Virtual Workshop on Progressivism, Mon 9/29
by Dr. H - September 22nd, 2014
Here are the instructions for our virtual class on Monday, Sept 29. Please complete the activities below. I have planned this to take about the same amount of time as we would have spent in class, though you do not need to come to campus in person.
1) Start by reviewing Chapter 19 (last Friday’s reading)
2) Read and think about the “Progressivism and Social Control” document project, pp. 614-619
3) Watch this: (APUSH Crash Course Chapter 27) 15:00
4) Then pick (at least) ONE from this list of videos and watch it:
Mother Jones, the Most Dangerous Woman in America 9:31
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4dICZsNXBE
Fighting Bob La Follette’s 1897 speech 9:42 (note it’s being read by an actor, this is of course not historic footage)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyeOde08xqE
Frances Willard, Ken Burns Prohibition 7:30
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/prohibition/watch-video/#id=2082489435
The Bull Moose Party, Election of 1912 12:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxxdpSWqAQI
5) Choose (at least) ONE of the following websites with primary sources related to Progressivism, and explore (go deep, don’t just skim the surface):
Triangle Fire site
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/
Photos by Lewis Hine
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/nclc/
NWHM’s online exhibit re: Women in Progressive Era
http://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/progressiveera/home.html
Without Sanctuary (trigger warning: graphic images of violence)
http://withoutsanctuary.org/main.html
6) Post a comment at the bottom of this post, answering (at least) ONE of the questions below. Your comment serves as your record of attendance & participation for today (it can be of any length). The comments on this post will close at midnight tonight. To get to the comments box, either click on the title of the post, or on the comment counter link below.
In Progressives’ own words or images, what needed reforming in American life in the period 1890-1920? By what methods did they propose to “cure†these problems?
What events, cultural circumstances, beliefs shaped progressive values?
Who benefited & who lost from the Progressive Movement? Whom did Progressives single out for attention and reform? What threat did Progressives perceive from these groups?
How successful was the Progressive Movement? (How would they define success? Would you define it differently?)
Choose two people from these sources and compare/contrast – why are they both “Progressivesâ€? How are they different? What do their similarities and differences tell us about the Progressive Era?
What events, cultural circumstances, beliefs shaped progressive values? The progressives were a movement of progress, they were not happy with the wages, the mistreatment of people, the idea that children like the ages of fifteen, or sixteen, were working in dangerous situations. Mother Jones was considered the most dangerous woman alive. She had lost her husband and children to the epidemic of yellow fever. During this year of the epidemic, she volunteered as a nurse, and this was the first time she saw inequality of America. She was a dressmaker, who lost all her possessions in the Great Chicago fire of 1871. She quoted, “I have no abiding place but where a fight is against a wrong. I am always there. It is my pleasure to be in the fray”. She was for the workers, for the rights of the workers, and for the safety for the workers.
Who benefited & who lost from the Progressive Movement? Whom did Progressives single out for attention and reform? What threat did Progressives perceive from these groups?
Within the Progressive movement the working class benefited as they sought out labor laws, better working conditions, and interventions from the government to enforce the regulations and laws for the workers. The Progressive Movement didn’t benefit or took from the elite, and factory owners as they were losing money due to the new regulations and labor laws formed by the Progressive Movement. Progressives singled out the government for reform and attention, calling for change in the working class life. For example Mother Jones helped Progressives picket and protest their working conditions and she also spoke with government leaders about the issue at hand. The threats that Progressives perceived from these groups were loss of jobs, poor labor conditions, and the inability to form unions.
Upton Sinclair and many other muckrakers displayed, in their works, the horrifying circumstances of factory work during the Progressive Era. John Green’s video showed pictures of the unsafe conditions of the meat-packing industry and Sinclair focused his writing around that, as well. Eventually, the publicity of these health and safety hazards resulted in FDA approval of all foods. Another prominent concern at the time was fire safety. Mother Jones’ video revealed the horrors of the Chicago Fire and an interview from the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire describes the panic the workers felt realizing they were trapped in the building. Though these were tragedies of the time, their occurrences were the cause for the eventual placement of fire codes and fire escapes. Still, I was surprised in one of the interviews. It seemed to take a long time for change to begin. A survivor of the fire mentions how her interviewer kept changing her words and acting as if she were lying. It was an interesting point to read about.
Who benefited & who lost from the Progressive Movement?
