, only the federal gov’t was declared able to regulate interstate commerce. 
US v. EC Knight Co. (1895) – Sugar company had monopolized industry, so Cleveland ordered a case against the trust, but the SC ruled that the sugar people were in manufacturing, not commerce, so it was okay.

The Gilded Age (1877 – 1900)

*General Characteristics of Gilded Age Politics*

- The Gilded Age (1877 – 1900) was defined by industrialization, urbanization, and the commercialization of agriculture. Inevitably, the turbulence of the era made for a dynamic political climate, as illustrated by the fact that… 
1.Public interest in politics was at a peak – sort of like a spectator sport – and there was intense party loyalty [often on religious/ethnic lines] as follows:
Democratic Party – opposed interference by gov’t w/respect to personal liberty, restrict gov’t power, mainly Catholic immigrants
Republican Party – gov’t as agent of moral reform, direct gov’t action, mainly native-born Protestants
2.Elections were also extremely close on both the local and nat’l levels; the two parties were split almost perfectly. *At the state level, though, one party usually ruled via the state boss, who was usually a Senator. The boss wielded huge powers until the Seventeenth Amendment (1913), which provided for direct election of Senators.  
3.Still, there was a significant amount of factionalism within both parties. The Democratic Party divided into white-supremacy Southerners, immigrants, working-class city dwellers, and business types who liked low tariffs. As for the Republican Party, there were the:
Stalwarts – led by NY Senator and party boss Conklin, heavy reliance on spoils system
Half-Breeds – led by Blaine, supposed idealists but really just out of power
Mugwumps – true idealists, tended towards Democratic side  
- On a broader level, the Gilded Age resulted in three main things: the rise of special interests, some major legislative accomplishments, and the continuation of political exclusion for minorities/women.

*The Main Issues of Gilded Age Politics*

- Some key legislation was passed during the Gilded Age, mainly relating to the following issues…
1.Sectional Issues – yes, the Civil War was still a problem, and both sides continually blamed e/o for the war and tried to invoke war memories for their own advantage. This led to a super costly veterans’ pension thing. 
2.Civil Service Reform – reformers began to advocate civil service reform (promotion based on merit rather than on party loyalty) as a means of restricting corruption. In 1881 the National Civil Service Reform League was formed, and in 1882 the Pendleton Civil Service Act was passed, which created the Civil Service Commission to oversee exams for positions for 10% of jobs. This was only the beginning, though, b/c the Constitution still stopped state corruption from being restricted. 
3.Railroad Regulation – to kill competition, RRDs developed several nasty habits: raising and lowering rates, making pricing dependent on competition rather than on distance, and playing favorites for big corporations. Farmers demanded regulation, resulting in commissions in 14 states by 1880. Munn v. Illinois reinforced the state regulation deal, but the 1886 Wabash case showed states couldn’t regulate interstate lines. In 1887, though, the Interstate Commerce Act was passed, which created the ICC to investigate RRD practices but didn’t provide for its enforcement – so the pro-business SC limited its powers through the Maximum Freight Rate case (1897 – ICC can’t set rates) and the Alabama Midlands case (1897 – RRDs can give higher rates for shorter distances). 
4.Tariffs – e/t they started out as measures to protect industries, tariffs were being abused by big companies to charge excessively high prices. Tariffs became a big party issues, as Republicans made protective tariffs part of their platform while Democrats pushed to lower rates (reduce the surplus by cutting taxes/tariffs, gov’t shouldn’t be making $). In the end, Republicans won out w/the McKinley Tariff of 1890 and then the Dingley Tariff of 1897.  
5.Monetary Policy – when prices fell after the Civil War, farmers got into trouble b/c their debts were worth the same, but their products were worth less. As a result, they went for silver while creditors favored a more stable gold-backed money supply. The whole deal even turned into a sort of class conflict and moral/religious thing. By 1870 the sides were clear – creditors (gold) and debtors (silver) – and when silver dollars were taken away after their value went up in respect to gold it was referred to as the “Crime of ’73.” The Bland-Allison Act (1878, allowed the Treasury to buy $2-4 million of silver) and Sherman Silver Purchase Act (1890) were concessions, but the silver side remained unsatisfied.  
- Overall, corruption notwithstanding, many important acts were passed during the Gilded Age. 

