Muckrakers - reform-minded journalists who wrote articles in magazines that exposed corruption and scandal, these reporters went after trusts and politicians

Progressives:

• Progressive reformers were mainly middle-class men and women

• The progressives sought 2 goals:

• 1. To use state power to control trusts

• 2. To improve the common person's conditions of life and labor.

• Objective was to regain the power that had slipped from the people to those of the interests

• Reformers pushed for direct primary elections so as to undercut power-hungry party bosses

• Initiative: voters could directly propose legislation themselves, thus bypassing the state legislature

• Referendum: placed laws on the ballot for final approval by the people especially laws that had been railroaded through a compliant legislature by big businesses

• Recall: enabled the voters to remove faithless elected officials, particularly those who had been bribed by bosses

• Another goal: rooting out graft (gains secured by corruption)

• 17th Amendment established direct election of US senators

• Secret ballot: a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote buying

Women Activism:

• Women could neither vote or hold political office

• Settlement houses offer the side door to public life

• They expose middle-class women to the problems plaguing America cities including poverty, political corruption, and intolerable working and living conditions

• They also gave them the skills and confidence to attack those evils

• The women’s club movement provided a broader entryway for many middle-class women

• Literary clubs: educated woman met to improve themselves

• Most female progressives defended their new activities as an extension, not a rejection of the traditional rules of wife and mother

• They were often drawn to maternal issues like keeping children out of mills and sweat shops, attacking the scourge of tuberculosis in airless tenements, winning pensions for mothers with dependent children, and ensuring that only say food products found their way to the family table

• Female activists agitated through organizations like the national consumers league (1899), the women’s trade union league (1903) as well as the children’s bureau (1912) and the women’s bureau (1920)

• Women formed clubs in which they discussed and proposed solutions for societal problems (club movement). Some of these included the Women's Trade Union League and the National Consumers League.

Desert Land Act of 1877 - the federal government sold dry land cheaply on the condition that the purchaser would irrigate the soil within 3 years

Forest Reserve Act of 1891 - authorized the president to set aside public forests as national parks and other reserves

Carey Act of 1894  - distributed federal land to the states on the condition that it be irrigated and settled

Election of 1900 - McKinley wins but dies, so vice president Theodore Roosevelt takes place

Newlands Act of 1902 - authorized the federal government to use money from the sale of public lands in western states to develop irrigation projects

Roosevelt’s first bust:

• In 1902, President Roosevelt challenged the Northern Securities Company, a railroad trust company that sought to achieve a monopoly of the railroads in the Northwest

• The Supreme Court upheld the President and the trust was forced to be dissolved

• Roosevelt's real purpose in taking down big businesses was to prove that the government, not private business rule the country

Coal Strike of 1902:

• Coal miners in Pennsylvania went on strike and demanded a 20% raise in pay and a workday decrease from 10 hours to 9 hours

• When mine spokesman, George F. Baer refused to negotiate, President Roosevelt stepped in and threatened to operate the mines with federal troops

• A deal was struck in which the miners received a 10% pay raise and 9 hour workday

• The increasing hostilities between capital and labor forced Congress to create the Department of Commerce in 1903

• This department provided oversight of businesses engaged in interstate commerce

Elkins Act of 1903 - law passed by Congress to impose penalties on railroads that offered rebates and customers who accepted them, it strengthened the Interstate Commerce Act

Election of 1904 - TR wins

Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal:

• Three C’s:

• 1. control of corporations

• 2. consumer protection

• 3. conservation of natural resources

• Aimed to get rid of bad trusts

• Designed to protect the common people from big businesses

Lochner v New York (1905) - setback from labor reformers, the supreme court invalidated a New York law establishing a 10 hour day for bakers

The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 - designed to prevent the contamination and mislabelling of foods and pharmaceuticals

Meat Inspection Act of 1906 - stated that the preparation of meat shipped over state lines was subject to federal inspection, caused by Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle

Hepburn Act of 1906:

• restricted free passes and expanded the Interstate Commerce Commission. (Free passes:  rewards offered to companies, in the form of free shipments; given to companies to encourage future business)

• The interstate commerce act was expanded and its reach was extended to include express companies, sleeping car companies and pipelines

• For the first time, the commission was given real teeth when it was authorized on the complaint of shippers to nullify existing rates and stipulate maximum rates

Antiquites Act (1906) - the first United States law to provide general protection for any general kind of cultural or natural resource. It established the first national historic preservation policy for the United States