Personally, I think that the richest of the nation had to release their grip on their control, and in one way lost control to the poor and the immigrants, which was a needed balance that needed to take place. After viewing the speech “Fighting Bob La Follette” the speech was meant to change the opinion of the masses to believe that the Progressives were helping the poor and helpless so that the government, which is supposed to be by equal representation of the people. He argues that the shift of control is important for the maintenance of the proper functioning of the government, and by taking control away from the big business and giving some power to the federal government this power balances a bit. As a racial issue, immigrants gained a considerable amount, while African Americans lost a considerable amount of face in this period. After looking at the “Without Sanctuary” Gallery, I can tell that the lynchings performed by whites were often left unrecorded, or easily passed off and forgotten. Lynchings performed on immigrants or whites that were justified usually passed along like everyday business, as did lynchings of African Americans done in by whites, but the few lynchings that were performed by African Americans on whites or blacks that were unjustified made national headlines. Due to racial prejudice present everywhere and varying concentrations of races, many lynchings happened on both sides of the race barrier and on the side of justice, even if that justice was skewed. In all, the rich made out financially, while the poor got more money and support, but continued to kill each other for racial views.
Choose two people from these sources and compare/contrast – why are they both “Progressives� How are they different? What do their similarities and differences tell us about the Progressive Era?
Mother Jones and Frances Willard were both “Progressives†because they took a stand to reform the economic, social, and political ways of life in the United States for the better good of its people. These two women sought ways to fight for what they believed in, what they believed it is best for the society and for the future generations. Mother Jones was a superior lone soldier, even though she gained support along her journey. She led marches, mainly focused on labor unions as she attended and witnessed strikes. She supported the strikers and encouraged them to stay strong and fight for a good cause. Frances Willard was the president of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, in which their primary mission was to prohibit alcohol. Willard wanted to protect the homes because alcoholic husbands and fathers could easily lead to abuses toward their wives and children. One of the other major mission the WCTU had was women’s suffrage. The WCTU believed that giving the women the right to vote will improve family and public life. Both Willard and Frances were against child labor and supported labor unions. These women’s similarities and differences tell us that the Progressive Era was a time period of moving forward, mainly to transit the country into a better state, even though not everything was resolved. The Progressive Era was a time of progresses but not conclusions to all of the issues.
How successful was the Progressive Movement? (How would they define success? Would you define it differently?)
I believe that the progressive movement was successful. The progressive movement was a time period that favored females and the poor. There was a push for women’s rights and humanitarian reform. The hull house, created by Ellen Starr, inspired women to work in immigrant communities because they could not find jobs in the male dominated professions. Another successful step that was taken in this period was the dismantling of monopolies and limited corporate trusts taking limits off economic and political diplomacy.
They would define success by the wealth they accumulated and the rising of powerful, free women in communities as well as many types of reform.
How successful was the Progressive Movement? (How would they define success? Would you define it differently?)
The Progressive Movement was quite successful in some ways. It was successful in that they got a lot done. They managed to get more control of the national government. They did this by having the senators be elected by the people. They also succeeded at prohibition and got alcohol to be illegal. Progressivism was also successful partially to muckrakers. Muckrakers were writers who wrote about some of the horrible conditions that were going on such as child labor, poverty, and very dangerous working conditions in the industries. They brought these issues out into the open.
During the progressive movement workers at this time had a huge benefit. This time workers of all races and even women , were no longer working in unfair conditions and working less hours and for a little more pay. They also had better living conditions. The progressives singled out the government for attentions because as americans they demanded more form the government. They felt that everything including living . food, medicine were safe and there would be no more children sacrificing their health to go to work, but wanted more . A threat they perceive from these groups were the loss of the workers and jobs and that would put a huge impact on factory production.
How successful was the Progressive Movement? (How would they define success? Would you define it differently?)
The progressive movement was successful in improving workplace conditions and in gaining more diplomatic power into the hands of the general public. However some aspects of the progressive movement, for example prohibition, were not only unsuccessful, but they also arguably caused more problems than they resolved. Frances Willard fought by speaking across the country to pass prohibition and gained enough support to successfully add an amendment to the US constitution. Although this was defiantly an achievement and a reason to celebrate success prohibition did not last and resulted in an increase in organized crime and illegal activity that surrounded alcohol. Eventually the amendment was removed from the constitution and prohibition did not have the lasting impact envisioned by Willard and others like her.