*The Gilded Age Presidents*

- After the scandals of Grant’s administration and the election of 1876, Gilded Age Presidents attempted to reestablish the legitimacy of the Presidency. They also began initiating legislation and using the veto more.
- Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican, 1877 – 1881) was a quiet compromiser who emphasized nat’l unity, opposed violence, and attempted to get rid of the spoils system by battling Conklin (he fired Chester Arthur, Conklin’s protégé, from NY Customs). 
- James Garfield (Republican, 1881) aimed to reduce the tariff and maintain and independent position, but he was assassinated by a rebuffed patronage seeker and was succeeded by former Conklin protégé Chester Arthur (Republican, 1881 – 1885), who actually became a prudent leader: he passed the Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883), supported RRD regulation, and used the veto to control business. 
- Grover Cleveland (Democrat, 1885 – 1889) expanded civil service, vetoed private pension bills, and tried [and failed] to lower tariffs. Cleveland was defeated in 1888 by Benjamin Harrison (Republican, 1889 – 1893) b/c he was better at cheating. 
- Through various methods, Harrison influenced the legislation that was passed, resulting in more bills than usual; issues dealt w/included civil service reform and the Dependents’ Pension Act [Union veterans]. Consequently, though, the budget exploded, giving the Democrats another opportunity. 
- Cleveland ran again and won, during his second term (1893 – 1897) he attempted to deal w/currency, tariffs, and labor problems but ended up having to rely on big business, esp. b/c of the panic of 1893. 

*Limits of Gilded Age Politics*

- Not everyone was included in Gilded Age politics, both in the North and the South. Race was of particular relevance in the South, though, where poor whites tried to squash the freedmen in order to preserve their own real or imagined social superiority. 
- Race violence became commonplace in the South, as did disenfranchisement via poll taxes and bogus literacy tests [this was permitted b/c of US v. Reese, which ruled that Congress couldn’t control voting rights outside of the explicit conditions mentioned in the 15th Amendment]. 
- Worse still, as a result of a series of decisions by the SC in the 1870s that climaxed in 1883 when the 1875 Civil Rights Act [prohibited segregation in public facilities] was struck down, blacks were stuck w/”separate but equal” facilities. This was upheld in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and Commins v. Board of Education (1899), and was followed by the proliferation of Jim Crow laws. 
- To cope, blacks tried to get educations, and black women often joined with white women to push for reform, especially reform relating to nat’l suffrage. Two major organizations led the fight: the NWSA [militants Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony wanted overall rights] and the AWSA [suffrage only].
- At first, the NWSA concentrated on a nat’l amendment, and the AWSA worked on the state level, but they merged in 1890 to become the NAWSA. Still, e/t they were successful in training leaders, raising awareness, and getting individual states to cooperate, nat’l suffrage was to come later. 