Panic of 1907 - a short economic downturn that resulted in financial reforms, triggered widespread bankruptcies, and caused the stock market to lose half its value from the previous year, JP Morgan intervened, and panic led to the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913, last time that a major financial crisis was resolved by private means

Muller V Oregon (1908) - the Supreme Court ruled that it was constitutional to enact laws that specifically protected women factory workers, established a different standard for male and female workers

Aldrich-Freeland Act in 1908 - authorized national banks to issue emergency currency in the event of a currency shortage

Election of 1908 - D chose Bryan, R chose Taft, Taft won

Payne-Aldrich Bill in 1909 - intended to lower tariffs but actually placed a high tariff on many imports which angered progressive republicans

Ballinger-Pinchot quarrel 1910:

• Taft fired the chief of the Agriculture Department's Division of Forestry, Gifford Pinchot, for insubordination

• Pinchot was liked by conservationists.

• By the spring of 1910, the reformist wing of the Republican Party was furious with Taft, causing the Republican Party to split

• Progressives think that Taft isn’t strong enough on progressivism

Mann Elkins Act (1910) - extended the authority of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to regulate the telecommunications industry, and designated telephone, telegraph and wireless companies as common carriers

Triangle Shirt Waist Company Fire (1911):

• Locked doors and other violations of the fire code turn the factory into a death trap where 146 workers, most of them young immigrant women were incinerated or jumped from high story windows to their deaths

• Public outcry included a massive strike by women in the needle trades

• The New York legislature passed much stronger laws regulating the hours and conditions of sweatshop toil

Dollar Diplomacy :

• Taft encouraged Wall Street bankers to invest in foreign areas of strategic interest to the United States

• American bankers thus strengthened American defenses and foreign policies, while bringing prosperity to America

• Effort to use foreign policy to secure markets and opportunities for American businessmen

• Taft used the threat of American economic clout to coerce countries into agreements to benefit the United States

Manchuria:

• Japan and Russia controlled a large portion of Manchurian resources including the railroads

• Taft, like many people of the era, believed that whoever controlled the railroads also controlled the economy

• He believed that without an interest in the Manchurian railroad system, the U.S. would be frozen out of the emerging Chinese markets and the Unite States’ “open door” policy in China would be undermined

• President Taft feared that this monopoly would eventually hurt American merchants

• In 1909, Secretary of State Philander C. Knox offered the Japanese and Russians a deal

• He proposed that American bankers and industrialists would purchase the Manchurian railroads from Japan and Russia and return them to Chinese control

• Japan and Russia flatly refused the offer, which publicly embarrassed the Taft administration

• In 1911, the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of the Standard Oil Company, stating that it violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890.

• Also in 1911, the Supreme Court laid out its "rule of reason" doctrine. This stated that a trust was illegal only if it unreasonably restrained trade

Taft vs Roosevelt:

• In 1911, the National Progressive Republican League was formed with La Follette as its leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination

• La Follette was chosen because it was assumed that Roosevelt would not re-run for election.

• In February of 1912, Theodore Roosevelt decided to challenge Taft for the Republican presidential nomination (La Follette was replaced by Roosevelt.) because he thought third term rule was only for 3 consecutive terms

• Roosevelt and Taft became opponents because Roosevelt felt that Taft had discarded many of Roosevelt's policies (including the suit against US Steel)

• Taflt fired Pinchot, who Roosevelt appointed

• Taft won the Republican nomination after Roosevelt Republicans refused to vote at the 1912 Republican convention, claiming fraud

• Roosevelt continued on as a 3rd-party candidate for Bull Moose Party

Election of 1912:

• The Democrats chose Wilson

• New Freedom: called for stronger antitrust laws, banking reform, and tariff reductions

• Strategy involved taking action to increase opportunities for capitalist competition rather than increasing government regulation of large trusts

• They favored small enterprise, entrepreneurship, and the free functioning of unregulated and unmonopolized markets, but they did not support social-welfare programs that Roosevelt supported

• Republicans chose Wilson

• Wilson favorite small enterprise, entrepreneurship and the free functioning of minimal regulated and unmonopolized markets

• Theodore Roosevelt ran again in the election as a 3rd party candidate for the Progressive Republican party

• New Nationalism: supported stronger control of trusts, woman suffrage, and programs of social welfare.