In Progressives’ own words or images, what needed reforming in American life in the period 1890-1920? By what methods did they propose to “cure†these problems?
The conditions in which the working class of America worked and lived needed reforming in the eyes of Progressives. The muckrakers of the time focused on pointing out the dangerous conditions and long hours of working in a factory. Upton Sinclair wrote “The Jungle†to publicize the gruesome reality that the factory workers lived. He specifically pointed out how many of the workers who pulled the hides off the cows had worn their thumbs down so much that they no longer had fingernails. In the fight of child labor reform the National Child Labor Committee proposed bills to Congress that would eventually lead to stricter child labor regulations and Lewis Hine went around the country taking pictures exposing the deplorable work environment and the numerous children that spent their day in them trying to help their families. Numerous other groups and individuals fought for equality and better conditions for the working class. Using protests, pictures articles, and books The Progressives were able to present their views to a wide audience across America. Progressives also took the fight directly to the government at all levels with protests, letters to congressmen, and proposing bills and even constitutional amendments to help bring up the working class. Their efforts also aimed at improving life outside of work by decreasing work hours, building parks, schools, and performing social work within the communities to teach basic skills and help the underprivileged.
In Progressives’ own words or images, what needed reforming in American life in the period 1890-1920? By what methods did they propose to “cure†these problems?
Between the 1890s and 1920s there were an increase in journalists writing about the unjust political corruptions, factory conditions, and unhealthy tenement slums. One infamous journalist, Ida Tarbell, released information about Standard Oil Companies unfair business practices and the government in return prosecuted the company. With getting a taste of justice people formed to fight to eliminate government corruption and improve working and living conditions, public health, education, and sanitation. These groups then made progressive reforms, with Theodore Roosevelt, Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson. Eventually they even formed a Progressive Party. With these methods they were able to see results that improved society.
In Progressives’ own words or images, what needed reforming in American life in the period 1890-1920? By what methods did they propose to “cure†these problems?
During the Progressive Era, there were many problems that the progressive people believed needed reforming. On their list was to improve the working and living conditions for the working-class people. Also they wanted to improve the corruption in all the areas of government. A third thing they wanted to reform was the public health, education, and sanitation. During this time period, all of these things were improved because of the progressive presidents, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Howard Taft, along with many women. The presidents helped get the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th amendments passed. The 16th allowed for there to be an income tax which gave the government more funds to start programs to help the working class. The 17th amendment allowed for the people to vote directly for their senate representatives which lessened the corruption in the senate and allowed for the people’s voices to be heard. The 18th amendment started the prohibition and the 19th amendment allowed for women to vote. Women also lead to the reforming of getting clean water, trash collection, hot lunches at schools, community playgrounds, fire codes for office buildings, public libraries, and other things. Women became known as the “moral guardians” of that time period.
In Progressives’ own words or images, what needed reforming in American life in the period of 1890-1920? By what methods did they propose to “cure” these problems?
During the time period of 1890-1920, worker/labor laws and civil rights needed reforming. As for labor laws, many people who worked in large factories were paid extremely low wages and had to do their jobs in awful conditions. Also, many young children were working to help their families out; they too were working in poor conditions for a small amount of money. Mother Jones, an advocate for these workers, cared greatly for equal rights for them. She picketed, marched, and had been arrested just for helping the workers who were being treated unfairly. Thankfully, child labor laws were put into action and unions were formed to protect workers. Not only did labor laws need reforming, but so did civil rights. In this time period, the Jim Crow Laws in the Southern states were passed, which made whites and blacks segregated. However, not everything could be segregated because that would have been too much money; this made everything separate yet still unequal. Also, the 15th amendment had its own drawbacks. Even though African Americans now had the right to vote, many states had literacy requirements and some required poll taxes. Many African Americans could not read, were too poor to pay a poll tax in order to vote, or both. In hoping to “cure” the civil rights issues, many African American reformers wanted to fight for their rights. Booker T. Washington, who was a freed-slave, said that you (African Americans) should require a skill that would lead to success. In success, an African American could receive respect from whites by demonstrating usefulness, making whites in need for their skills. On the other hand there was W.E.B. Dubois who believed fighting for civil rights had to be done with “persistent, manly agitation.”
In Progressives’ own words or images, what needed reforming in American life in the period 1890-1920? By what methods did they propose to “cure†these problems?
