Explain the shift in the role of government during the Progressive Era regarding consumers

Freedom had to take on a new meaning to confront early 20th century social and economic realities
Different kinds of workers complained of a loss of freedom
Large companies sought greater control over work process
Taylorism - Frederick W. Taylor's method of scientific management - a way of increasing production and profits by studying and controlling costs and work practices
Many skilled workers saw Taylorism as an assault on their traditional control over work processes
Large numbers of white-collar workers (e.g., sales people, salaried professionals, etc.) made higher incomes than most workers, but "lost freedom" as they once would have owned their own business
L. D. Brandeis (Pres. Wilson's nominee to the US Supreme Court in 1916) - unions were necessary to give workers a role in economic decisions related to wages, working conditions, and managerial decisions (layoffs and profit distribution
Progressives wanted to humanize industrial capitalism and find common ground in a society seemingly fragmented by labor conflict and mass immigration. While some desired a return to a competitive marketplace of small producers, others accepted the large corporation and looked to the government to combat a growing concentration of wealth and ensure social justice. Others located freedom in a private sphere of personal fulfillment and self-expression. Nearly all Progressives felt that freedom had to take on a new meaning to confront early twentieth-century social and economic realities.

All kinds of workers complained of a loss of freedom in this period. Large auto, electrical, steel, and other companies sought greater control over work processes, and found help in Frederick W. Taylor's' method of "scientific management"—a way of increasing production and profits by scientifically studying and controlling costs and work practices. Many skilled workers saw "Taylorism" as an assault on their traditional control over work processes, and thus, a loss of freedom. Greater numbers of white-collar workers, such as salespeople, salaried professionals, corporate managers, while making higher incomes than most workers, experienced their work as a loss of freedom, as they once would have owned their own business. These developments made "industrial democracy" and "industrial freedom" central to Progressive language and demands. Many Progressives, such as Louis D. Brandeis, an ally of the labor movement and President Wilson's appointee to the Supreme Court in 1916, believed that unions were necessary to give workers a role in economic decision making over, not just wages and working conditions, but also managerial decisions such as layoffs and profit distribution.

Socialism reached is greatest influence in the Progressive era
Socialist Party - founded in 1901uniting radicals such as Populists and followers of Edward Bellamy with parts of the labor movement
Called for immediate reforms like free college
Laws to improve working conditions
Democratic control through public ownership of railroads and factories
1912 - 150K due paying members - flourished among immigrant communities (Jews in Lower East Side, Germans in Milwaukee, farmers in Populist states, mining regions of Idaho and Montana)
Economic freedom was also the cry of American socialism, which reached its greatest influence in the Progressive era. The Socialist Party, founded in 1901, united late nineteenth-century radicals such as Populists and followers of Edward Bellamy with parts of the labor movement. The party called for immediate reforms like free college, laws to improve working conditions, and it ultimately proposed democratic control over the economy through public ownership of railroads and factories. By 1912, the Socialist Party had 150,000 dues-paying members, published hundreds of newspapers, had significant support in the American Federation of Labor, and elected dozens of local officials. Socialism flourished in immigrant communities, such as among Jews in the Lower East Side in New York City and Germans in Milwaukee, and also gained support among farmers in old Populists states like Oklahoma and mining regions in Idaho and Montana.

Most important in spreading socialist ideas and linking socialism to American ideals of equality, self-government, and freedom was Eugene V. Debs, the former union leader jailed during the Pullman Strike of 1894. For two decades, Debs toured the nation, preaching that "political equality and economic freedom" could be won only by socialism's democratic control of the economy. Debs united the disparate and often dueling factions of the party. As socialism gained in strength in Europe, particularly in Germany, France, and Scandinavia, Debs led socialism forward in America, too. In 1912, he received 900,000 votes for president, nearly 6 percent of the total, and the socialist newspaper, Appeal To Reason, had the largest weekly circulation in the nation.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)
AFL tripled to 1.6 million between 1900 to 1904
Leadership became close to corporate leaders who were willing to deal with unions "to stabilize labor relations"
AFL Pres. Gompers joined large capitalists in the National Civic Federation (NCF) - accepting worker's rights to collective bargaining in "responsible" unions
NCF - settled hundreds of industrial disputes, improved safety, and created pensions for long-term workers
Most employers adamantly opposed unions
Continued labor strife also illustrated the deep discontent of the Progressive era. American Federation of Labor (AFL) membership tripled to 1.6 million between 1900 and 1904, and simultaneously its leaders became closer to corporate leaders willing to deal with unions as a means to stabilizing labor relations. AFL President Gompers joined with large capitalists in the National Civic Federation, which accepted workers' rights to collective bargaining in "responsible" unions. The National Civic Federation (NCF) helped settle hundreds of industrial disputes and improved safety and created pensions for long-term workers. But most employers still adamantly opposed unions.