*The Agrarian Revolt*

- Even before the advent of Populism, angry farmers were getting organized. At first, the “agrarian revolt” took the form of the Grange Organizations of the early 1870s, and then the Farmers’ Alliances in Texas and the Great Plains. So why were they so pissed off? Hmm…think about it.  
- Economic woes faced by the farmers:
Sharecropping [the “crop lien” system] – if farmers [usually in South] were unable to pay their debts [for supplies], they had to promise to pay with their crops. The crops would rarely be worth enough, so they would borrow more, etc. 
Economic Change – in the South, yeoman farmers were being pushed into cotton raising b/c of the debts incurred during the war [it was no longer practical to grow own food]. This made the debt situation worse and put them at the mercy of merchants. In the Midwest, the problem involved dropping prices [due to technological advances] that necessitated increases in production. But since costs weren’t dropping, many farmers got stuck big time.  
Price Inflation/Interest Rate - to make matters worse, merchants took advantage by charging insane interest and inflating prices. 
RRD Exploitation – see above
Weather/Bugs – well, the industrialists also played a part by making mail order bugs that farmers could let loose on competitors, as well as portable hurricanes. Haha…just kidding!  
- Grange Movement (1870s) – farmers formed a network of Granges w/elected officers and membership oaths. E/t they began as social things, Granges soon turned to economics/politics. This didn’t work so well, though [they elected people, but couldn’t fight the corporations], so Granges declined in the late 1870s. In the Southwest, Mexican farmers also organized into the White Hats [“Gorras Blancas”], who were against the encroachment of English ranchers on their traditional lands, but this failed too.  
- Farmers’ Alliances (1890s) – there were two (Great Plains & South). They began in Texas, and were generally groups of small farmers that were trying to combat big money, esp. RRDs. Like the Granges, they held rallies, educational meetings, and had cooperative buying and selling agreements. 
- Subtreasury Plan – proposed by the FA, this was a plan to help indebted farmers that called for the federal gov’t to build warehouses where farmers could keep crops [and receive loans at 80% of the market price] while they waited for higher prices. Also, the gov’t would give low-interest loans to land buyers. This was meant to inject cash into the economy and raise crop prices while keeping others the same. 
- E/t early attempts at merging were sabotaged by sectional differences, both Alliances eventually formed a third party in Omaha 1892 – the Populist Party. The Populists nominated Weaver for the 1892 election, and he ran on the Omaha Platform, which called for gov’t ownership of utilities and RRDs, gov’t ownership of land, farm loans, expansion of the currency, an income tax, direct election of Senators, and a shorter wkday.
- Of course, Weaver lost to Cleveland, but the Populists gained support through their wild speeches, etc. 

*The Depression of the 1890s*

- The Depression of the 1890s really started in 1893 with the collapse of the Nat’l Cordage Company, which, like many other RRDs and manufacturers, had borrowed too much and was unable to pay its debts. To try to make up for their debt, companies bought more equipment and worked people harder – but all that did was make workers lose money as well. So companies closed, banks closed…overall, it sucked. 
- The worst of it was between 1893 and 1895…people lost money, so they didn’t want to buy things, so prices dropped more, so wages dropped more…you get the picture. Currency was still a problem, as the gold reserves were dropping due to a silver boom, and the more the gold dropped, the more people tried to redeem their securities. 
- As a result, the Sherman Act was repealed in 1893, but people STILL didn’t stop, which forced Cleveland to accept an offer from J.P. Morgan (in return for bonds, which they resold for profit). This got Cleveland in trouble with his fellow Democrats and wasn’t even that beneficial, as the economy crashed again in 1895 before it began to rise back up due to gold discoveries in Alaska, good harvests, and industrial growth. 
- Strangely enough, the Depression was the last element in cementing the new national economy, b/c it wiped out lots of the weaker industries, I guess. 

*Depression Era Protests*

- The first real protests were in 1877 [the RRD strikes], and they were followed by the Haymarket Riot (1866), Carnegie Steel strikes in 1892, violence at a silver mine (also in 1892), etc. These events scared the crap out of many well-off people, who thought, “Oh my GOD …the ANARCHISTS are behind it all.”
- This actually wasn’t true at all, though. There were some socialists in America, but it didn’t work out so well b/c of factionalism and the constant temptation to get ahead via the capitalist system. The biggest socialist leader, Eugene V. Debs, emerged in the aftermath of the 1894 Pullman car strike – but e/t he did form the Socialist Party of America, not much came of it until the next century. 
- In 1894, another popular movement, Coxey’s Army, got a lot of attention. Coxey, who advocated public works projects and low-interest gov’t loans, led a huge number of farmers/unemployed people on a march to the capital. On the day of the demonstration, however, police stopped the protestors and arrested Coxey. 