Muckrakers were journalists’ that exposed the filth and corruption of factories and political situations through national magazines. The muckrakers wanted change as so did most Americans. Upton Sinclair published the novel “The Jungle” in 1906 to expose the harsh reality of how meat was packaged and handled as well as how factory workers were treated. His harsh realities led t the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. Lewis Hines took photography to a new level documenting child laborers in factories and mines, shining light on the issue which brought stricter child labor laws into act.
Who benefited & who lost from the Progressive Movement?
The Progressive movement helped improve but also hurt workers’, and the average person’s, lifestyle. Unions of workers, who were unsatisfied with their wages and hours, formed unions. These unions would protest outside of their work place and demand shorter hours and a higher pay. Working conditions, especially for children, began to change. Because of Lewis Hine’s photography of kids in the work field, child labor laws started to limit employers on a few matters.However because industrialization was a growing success, the demand for skilled workers reduced. People could now have less experience and create the same product with a machine. This resulted in difficulty finding jobs for many people.
It was the mass suffering of non-union factory workers which, in part, fueled the fire of the Progressive movement. These workers came to realize that individually, they had no power for change, but together, in a union, they could collectively bargain for shorter hours, safer working conditions, and higher pay. Large “trusts” which monopolized major industries such as steel, oil, and railroads, became objects considered toxic to the economy in the way that they bought out or crushed any competition, and were not taxed. To allow such business practices to continue was a dangerous plan, and it discouraged many potential business owners from starting their own companies. The distrust of “trusts” was also a reason that Progressives mobilized.
What events, cultural circumstances, beliefs shaped progressive values?
The Progressive movement sprung from the extreme technological and industrial progress of the late 19th century and the social effects of such changes. Industrialization gave way to immigration, urbanization, labor changes, and intense social change. Progressives wanted to address the social issues that came from this huge economic change. Progressives believed in equality and justice as well as the moral value of the nation. One circumstance Progressives wanted to address was the drastic living conditions in urban settings that came from the rapid population flux without corresponding resources. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union, and other Progressives, blamed much of the crime and common domestic issues that were booming on the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol, which they moved to have criminalized. Frances Willard, the president of the WCTU, also addressed many other social issues such as women’s suffrage (both as a right and as a necessity for protection), women’s and children’s education (especially of the dangers of alcohol), and equal pay for equal work. Progressive values of equality and social support in the face of a nation full of rapid economic, political, and social change were difficult to address due to their complexity in nature. As the nation became more diverse and complex, Progressives called for federal, state, and locally funded reform to correct the many social problems and aim for order among the chaos that came out of an era of huge technological advancement.
How successful was the Progressive Movement? (How would they define success? Would you define it differently?) The Progressive movement was successful in getting peoples attention on many subjects that needed to be addressed to and in many cases getting laws passed. Examples would be The Jungle by Upton Sinclair which gave disturbing information about how poorly sanitized and designed the meat packing factories were. Then there was also many of the pictures of working children by Lewis Hine which showed the bad working conditions that the children had to deal with and that they shouldn’t be doing this kind of work at such young ages. These pictures were one of the main reasons that the child labor laws were made. There was also the unsuccessful part of the Progressive movement and that was Prohibition which had banned alcohol distribution. Even though the idea behind the amendment passed from this might have been good the way it was put forth was not good. This sprung up many problems such as underground bars, much alcohol trafficking and many mobs that functioned off the illegal money made from selling alcohol one of the most famous ones was the gang that Al Capone was the leader. There are more examples about how the success of the Progressive movement could go both ways, but these were some of the ones that were pretty significant.
In Progressives’ own words or images, what needed reforming in American life in the period 1890-1920? By what methods did they propose to “cure†these problems?
As the first video explains, Progressives wanted many aspects of change, however he says the most important was the “social problems revolved around industrial capitalist society”. All businesses wanted costs to remain low and for profits to rise, no matter what the working conditions. I chose the video about Mother Mary Jones. Her calling was to gain rights for all of those who were overworked, underpaid, and mistreated. After she lost everything in the Great Chicago fire, she began organizing and aiding workers all over the region. She was a big part of the March on Panther, abolishing child labor, March of the Mill Children, and even supported families after Ludlow. Mother Mary Jones, was peaceful with the ways she displayed her want for change. She went right to the source by asking presidents to send aid to those in need and playing a part in reelection of presidents, who were helpful to her cause. I believe that she took something very negative and used that as fuel to her fire for change.