The AFL mostly represented America's most privileged workers—skilled industrial and craft labor, mostly all white, male, and native-born. In 1905, unionists rejecting the AFL's exclusionist approach formed the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). The IWW was both a union and a revolutionary organization dedicated to seizing the means of production and abolishing the state, and it made solidarity its guiding principle. It sought to organize all workers excluded from the AFL: immigrant factory workers, migrant timber and agricultural workers, women, blacks, and even the Chinese.

Mass strikes by immigrant workers placed "collective bargaining" at the forefront of Progressive reform
IWW often ran strikes with each ethnic group receiving representation on strike communities
1912 - Lawrence, MA Strike - IWW forged the strikers into a united group. Survived militia and police attacks and won the strike on the union's terms
1907 - New Orleans dockworkers strike - black and white workers joined to resist pay cuts and attacks on their unions
1914 - United Mine Workers against Rockefeller-owned Colorado Fuel and Iron Company
Strike - union recognition, wage increase, 8-hour day limit, right to live and ship in places not owned by company
Owners - evicted strikers from houses, surrounded colony erected by strikers, attacked tent city in April 1914 killing c. 30 people ---- "Ludlow Massacre"
Mass strikes by immigrant workers placed workers' demand to bargain collectively with employers at the front of Progressive reform. The strikes showed that ethnic divisions might impede labor solidarity, but that ethnic cohesiveness could be a basis of unity, if strikes were organized democratically. The IWW was often called to run these strikes, which started spontaneously, and it insisted that each ethnic group have representation on strike committees. Such was the situation in 1912 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, after men, women, and child workers there went on strike against pay cuts. The IWW forged the strikers into a united group, survived militia and police attacks, and won the strike on the unions' terms. Another famous strike was the 1907 New Orleans dockworkers strike, in which black and white workers made an uncommon cross-racial alliance to resist pay cuts and attacks on their unions. Perhaps the most famous strike was a failure, the strike by the United Mine Workers against the Rockefeller-owned Colorado Fuel and Iron Company for union recognition, wage increases, an eight-hour day, and the right to live and shop in places not owned by the company. The owners responded to the strike by evicting strikers from their houses, and after armed militias surrounded a tent colony erected by the strikers, they attacked the tent city in April 1914, killing up to thirty men, women, and children in what became known as the Ludlow Massacre.

Union struggles put free speech at the center of Progressive reform. Even while courts rejected union's claims to be exercising First Amendment rights, labor struggles created the modern demands of civil liberties so critical in the twentieth century. In many areas, especially "company towns" dominated by an employer, workers were not free to speak out without being fired, or worse. The IWW in particular waged a series of "free speech" fights as a means for organizing unions in the West. When IWW members were arrested and jailed for speaking in public, the union would send hundreds and thousands more members to speak, forcing local governments to arrest them all. Eventually, local officials would become overwhelmed and would allow IWW members to speak.

