Chapter 14
The Progressive Era, 1890-1924
Chapter 14
The Progressive Era, 1890-1924
[14.c.2] The Progressive Impulse
Progressives were bothered by political corruption and the challenges of urbanization, the latter a catch-all word for other trends that included immigration and industrialization. Progressives, a group composed largely of young, middle-class Protestants believed that the country had strayed off-course since the Civil War. Using politics and journalism they wished to restore themselves as America's leaders. Making themselves the leaders America would look to would resolve feelings of what Richard Hoffstader termed, "status anxiety."
[14.d.2-3, 5] Muckrakers
Jacob Riss paired gritty photographs with captions that visualized how the poor were living in New York City. Lincoln Steffans exposed corruption in cities. Bitter Cry of Children uncovered the plight of children working in coal mines.
[14.h.6] Election of 1912
The split in the Republican Party paved the way for Wilson to win just over 40% of the popular vote.
[14.i.1] Tariff Reform
The Underwood Tariff lowered the price of imports.
[14.i.2] Banking Reform
The Federal Reserve Act (1913) divided the nation into 12 districts and serves to regulate money supply. Act established a policy board that was empowered to raise or lower interest rates to control money supply. It was the first true nation-wide banking system since 1836 and settled much of the debate over gold versus silver.
[14.i.5] Prohibition
The Volstead Act passed by Congress after the 18th Amendment of 1919 outlawed alcohol. Arrests for drunkenness fell but bootlegging skyrocketed.
[14.i.7] Bust or Regulate?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was established for "trust-busting," but as time went along the Wilson administration used it more as a regulatory agency. Regulation as opposed to break-up signaled Wilson's shift to the New Nationalism.
[14.i.9] Foundation of Labor Legislation
Clayton • Magna Carta
[14.j.1] Booker T. Washginton
In 1881, Booker T. Washington founded the Tuskegee Institute. In the 1895 Atlanta Compromise he offered his theory of accommodation: The black community would accept temporary segregation; in exchange whites would support black business and education.
[14.j.3] W.E.B. DuBois
Dubois criticized Washington's Accommodation proposal. A philosopher, historian, and organizer, DuBois was the first black Ph.D graduate at Harvard. DuBois opposed Washington for these reasons:
Accommodation was degrading.
Discrimination blocked blacks from jobs in the New South's emerging manufacturing sector.
Vocational training did not train leaders for a movement.
So how did DuBois want to advance black civil rights?
DuBois offered an alternative strategy for black progress. He asserted that classical, liberal arts training would train civil rights leaders how to think and organize. Leaders trained at universities would guide legislation and win court cases that would end segregation. DuBois referred to this activist intelligensia as the "Talented Tenth."
[14.j.4] DuBois Publicized Black Achievements
DuBois edited The Crisis between 1910-34 (aided by Jessie Faucet as literary editor 1918-26) This official magazine of the NAACP featured black writers, theater, and educational achievements.
[14.j.5] Early NAACP Court Victories
Grandfather • Maryland • Oklahoma
[14.k.1] Progressives wanted a New Man for Modern Society
I like an analogy made by Jonah Goldberg. He uses the metaphor of the garden to explain the Western idea of liberty. The gardens of Versailles dazzle with intricate designs—a model of the state imposing its vision on nature. An English garden lets nature takes its course—every tree, bush, and flower free to realize its own nature. The English gardener weeds the garden, fences it, and keeps out predatory bugs but lets the shrubs flourish in their own zones. The men who created the United States adopted John Locke (English) over Jean Jaques Rousseau (French): Whereas the French Revolution engineered society, America grew best as an English garden.