*The Election of 1896*

- The Populists prepared to run again in the Presidential Election of 1896 – they were doing well, but their biggest problem was lack of organization, and the effects of racism. The big issue, as they saw it, was the coinage of silver, which they promoted as the obvious sol’n to the country’s economic problems. 
- But Populists still faced one decision: should they semi-join one of the major party factions, or should they stay totally independent (and not win as many votes)? Republicans were obviously out of the question, as they supported big-business and the gold standard, but union w/the Democrats didn’t seem that bad. 
- Anyhow, the Republicans went ahead and nominated William McKinley [at the suggestion of Marcus Hanna, an Ohio industrialist] w/o any problems; their only crisis was that, in response to their gold policies, a small group of silver Republicans walked out.
- The Democrats, on the other hand, became obsessed w/silver and nominated big orator guy William Jennings Byran, who wrote the famous convention pro-silver speech [of course, some gold Democrats had to go and walk out, but who cares about them]. 
- As a result, the Populists decided to go w/Bryan and the Democrats, only w/a different VP nominee. So, the campaign began. Bryan went on an all out speaking tour full of emotion, evangelicalism, and all that. McKinley sat at home on his butt and waited for the press to come to him so he could tell them about the new jobs he’d make w/his protective tariffs. 
- What happened? McKinley killed Bryan, partially b/c the urban-rural coalition the Populists wanted hadn’t happened b/c of their silver obsession [took away from other reforms, and urban workers thought it would lower the value of their wages]. 
- Naturally, McKinley signed the Gold Standard Act (1900), which required that all paper money had to be backed by gold; he also raised tariffs and encouraged imperialism. The economy improved, but mainly b/c of the gold discoveries in Alaska, not b/c of McKinley. Nobody cared though, so they elected him again.  

The Progressive Era (1895 – 1920)

*Progressivism: An Overview*

- In 1912, a new party emerged on the political scene, calling themselves the Progressives. The formation of the party was actually the culmination of a series of reform movements that began in the 1890s.  
- Some general CAUSES of Progressivism:
The 1890s – Yes, the 1890s were a cause of Progressivism, mainly b/c they sucked. In the 1890s, all the tensions built up during industrialization broke loose in the Panic of 1893, labor problems, political issues, and foreign entanglements.  
Capitalism OUT OF CONTROL – Partially b/c of the depression, many people started to realize that capitalism, w/its monopolistic tendencies and rampant destruction of natural resources, needed just a bit of restraint. 
Screwed-Up Cities – Disease, poverty and crime were often rampant. 
Immigration and the rise of a new socio-economic elite – This made people nervous.
- The bottom line of Progressivism was basically this: SOCIETY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SHOULD HELP THEM – as opposed to Gilded Age every-man-for-himself Social Darwinism. This manifested itself through a desire to:
End Abuses of Power – Trust-busting, consumers’ rights, good government.
Build New Institutions – Schools, hospitals, all that crap. 
Be Efficient – “Wow! Let’s make our political and social institutions just like factories!” Well, that might explain the way school is, but anyway…
Achieve Perfection – Yeah, they really thought it could happen. Geez. 

*Politics in the Progressive Era*

- During the PE, party loyalty and voter turnout declined as politics opened to new interest groups, each of which had their own agendas – i.e. the Progressive Era witnessed the birth of that delightful phenomenon: the nationwide [charitable] organization that calls your house and asks you for money eight times a day. These organizations included: professional groups, women’s organizations, issue-oriented groups, civic clubs, and minority groups. So, politics became more fragmented and issue-driven. 
- Politics also became more open to foreign models/ideas and reform took on a far more urban orientation, as opposed to the Populist movement that culminated in the 1896 election. This was partially due to the leadership of the new middle class [professionals], who lived in the cities. 
- Another novelty was Muckraking Journalism – i.e. journalists who combined the public’s love of scandal w/exposes of social/political injustices. Names to know: Steffen’s The Shame of the Cities (1904), Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (1906), Ida Tarbell [Standard Oil].
- Then there was the movement towards more direct participation in gov’t, which, it was hoped, would control corruption. Progressives wanted: the initiative [propose laws], the referendum [vote on laws], and the recall [get rid of offending officials].  
- One thing to remember – not everyone in the PE was actually a Progressive. Plenty of people opposed them: Socialists from the left, and business leaders and anti-gov’t interference people from the right. Progressives were basically in the center. 