Term "feminism" became popular in the Progressive era
Heterodoxy - woman's club in Greenwich Village, New York
Organized a new radical "bohemia" (a social circle of artists, writers, and others who reject conventional rules and practices)
Definition of feminism merged calls for the vote, greater economic opportunity with open discussions of sexuality
Lyrical Left - Greenwich Village and equivalent neighborhoods in Chicago, San Francisco, and other cities - discussion clubs, experimental theaters, and magazines which anticipated the emancipation of the human spirit from 19th cent. Prejudices
Isadora Duncan's new expressive dance
New York's Armory Show (1913) - cubist paintings by Pablo Picasso
"Feminism" first became a widely used word in the Progressive era. In 1914, a mass meeting in New York that debated the question, "What Is Feminism?" was organized by Heterodoxy, a women's club in Greenwich Village. The club was part of a new radical "bohemia" (a social circle of artists, writers, and others who reject conventional rules and practices), and its definition of feminism merged calls for the vote and greater economic opportunity with open discussions of sexuality. Before World War I, in Greenwich Village and equivalent neighborhoods in Chicago, San Francisco, and other cities, a "lyrical left" took shape that included discussion clubs, experimental theaters, and magazines, and which anticipated the emancipation of the human spirit from nineteenth-century prejudices. Isadora Duncan's new expressive dance was one symbol of the era, as was New York's Armory Show in 1913, showing cubist paintings by European artists like Pablo Picasso in America for the first time.

Freedom was central to the lyrical left's vision of society, but their individualist notion of freedom was quite different from other Progressives' interest in order and efficiency. Yet, sexual freedom came alive in this period. Sigmund Freud lectured in America in 1909 and found that Americans were familiar with his theories of infantile sexuality, repression, and the irrational. Free sexual expression and reproductive choice became critical elements of women's liberation for many women. New sexual attitudes spread beyond bohemia to many young, unmarried, and independent women, and the new tolerance for sexual freedom drew gay people to Greenwich Village for the first time.

The right to "control one's body" meant the ability to refuse sexual advances (including from a spouse) , but also involvement in an active sexual life without necessarily bearing children
Emma Goldman - an anarchist, regularly wrote and lectured about the right to birth control and various contraceptive devices
Margaret Sanger - placed birth control at the center of the new feminism
1914 = Faced censorship from the US Post Office for writing about how to use birth control, responded by openly advertising the devices in her journal - The Woman Rebel
1916 - Opened a clinic in a working-class area of Brooklyn and started giving contraceptive devices to poor Jewish and Italian women - she was jailed for a month
Labor radicals and cultural modernists (in addition to feminists) promoted Sanger and birth control
Women's growing presence in the labor market strengthened demands for birth control, giving political expression to changes in sexual behavior. In the nineteenth century, the right to "control one's body" meant the ability to refuse sexual advances, including those of a husband, but now it meant enjoying an active sexual life without necessarily bearing children. Emma Goldman, an anarchist, regularly wrote and lectured about the right to birth control and various contraceptive devices, and was arrested often. Margaret Sanger placed birth control at the center of the new feminism. By 1914, after facing censorship from the U.S. Post Office for writing about how to use birth control, she openly advertised birth-control devices in her journal, The Woman Rebel. She argued no woman could be free who did not control her own body and decisions about whether to become a mother. In 1916, when Sanger opened a clinic in a working-class area of Brooklyn and started giving contraceptive devices to poor Jewish and Italian women, she was jailed for a month. Labor radicals and cultural modernists, not just feminists, promoted Sanger and birth control.

Even Native Americans shared the Progressive impulse. The Society of American Indians, founded in 1911, was a typical reform organization. It united Indian intellectuals around discussion of Native Americans' problems and sought to arouse public awareness. It brought together Indians from many different backgrounds and created a pan-Indian public space free from white influence. Many in the Society shared the basic goals of federal Indian policy, including transforming communal lands on the reservations into family farms. But the group's founder, Carlos Montezuma, became an avowed critic who condemned government paternalism and demanded the abolition of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He called for self-determination and for Indians to be granted full citizenship.

Progressivism was a worldwide movement
Cities around the world experienced problems caused by industrialization and massive growth
1850 - only London and Paris had a population of more than a million
1900 - 12 cities in Europe and the US with populations over a million
International exchange of ideas
Britain, France, and Germany created old age pensions, minimum wage laws, unemployment insurance, and regulated workplace safety
American reformers started to advocate for similar "social legislation"
Basic changes in the functions of political authority of political authority
To check the power of corporations, protect consumers, civilize market relations, or guarantee industrial freedom in the workplace
Influenced by Gilded Age and European reforms, Progressives sought to renew notions of an activist, socially conscious government
Progressivism was a worldwide movement. In the early twentieth century, cities around the world experienced similar problems caused by industrialization and massive growth. In 1850, only two cities—London and Paris—had a population of more than 1 million; by 1900, there were twelve in Europe and the United States (New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia). Reformers around the world exchanged ideas and proposed new social policies. As Britain, France, and Germany created old age pensions, minimum wage laws, unemployment insurance, and regulated workplace safety, American reformers started to advocate such "social legislation."

