Unit 5 1890 - 1920 Modern America Emerges Ch. 17 The Progessive Era

1890-1920 Modern America Emerges
Unit 5

History and Art
Parade of suffragists in New York City
Unknown artist (1912)

Art Note
Photographs like this one became an increasingly important part of newspaper coverage in the early 1900s. New printing processes allowed papers to reproduce photos more clearly, and their use became increasingly popular.

Previewing the Unit
Unit 5 describes how the modern United States begins taking shape in the first tow decades of the 1900s. Americans embrace the progressive movement, which leads to greater government involvement in many aspects of life. Starting with the move to gain colonies overseas and ending with efforts to make peace after WWI, American also plays a greater role in world affairs than ever before.

Action photography
By the time this photograph was taken in 1912, technical improvement shad enhanced the power of photography. This photo captures the women in the middle of their march. Some faces—like this woman’s—are quite expressive.

Parades
A New York group, the Equality League, held the first suffrage parade in 1910. The League was formed and led by Harriot Stanton Blatch, daughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The parade became an annual spring event in New York and spread throughout the country.

All walks of life
The suffragist parades included women from all walks of life—professional women, industrial workers, waitresses and maids, and mothers with children. Writing about a 1912 parade, a reporter said “all marched with an intensity of purpose that astonished the crowds that lined the street.”

Formality
The years leading up to WWI were a period marked by formality of dress. The parading women wear long skirts, and many wear hats and gloves.

Wide streets
The suffragists’ New York parades proceeded up Fifth Avenue, a major street in the city. By using one of the city’s most important streets, they gave their parade greater visibility. The tactic would by adopted by leaders of other protest movements later in the century.

Patriotic Symbols
The suffragists helped promoted their cause by using patriotic symbols. Many carried flags. Stars decorated the red sashes that many wore. This marcher sports a patriotic red, white, and blue hat.

Discussing the Quotation
The Theodore Roosevelt quotation comes from a speech he gave in 1899, when he was governor of New York. Within two years, he became president and was in a position to “dare mighty things” himself.

For discussion:
What do Roosevelt’s words say about the attitudes of American leaders in the early 1900s?
What changes to society might Americans in 1900 have wanted?
How did the suffragists exemplify Roosevelt’s desire to “dare mighty things?”

Discussing the Image
Woman suffrage seemed to many to be a radical departure for American society. To make their goal more acceptable suffragists tried to show that they fit squarely within American tradition. The banner reads, “We demand equal representation for equal taxation.”

For discussion:
How does the slogan on the banner help the cause?
How would parading with children help the cause of suffragist’s?

Chapter 17 The Progressive Era

Overview
Starting With the Student
What does progressive mean?
What did Wilson mean when he said democracy “releases the energies” of people?
What does the “release of energy” suggest about what might happen during the progressive era?

More About . . .
Woodrow Wilson
Wilson (1856-1924) became president in 1912, when the progressive movement was well underway. Believing he had been elected with a mandate for continued social reform, Wilson asserted, “We stand in the presence of a revolution whereby America will insist upon recovering in practice those ideals which she has always professed.”

Section 1 The Origins of Progressivism

Section 1 Overview
Objectives
To explain the four goals of progressivism.
To summarize progressive efforts to clean up local government.
To identify progressive efforts to clean up state government, protect workers, and reform elections.

Focus & Motivate
Starting With the Student
Review the One American’s Story of a child injured in a woolen mill.

More About. . .
Camella Teoli
Even First Lady Helen Taft attended congressional hearing on child labor in which Teoli was one of 36 children to testify. Teoli continued to work for the Lawrence mills for over 40 years, marrying a fellow worker an retiring at the age of 63. Teoli is buried in Lawrence, where a walkway on the town common is named for her.

Objective 1 Instruct
Four Goals of Progressivism
Conceptually, Progressivism is: protecting social welfare, promoting moral reform, creating economic reform, and improving efficiency.

Discussing Key Ideas
Progressivism aims to protect social welfare.
Progressives promote moral and economic reform.
Progressive reforms improve workplace efficiency.

Key Player
Florence Kelley
Critical Thinking:
Analyzing
What does the term “guerrilla warrior” suggests about Kelley. Possible responses: Is a dedicated fighter; knows the political landscape well; harasses those she opposes in an effort to undermine their authority.

Historical Spotlight
Anti-Saloon Thinking
Critical Thinking:
Analyzing Motives:
Consider a debate on the goals and methods of the Anti-Saloon League. What specific reasons the League may have had for trying to ban alcohol.
Possible responses: Religious convictions; problem behaviors induced by drinking, such as job loss and souse or child abuse.

More About. . .
Edward Bellamy
Son of a Baptist minister, Bellamy developed a deep concern for the urban poor. Soon after studying law and passing the bar, he became a journalist, but his greatest fame came from a novel, Looking Backward. Published in 1888, the novel describes a socialist utopia in what Bellamy and his readers was the distant future—the year 2000.

More About. . .
Eugene Debs
Debs was only 14 years old when he left home to work for the railroads, and by age 20 he had become a union organizer. In 1895, he was jailed for helping to direct the famous Pullman strike a year earlier. After William Jennings Bryan, whom Debs supported, lost the presidential election of 1896, Debs led the founding of the Socialist Party of America. He ran as its presidential candidate in 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912, and 1920.

More About . . .
Ford and the Automobile
Ford applied the assembly line on a much larger scale than ever before also sped up production by sticking to the basics: “You can have any color you want as long as it’s black,” he joked. His innovations cut production time of his Model T cars from 14 man-hours in 1910 to two man-hours in 1913, making them more affordable in the process.

History From Visuals
Ford Factory Workers
Reading the Art
What does the picture reveal about what it would be like to work on an assembly line?
Possible Responses: Exhausting; crowded; tedious; noisy.

Objective 2 Instruct
Cleaning Up Government
Starting With the Student
What does the saying, `You can’t fight City hall’ imply?
Is this usually the case?

Discussing Key Ideas
Incompetent handling of natural disasters like hurricanes and floods prompts local reform.
Progressive mayors such as Hazel Pingree of Detroit work to reform local government.

More About. . .
As Detroit’s reform mayor, Pingree’s most famous innovation was providing gardens for the unemployed, which became known as “Pingree’s Potato Patches.” Pingree went on to serve as Michigan’s governor from 1897 to 1901.

Objective 3 Instruct
Reform at the State Level
Discussing Key Ideas
More About. . .
Robert M. La Follette

More About. . .
Louis D. Brandeis

History From Visuals
Child Labor at Textile Mills

On the World Stage
Australian Ballot
Critical Thinking

Close
Progressivism prompted new laws, political cleanups, and other changes aimed at protecting social welfare, promoting moral and economic reform, and improving industrial efficiency.