• Roosevelt was shot during the campaign, he recovered after a couple of weeks

• Taft and Roosevelt split the Republican votes, giving Woodrow Wilson the presidency

• Roosevelt's Progressive Party died out because it did not have any elected officials in state and local offices

Wilson:

• Wilson relied on sincerity and moral appeal to attract the public

• He was smart, but he didn't have people skills. Wilson's idealism and sense of moral righteousness made him incredibly stubborn in negotiating

• Woodrow Wilson became the governor of New Jersey by campaigning against trusts and promising to return the state government to the people

• He brought the racial attitudes typical of his own race and region, he was born in Virginia

The triple wall of privilege -  the tariff, the banks, and the trusts

Underwood Tariff Bill -  significantly reduced the tariff, the 16th Amendment was ratified in 1913 which enabled Congress to collect a graduated income tax

Bank:

• The most serious problem of the National Banking Act (passed during the Civil War) was the inelasticity of money

• In times of financial stress, banking reserves, which were located in New York and other large cities, could not distribute money fast enough into areas of need.

• ​​In 1913, Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act

• It established 12 regional banks and a reserve board appointed by the president to regulate banking and create stability on a national scale in the volatile banking sector

• The new Federal Reserve Board, appointed by the President, oversaw a nationwide system of 12 regional Federal Reserve banks

• Each reserve bank was the central bank for its region

• The final authority of the Federal Reserve Board guaranteed a substantial level of public control

• The board could also issue paper money, called Federal Reserve Notes (the U.S. Dollar).

• Because of this, the amount of money in circulation could be increased as needed for the requirements of business

Hetch Hetchy Valley (1913):

• San Francisco, California proposed building a dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley to provide a steady water supply

• The Hetch Hetchy Valley was within Yosemite National Park and protected by the federal government, leaving it up to Congress to decide

• National opinion is divided between giving San Francisco the right to dam the valley and preserving the valley from development

• Conservationists thought that the environment should be used in a conscientious manner to benefit society

• Preservationists believed that nature should be protected

• Siding with the conservationists, San Francisco citizens argued that the reservoir was necessary for the health of their city

• On the other side, preservationists, led by John Muir, argued that Congress should protect the Hetch Hetchy Valley from destruction

• Muir and his allies believed that nature should be enjoyed for its beauty, and not merely used for its resources.

• Hundreds of individuals and organizations from across the country submitted petitions to Congress regarding the valley

• In the end, Congress passed legislation that enabled the creation of a dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley

• President Woodrow Wilson signed the bill into law on December 19, 1913

• Although the preservationists lost this battle, the damming of the Hetch Hetchy Valley raised public awareness about the importance of preserving nature, and helped justify the creation of the National Park Service in 1916

Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 - created the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which oversaw industries engaged in interstate commerce. This organization could issue cease-and-desist orders to companies engaged in unfair business tactics. It empowered the commission to investigate illegal business practices in interstate commerce like unlawful competition, false advertising, and mislabeling of goods.

Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 -  strengthened the Sherman Act's list of business practices that were deemed objectionable and sought to exempt labor and agricultural organizations from antitrust prosecution, while legalizing strikes and peaceful picketing

La Follette Seamen's Act of 1915  - benefited sailors by requiring decent treatment and a living wage on American ships

Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916  - made low-interest rate loans available to farmers

Warehouse Act of 1916 -  enabled farmers to take out loans against the value of their staple crops, which were stored in government warehouses

Workingmen's Compensation Act of 1916 -  giving assistance to federal civil-service employees during periods of disability.

Keating Owen Act of 1916 - restricted child labor through its power to regulate interstate commerce. The act limited children's working hours and prohibited the interstate sale of goods produced by child labor.

Adamson Act of 1916  - established an 8-hour work day for all employees on trains in interstate commerce.

Reformers:

Jane Addams:

• Believed in teaching by example, practicing cooperation and practicing social democracy

• Wrote books

• Founded Hull House (settlement house)

• Peace Prize

• Wanted a world where men and women of all kings were equal

• Wanted to expose violence and inequality

• Saw the potential in the world and how great it could be

• Thought social equality is the key to world peace

• Founded the International League for Peace and Freedom in 1919

• First woman garbage inspector

• Tried to diminish political machine power

• Feminist

Ida Tarbell:

• Thought corporations weren’t playing fair

• Suffargism contradicted her beliefs

• Roosevelt called her a muckraker

• Her father pleaded the gov to do something

• Wrote the book The History of The Standard Oil Company, articles on tariffs, and about important people

• Saw corruption of oil industry

• Father struggled with oil company

• Fusterated that Rockefeller violated the rust act

• Unfulfilled as a teacher

• Responsible for the lawsuit breaking up Standard Oil

• Found the American Magazine in 1906 inspiring women journatlists and even women rights advocates

Robert LaFollette:

• Thought government was corrupt and failed to meet the people’s needs

• Big businesses and business leaders were yelling at him and fighting his opinions

• Launched the National Progressive Republican League which helped to pass laws like direct elections for senators

• Saw citizens suffering without gov representation and suffered in poverty

• Felt the need to take his stance and demand tax reforms, corporation regulation, and political democracy

• Used his platform to help people’s rights

• Believed that he could use science to fix issues

• Wisconsin Plan - advocating increasingly aggressive measures to protect workers and create more Democracy

• reform program which included a direct primary elections, increased taxes to create commissions, curbing excessive lobbying, backing reform labors, and conserving natural resources

Margaret Sanger:

• Though contraceptives were necessary and women should be able to determine when they want to bear children

• Heard women crying when they weren’t ready to bear a child

• Wrote ideas for my future organization which was the American Birth Control League

• Made birth control universally available for women

• Sad that children were forced to work long hours in unsafe conditions

• Right to effective birth control

Eugene V. Debs:

• Thought that becoming president would help change the corruption in the country so he ran for president 5 times

• Created a new party called the Social Democratic Party later shortened to the Socialist Party

• Led labor unions such as American Railroad Union and contributed to the success of the Pullman Strike

• Delivered anti war speeches

• Put in prison for involvement in the Pullman strike and anti war speeches

• Ran for president in prison

Booker T Washington:

• Thought African Americans should be involved with education in craft, industrial and farming skills to be accepted by white society

• Promoted a paternalistic approach for the advancement of African Americans while I took a hands on approach

• Wrote The Story of my Life and Work, Up From Slavery, The Story of the Negro, My Larger Education, The Man Farthest Down

• Saw white children getting an education at a younge age when black children could not recieve one

• Tuskegee Institute where he hired George Washingotn Carver

• Tuskegee University

• National Negro Business League

• Business educator for African Americans

• First black person to be Harvard educated

WEB Dubois:

• Thought out country required more equality of people regardless of their race

• Worked hard to become the first African American with a doctorate

• Saw lynching and jim crow laws

• Thought more work could be done if African Americans fough for equal rights rather than passively submitting to the discrmination

• Used knowledge to empower other African Americans

• Pushed for education

• Wanted full equality

Susan B. Anthony:

• Thought everyone was equal under God which was a value she got from her Quaker family

• Abolition, temperance, woman’s suffrage

• Women weren’t allowed to speak at a temperance convention and realized no one would take women seriously in politics

• Made speeches, obtained signatures for petitions and organized the first convention

• Voted in the 1872 election illegally to draw attention to the struggle for women’s suffrage

• Arrested, convicted and fined for $100 but refused to pay

• Found the NWSA which advocated for a constitutional amendment to secure the right to vote

• Combined with AWSA to form the NAWSA

• Angry that the 15th Amendment didn’t include gender

• Argued under the 14th amendment, women were US citizens

• 19th amendment made it illegal to deny the right to vote based on gender

• “Susan B Anthony Amendment”

• Planed to advocated in the states, used 14th amendment to justify, and get a constitutional amendment

Upton Sinclair:

• Thought about how much people consume unsanitary things such as rat feces against their knowledge in everyday meats

• Behind the machines were corruption and lack of a voice for wage workers

• Took notes on the conditions I witnessed in the meatpacking factories

• Used observations to write The Jungle and prompt socialist beliefs while letting the public know what I had witnessed

• Saw workers carelessly tossing dead animals and even garbage on the ground into meat packers

• Large gashes on their hands from blades which were a result of long working hours and lack of sanitation

• Disgusted by the lack of sanitation in meatpacking factories and enrages that change had not been implemented

• Felt a need to expose the working conditions of low wage laborers especially the immigrants who had no other option

• Pure Food and Drug Act

• Meat Inspection Act

• One of the first muckrakers who exposed corruption

• Socialist

Emma Goldman:

• Felt undermined by the government because her opinions were too strong

• Imprisoned then deported

• Heard everyone trying to arrest her for attempting assassination of Henry Clay for his poor treatment of protesting workers

• Arrested several times

• Wrote lectures, journals and autobiographies that exposed inequalities such as yooung men being drafted, protesters treated poorly, women’s right for birth control, and corruption in government

• Thought anarchism offered visions of liberty, freedom, and social justice

• Thought government authority is too similar to a hierarchy and its authority drives the country to the ground

• Was a leader in the German anarchist movement to advocate for free speech, birth control, women’s rights, independence, and union organizations

• Wanted a utopian society for US