Progressives thought modern society required basic changes in the functions of political authority, whether to check the power of corporations, protect consumers, civilize market relations, or guarantee industrial freedom in the workplace. Influenced by Gilded Age and European reforms, Progressives sought to renew notions of an activist, socially conscious government. They rejected old assumptions that powerful government threatened liberty. They saw freedom as a positive, not a negative, concept, in which freedom represented the power of the government to intervene in public and private life to improve society.

In America, with a decentralized, federal system of government, most Progressive reforms were enacted at the state and local levels. Progressives attempted to reduce the power of political bosses, assert public control over "natural monopolies" like gas and water works, and improve public transportation. They raised property taxes to spend more on schools, parks, and other public facilities. And because state legislatures defined the powers of city governments, urban Progressives often took reform campaigns to the state level. The most influential state-level Progressive administration was that of Robert M. La Follette, who made Wisconsin a "laboratory for democracy." After serving as a Republican congressman, La Follette became convinced that an alliance of railroad and lumber companies controlled state politics. When elected governor in 1900, he passed a series of measures that came to be known as the "Wisconsin Idea": nominations of candidates for elections through primary elections rather than party bosses, taxation on corporate wealth, and state regulation of railroads and public utilities.

Restore democracy by returning political power to citizens and civic harmony to a divided America
Belief that political reforms (as opposed to class conflict and corporate power) would help create a unified people devoted to greater democracy and social reconciliation
Increasing governmental power made it necessary to determine who should be able to participate in politics
Progressives wanted to restore democracy by returning political power to citizens and civic harmony to a divided America. Afraid of violent class conflict and corporate power, they thought political reforms would help create a unified "people" devoted to greater democracy and social reconciliation. But increasing government power made it more necessary to determine who should be able to participate in politics.

Progressive political reforms were often contradictory. The electorate was expanded and contracted, empowered and removed from influencing government. Democracy was expanded by the Seventeenth Amendment, which made U.S. senators elected by popular vote rather than by state legislatures, by adoption of popular election of judges, and by primary elections among party members to select candidates. Several states adopted the initiative (voters propose legislation), the referendum (voters directly vote on a proposal), and recall (voters remove officials). The era ended with suffrage for women, the largest democratic expansion in American history. But some Progressive reforms also restricted democracy, notably the disenfranchisement of blacks in the South. Many localities replaced elected mayors with appointed, nonpartisan commissions or city managers, removing local government from the control of political machines, but also popular control. New literacy tests and residency and registration requirements limited the right to vote among the poor and migrants. Progressive electoral reforms marked a retreat from the notion that voting was an inherent right of American citizenship. Most white Progressives were also disinterested in the plight of African-Americans.

Most Progressives were leery of the real world of politics, in which people pursued narrow class, ethnic, or regional interests. Many Progressives thus turned to college professors and other professional "experts," believing government could ensure intelligent rule over society through a democracy run by impartial experts unaccountable to citizens. This was part of Progressives' impulse toward order, efficiency, and centralized management as a means of ensuring social justice. In Drift and Mastery (1914), Walter Lippman argued the nation could either continue to "drift," operating according to a dated belief in individual autonomy, or embrace "mastery," using scientific inquiry to address modern social problems. For Lippman and others, political freedom rested not in direct political participation but in the formation of public policy by the most qualified
Political reforms were often contradictory with the electorate being expanded and then contracted, empowered and then removed from influence
Expansion of Democracy in the 17th Amendment
Made US Senators elected by popular vote rather than by state legislators
Adoption of popular election of judges
Primary elections among party members to select candidates
Adoption of the initiative (voters propose legislation), the referendum (voters directly vote on a proposal), and recall (voters remove officials)
Era ended with suffrage form women - the largest democratic expansion in American history
Restrictions - continued black disenfranchisement in the South, elected mayors replaced by city managers (loss of popular control), new literacy tests, residency and registration requirements limiting the voting accessibility/rights of the poor and migrants