*Governmental and Legislative Reform*

- With the big economic crises of the late 1800s, American resistance to gov’t interference in daily life began to diminish. Progressives, especially, saw the gov’t as a tool that would ensure social justice and act against inefficiency and exploitation. But first, they felt, they had to eliminate corruption. 
- Before the Progressive Era, reformers had tried to wipe out boss politics in the cities – this had been only partially successful – but after 1900 it worked out as city manager and commission forms of city gov’t were installed. But the cities were not enough…most Progressives wanted state and nat’l gov’t reform as well.
- Naturally, each region had its own pet peeves. One thing that was common, though, was a belief in strong, fair executives, esp. governors like Wisconsin’s Robert “Battling Bob” La Follette, who installed a major reform program w/direct primaries, fairer taxes, RRD regulation, and commissions staffed by experts. 
- Anyhow, the crusade against corruption worked to some extent throughout the country [e/t in the South, many Progressives were still racists] – by 1916 all but 3 states had the initiative, referendum and recall; and in 1913 the Seventeenth Amendment was passed, which provided for direct election of Senators. Nevertheless, there were still many cases were bosses stayed just b/c of their superior organization. 
- When it came to labor regulation, however, legislation was much more effective b/c both reformers and bosses supported it. States passed laws protecting public health and safety (police), supporting factory inspection, requiring accident compensation, and banning child labor. 
- Then there was the moral angle, which was far more controversial…some of the major issues included drinking habits [Anti-Saloon League (1893)], which resulted in the Eighteenth Amendment outlawing the sale of liquor, and prostitution – “white slavery” – a threat that was really more imagined than real, but still managed to get a whole lot of attention and the passage of the Mann Act (1910), which prohibited transportation of a woman for immoral purposes.  
- Overall, the reformers’ efforts reflect their ideology that environment, not human nature, creates sin…i.e. that humans can achieve perfection in the right setting. 

*New Philosophies in the Progressive Era*

- Changes in society prompted a multitude of new ideas during the Progressive Era, including:
Education – For the first time, educators were faced w/masses of children going to school full time [b/c of the growth of cities]. In response, philosopher John Dewey [The School and Society (1899), Democracy and Education (1916)] decided that personal development should be the focus of education, and that all teaching had to relate directly to experience, so that kids “discover knowledge for themselves.” Yeah, now we know who to blame for all the stupid stuff we did in elementary school! But this ended up in colleges too, which soon began to expand their curriculums – still, women/blacks were mostly left out of educational opportunities. 
Law – A new legal philosophy, led by Roscoe Pound, held that social reality should influence legal thinking – i.e. the law should reflect society’s needs and work from experience [gathering scientific data], not be this abstract, inflexible thing. Of course, this methodology met opposition in the old laissez-faire judges, who struck down public safety regulations in cases like Lochner v. NY (1905). But some were also upheld – ex. Holden v. Hardy (1898). Another big question was: how can general welfare benefit w/o oppressing minorities? 
Social Science – Similar to changes in law, new scholars began to argue that economic relationships depended on social conditions [as opposed to being timeless]. Progressive historians [Frederick Jackson Turner, Charles A. Beard] also emphasized the flexibility of the Constitution – it has to serve each age in its own way. 
Public Health – New organizations, like the National Consumers League joined scientists to combat workplace hazards, help female workers, and urge for food safety regulations. 
Eugenics – B/c of Darwin, some people [Francis Galton] came up w/the idea that society had an obligation to prevent “defective” people from reproducing. This resulted in laws in some states allowing sterilization of criminals and the mentally ill. This thinking received a boost in The Passing of the Great Race (1916) by Madison Grant, which held that immigrants were threatening the superior Nordic race.
- MOST IMPORTANTLY, though, was the Social Gospel – Underlying all Progressive actions was the idea that, instead of Social Darwinism, people have an obligation to help improve society. This idea was rooted in religion, and in the previous evangelical reform movement philosophies.  

