Creating a Culture of Reform during Progressive Movement [1870-1920] 

America’s transformation into a diverse, urban, affluent was accompanied by extraordinary public-spiritedness as reformers--frightened by class conflict and the breakdown of gender relations  embarked on a crusade to remake other Americans in their own image. 

 

 

 

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A Snapshot of America in the Summer of 1900

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Antebellum Reform Review  and  Progressive Reform Review 

 

 

 

Progressives were interested in making and American industry more humane by curbing the effects of industrial capitalism and checking the power of monopolies. This does not refer to a particular movement, rather a broad set of ideas 

 

The  Progressive movement defined

Progressivism was the reform movement that ran from the late 19th century through the first decades of the 20th century, during which leading intellectuals and social reformers in the United States sought to address the economic, political, and cultural questions that had arisen in the context of the rapid changes brought with the Industrial Revolution and the growth of modern capitalism in America. The Progressives believed that these changes marked the end of the old order and required the creation of a new order appropriate for the new industrial age. 

 

 

 

 

 

The THREE main strands of the Progressivism
The movement was a wide ranging series of reforms (political, social, economic) at the national –state-local level focusing on three main areas:

 

Anti-monopolies  and a fear of consolidated power

 

Social bonds – society is an interconnected whole - let's help each other

 

Science, expertise, and efficiency (elitist) – Expertise by virtue of education, profession to scientific reforming of society

 

Who were the Progressives?

Progressives were journalists, intellectuals, and political reformers whose reform efforts were aimed at returning control of the people, restoring economic opportunities, and correcting injustices in American life. The progressives simultaneously sought two goals: to use state power to curb the trusts and to stem the socialist threat by generally improving the common  person’s conditions of life and labor

 

 

 

What was the mindset of the forward thinking Progressive Reformer? Progressive reforms see problems as interrelated, interconnected and complex and they want to enact comprehensive reforms at multiple levels: 

 

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The Power of Ideas - The progressive movement is compatible with the emergence of the social sciences.  Sociology, psychology and political science are coming on the scene.  These social scientist gather data and are patient and reflective about changing the world in a rationale way.   Have we seen this before? Social Thought Review

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The Targets of Progressive Reformers  (Optimism and possibility of improving society) 

 

Living and working conditions in the growing urban centers

 

Transforming individuals – Indians (Dawes Act/Indian Schools and Immigrants/Settlement Houses)

 

Racial Tensions and reactions to Jim Crow - Booker T Washington visits the White House

 

Child Labor, Women’s Labor

 

Extended voting rights women: Suffrage Image ; Suffrage Map; Suffrage Cartoon

 

Making government more responsive

 

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The Geography of Progressivism  (where did the Progressive reformers do their work?)

 

Working within the Government	Working outside the Government
Mayors and Governors: Thomas Johnson, “Golden Rule” Jones, Hazen Pingree, Seth Low, Charles Evans Hughes, Robert LaFollette	Journalists, muckrakers, social scientists: Upton Sinclair, Jacob Riis, Ida Tarbell , Ida Wells-Barnett, David Phillips; Lincoln Steffens

Both groups have similar belief that the only reforms that work are structural reforms

 

 

Why did the Progressive movement happen in the 1890’s?

Early reform attempts had failed…Populists were dominated by a single monetary issue bi-metalism. State government railroad reforms were shot down by Supreme Court (remember Munn and Wabash cases?)

 

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Mergers (Fear of consolidated power)

 

Middle Class (Educated, informed activists)

 

Media (Mass produced for a growing market)

 

Muckrakers (Investigate and agitate)

 

Moral and Religious dimensions 

 

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#1 Wave of corporate mergers between 1897 and 1901 refocuses the US on the problem of consolidated power (Horizontal and Vertical Integration)  Over 4,200 companies are consolidated into 250 corporations Example- US Steel  and  Standard Oil   

 

#2 More and more Americans were going to college. This leads to an expanded middle class and professions in social work, psychology, and individual participation.. The national literacy rates had been steadily increasing and was at 92% for both men and women by 1910.

#3 Print Media - accelerated development of technology that accompanied America's industrialization made newspapers and literature mass-producible items, and the consumer culture that accompanied such industrialization created a demanding market for published works. So the number of people that were reachable through writing was very high.

 

 

 

#4 Power of the Muckrakers 

Muckrakers used print media to keep the evils of industrialization in the forefront of the American conscience. Editors and publishers were eager to provide support for muckrakers' efforts as a way to boost circulation numbers and profits. Thus, the genre that emerged was a combination of investigation, advocacy, sensationalism, and yellow journalism  - 

 

 

 

Muckraking Titles;  Contemporary Connections: New Jack and Sicko

 

#5  Religious Dimensions – “Social Gospel”  Christian philosophy to promote social change.

Religious communities were encouraging people of faith  to intervene without chastising the downtrodden.