Women were central to Progressive politics - challenging barriers to political participation
Often moved to act by the conditions faced by poor immigrant communities and women and child workers
Jane Addams (never married or had a family)
Founded Hull House in Chicago 1889 - "settlement house" dedicated to improving the lives of the immigrant poor
Workers moved into poor neighborhoods, built and ran schools, employment bureaus, health clinics, and helped women victims of domestic abuse
By 1910 - 400 settlement houses had been founded through the US
But Progressivism also contained a more democratic vision of an activist government, perhaps best expressed by women reformers. Still unable to vote and hold office in most states, women were central to Progressive politics. They challenged barriers to political participation and elaborated a democratic, grassroots vision of government. They were moved to act most often by the conditions faced by poor immigrant communities and women and child workers. The era's most prominent female reformer was Jane Addams. Addams never married and resisted expectations to become tied to a family as a mother and wife, and instead in 1889 founded Hull House in Chicago, a "settlement house" dedicated to improving the lives of the immigrant poor. Settlement house workers moved into poor neighborhoods, built and ran schools, employment bureaus, and health clinics, and helped women victims of domestic abuse. By 1910, more than 400 settlement houses had been established in cities around the nation.

Addams typified the era's "new woman," as more and more women went to college and entered professions such as social services, nursing, and education. Middle-class women's efforts to help the poor, working women, and children helped expand government's role in society. Through settlement and other social work, these women learned that legislation was necessary for dealing with housing, income, and health inequalities. Hull House led a number of campaigns for legislation in Illinois, around shorter working hours, workplace safety, and union organizing rights, which inspired others to do likewise. In the South, however, race affected reform, as ending child labor was justified as necessary for giving white children the education they would need as members of the South's ruling race. The settlement houses have been called "spearheads of reform," as they produced prominent Progressive leaders, such as Julia Lathrop, the first women to head a federal agency (the Children's Bureau, founded in 1912 to investigate conditions of mothers and children and advocate for them), and Florence Kelley, who organized the National Consumers League to use purchasing power as a way to force manufacturers to improve working conditions.

Increase of women in college and professions (particularly social service, nursing, and education)
Middle-class women's efforts to help the poor, working women, and children helped expand government's role in society
Legislation was necessary for dealing with housing, income, and health inequalities
Progressive leaders (spearheads of reform)
Julia Lathrop - first woman to head a federal agency - the Children's Bureau
Florence Kelley - organized the National Consumer's League (use purchasing power as a means of forcing manufacturers to improve working conditions)
Addams typified the era's "new woman," as more and more women went to college and entered professions such as social services, nursing, and education. Middle-class women's efforts to help the poor, working women, and children helped expand government's role in society. Through settlement and other social work, these women learned that legislation was necessary for dealing with housing, income, and health inequalities. Hull House led a number of campaigns for legislation in Illinois, around shorter working hours, workplace safety, and union organizing rights, which inspired others to do likewise. In the South, however, race affected reform, as ending child labor was justified as necessary for giving white children the education they would need as members of the South's ruling race. The settlement houses have been called "spearheads of reform," as they produced prominent Progressive leaders, such as Julia Lathrop, the first women to head a federal agency (the Children's Bureau, founded in 1912 to investigate conditions of mothers and children and advocate for them), and Florence Kelley, who organized the National Consumers League to use purchasing power as a way to force manufacturers to improve working conditions.

Mass movement after 1900
National American Suffrage Association grew enormously with successful campaigns in states - half of which allowed women to vote in local elections regarding schools (Women's Suffrage in Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, and Utah)
Between 1910-1914 - seven more western states gave women the right to vote
Used advertising, publicity, and entertainment that was characteristic of the mass consumer society
Campaigns at the state level were costly - and efforts were increased to gain suffrage at the national level
After 1900, the campaign for women's suffrage became a mass movement for the first time. The National American Woman Suffrage Association's membership grew enormously, and its campaigns had some success in states, half of which allowed women to vote in local elections regarding schools. It won women's suffrage in Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, and Utah. Between 1910 and 1914, seven more western states gave women the vote. These campaigns were conducted with a new spirit of militancy, and used modern methods of advertising, publicity, and entertainment characteristic of a mass consumer society. But state campaigns were costly, and increasingly efforts focused on gaining suffrage at the national level.