*Challenges to Racial/Sexual Discrimination*

- Most minorities were ignored by Progressives, but they found their own leaders willing to challenge inequality. By 1900, in the South, blacks faced constant segregation via Jim Crow laws [caused by Plessy v. Ferguson], discrimination, and violence. This held true, to a lesser degree, even when they moved North. 
- There were two main leaders/responses to the problem faced by blacks:
Booker T. Washington [rural] – Through “Self-Help” [hard work leading to economic success], Washington felt that blacks could eventually acquire social and political rights. For the time being, however, he felt that they should compromise with whites – though he did not feel blacks were inferior, he still endorsed a separate-but-equal policy. But his views, as presented in the Atlanta Exposition (1895), encountered opposition from more radical elements.
WEB Du Bois [urban] – In response to Washington, DB felt that blacks should not have to tolerate white domination and should immediately fight for their social and political rights. DB met with supporters at the Niagara Conference, and, in 1909, he joined w/white liberals to form the NAACP, which advocated an end to discrimination. 
- American Indians also attempted to form the Society of American Indians (SAI), but it didn’t work out as a governing body b/c racial pride gave way to tribal pride, not unity. 
- As for “The Woman Movement,” the Progressive Era heralded an important shift in ideas from the thought that women were special and belonged in other areas of society [so that they could spread their unique talents] to the newfangled *shocking* concept that women needed economic/sexual equality and independence. The latter idea, which arose around 1910, was known as feminism. 
- With feminism came the idea of “sex rights” and birth control as proposed by leader Margaret Sanger, who formed the American Birth Control League and managed to make the issue part of public debate. 
- Then, of course, there was suffrage…led by Harriot Blatch, feminists argued that women needed the vote as political leverage to get better working conditions [all women worked, she argued, whether paid/unpaid]. 
- Anyhow, the suffragists achieved successes through letter-writing, NAWSA articles, marches of the National Woman’s Party [Alice Paul] and, most of all, women’s roles in WWI. As a result, the nat’l suffrage amendment was finally passed in 1920. Nevertheless, women remained subordinate to men socially and economically for some time. 

*Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt and the Revival of the Presidency*

- After the assassination of McKinley in September 1901, young Theodore Roosevelt was sent into the White House. Roosevelt supported regulatory legislation, obsessed over “manliness,” and was a brilliant rhetorician and publicity monger. 
- Issues addressed by TR:
Trust-Busting – TR agreed w/Progressives that the new era needed a bigger, stronger nat’l gov’t that would act as an umpire in the big business game, deciding which business were okay and which weren’t. And e/t TR wasn’t as big a “trust-buster” as he claimed and only attacked “bad” trusts [he even instructed his Bureau of Corporations to assist in some forms of expansion], he did use the Justice Dept. to prosecute trusts that were exploiting the public, like the Northern Securities (1904) case. 
Regulatory Legislation – TR also supported regulatory legislation, like the Hepburn Act (1906), which gave the ICC more authority to set RRD rates. Also, TR investigated the meat industry [Sinclair’s The Jungle] and subsequently supported the Meat Inspection Act (1906) and the Food and Drug Act (1906). In both areas, however, TR compromised rather than risk not gaining anything. 
Labor – W/regard to labor, TR generally favored investigation and arbitration. In the United Mine Workers Strike (1902), he raised public opinion in favor of the miners and threatened to use troops to reopen the mines to force arbitration by a commission, which eventually raised wages, reduced hours and required dealing w/grievances [but didn’t require recognition of the union]. W/labor, TR felt only some organizations were legitimate, and wished to keep control.  
Conservation – TR made huge changes in federal policy towards resources by keeping land in the public domain and supporting the Newlands Reclamation Act (1902), which controlled sales of irrigated land in the West. He increased nat’l forests and created the US Forest Service w/Gifford Pinchot, who advocated scientific management to prevent overuse. 
- Then came the Panic of 1907, which forced TR into a compromise w/JP Morgan – in return for convincing financiers to stop dropping stocks, TR approved a deal for US steal to get a smaller company. But, during his last year in office, TR went against business again, and supported heavier taxation of the rich and stronger business regulation. 

*The Election of 1908 and Taft’s Presidency*

- Instead of running again, Teddy supported William Howard Taft for the Presidential Election of 1908 [TR was reelected in 1904, by the way]. B/c of TR’s popularity, Taft won, but landed in a difficult situation. 
- First, Taft moved to cut tariffs, but was blocked by Progressives, who felt the tariff benefited special interests. So, the cuts were restored in the Payne-Aldrich Tariff (1909), which also angered Progressives.  
- Basically, Taft was caught in the middle of a rift between the conservative and Progressive wings of the Republican Party. Not cool. 
- Then, when a group of Progressives challenged the conservative speaker, who controlled the legislative progress, Taft first supported and then abandoned them. He did, however, enlarge the Rules Committee, and therefore help the Progressives – but he pissed them off even more by firing conservationist Pinchot.  
- Basically, it would have stunk to be Taft. He did as much Progressive stuff as TR – he even busted more trusts, signed the Mann-Elkins Act (1910), which helped the ICC powers and supported labor reforms, and had the Sixteenth [income tax] and Seventeenth [direct election of Senators] Amendments passed. But b/c he was cautious and wasn’t good at sucking up to people and the press, he didn’t get a good reputation. 

*The Election of 1912 and Wilson’s Presidency*

- When TR got back from Africa, he realized that his party had split into the National Progressive Republican League [La Follette] and the side that stayed loyal to Taft. Disappointed, he began speaking out, and eventually organized the Bull Moose Party [from the Progressives] when LF got sick. 
- Given that the Republicans had split, the Democrats knew they had a sure win, so they took their time and finally picked Woodrow Wilson, who won the election. Wilson and TR had two competing visions for the country, as follows:
TR [New Nationalism]  Let’s have a new era where the gov’t coordinates and regulates the economy. Big business can stay, but let’s protect people through commissions of experts that will serve the interests of consumers. 
Wilson [New Freedom]  Let’s get rid of concentrated economic power altogether and make the marketplace open for competition. We won’t go back to laissez-faire, though; we’ll keep regulating it. But, no cooperation between business and gov’t. Based on Louis Brandeis.
- Actually, though, the philosophies were very similar: both supported equality of opportunity, conservation, fair wages, social improvement for all, and a strong involved gov’t. 
- So how was Wilson as President? Issues he dealt with included…
Anti-Trust Con’t – Well, given that mergers had proceeded so far, he ended up settling w/expanding gov’t regulation w/the Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914), which outlawed monopolistic practices, and a bill creating the Federal Trade Commission (1914), which could investigate companies and order them to stop unfair trade tactics. 
Banking Regulation – The Federal Reserve Act (1913) established another nat’l bank and district banks [regulated by the Federal Reserve Board] that would lend $ to member banks at rates that could be adjusted to increase/decrease the $ in circulation – loosen/tighten credit. Right before the war he also passed the Federal Farm Loan Act, which allowed $ to be lent at moderate interest to farmers. 
Tariffs – The Underwood Tariff (1913) encouraged imports [to help consumers] and instituted a graduated income tax on residents. 
Labor – The Adamson Act mandated an eight-hour-workday and overtime pay for RRD workers; Wilson also regulated child labor and provided workers’ compensation. 
- Then there was the Presidential Election of 1916, in which Wilson ran w/his “He Kept Us Out of War” deal against Republican Charles Hughes and won. In his second term, regulation increased even more due to the war – the War Industries Board, for example. But after the war, regulation fell again. That’s all. OH MY GOSH, I’M REALLY TIRED NOW! How about you? Are you having fun or what?