The celebration of women's domestic role actually inspired the suffrage movement. Many Progressive proposals emerged from the idea that the state should protect women and children, and female reformers formed a movement for improving the lives of poor mothers and children. Many states enacted pensions for mothers to enable them to care for children. Such "maternalist" reforms were based on the assumption that government should encourage women's ability to bear and raise children and allow them to be economically independent. Other Progressive laws recognized that women worked outside the home, but defined them as a dependent group (like children) that needed state protection in ways male workers were not. In the landmark case, Muller v. Oregon (1908), the U.S. Supreme Court accepted the arguments of Louis D. Brandeis that long hours of labor were dangerous for women, whose child-bearing abilities required government protection. This was the first major breach of "liberty of contract" doctrine, just three years after the Lochner decision. But the costs of Muller were high, as while even more states passed protective laws for women workers, these laws both benefited women and tied them to their family roles, and kept reinforced gender discrimination and exclusion in labor markets. Though the use of government to regulate working conditions raised questions about liberty of contract, maternalist policies built gender inequality into the early foundations of the welfare state.

The domestic role of women actually inspired the suffrage movement
Many states enacted pensions for mothers to enable them to care for children
Based on assumption that government should encourage women's ability to bear and raise children by allowing them to be economically independent
Some laws recognized that women who worked outside of the home were a dependent group (like children) that needed state protection in ways that male workers did not
Muller v. Oregon (1908) - US Supreme Court accepted the arguments of Louis D. Brandeis that long hours of labor were dangerous for women, whose child-bearing abilities required government protection (first major breach in the Liberty of Contract)
The celebration of women's domestic role actually inspired the suffrage movement. Many Progressive proposals emerged from the idea that the state should protect women and children, and female reformers formed a movement for improving the lives of poor mothers and children. Many states enacted pensions for mothers to enable them to care for children. Such "maternalist" reforms were based on the assumption that government should encourage women's ability to bear and raise children and allow them to be economically independent. Other Progressive laws recognized that women worked outside the home, but defined them as a dependent group (like children) that needed state protection in ways male workers were not. In the landmark case, Muller v. Oregon (1908), the U.S. Supreme Court accepted the arguments of Louis D. Brandeis that long hours of labor were dangerous for women, whose child-bearing abilities required government protection. This was the first major breach of "liberty of contract" doctrine, just three years after the Lochner decision. But the costs of Muller were high, as while even more states passed protective laws for women workers, these laws both benefited women and tied them to their family roles, and kept reinforced gender discrimination and exclusion in labor markets. Though the use of government to regulate working conditions raised questions about liberty of contract, maternalist policies built gender inequality into the early foundations of the welfare state
More states passed protective laws for women workers
While beneficial for women - it tied them to their family roles, and kept reinforcing gender discrimination and exclusion in labor markets
Maternalist policies built gender inequality into the early foundations of the welfare state

Brandeis imagined a different kind of welfare state from that of the maternalists - his idea was rooted less in healthy motherhood than in ideas of universal economic entitlement
Right to a decent income
Protection against unemployment and work-related accidents
Rights to this assistance was derived from citizenship not some special service (e.g., mothers)
Some states supported this idea - passing workmen's compensation laws
The idea of universal entitlements and protection of all workers (including male) would be expressed in the polity of the New Deal era
Brandeis imagined a different kind of welfare state from that of maternalists, one rooted less in healthy motherhood than in ideas of universal economic entitlements, such as a right to a decent income and protection against unemployment and work-related accidents. The right to assistance, for Brandeis, derived from citizenship, not some special service to the nation, as in the case of mothers. Some states supported the kind of welfare Brandeis envisioned, as they passed workmen's compensation laws that drew upon workers' own wages to create a fund for workers injured on the job. Yet, the idea of universal entitlements and protections for all workers, including male workers, would be expressed in policy in the New Deal era.

Nationalization
Rise of the national state - most significant development of the early 20th century
Nationalization was occurring throughout the country
Corporations dominated the economy
Organizations (e.g., American Medical Association) began to raise incomes and respect of professions
Sports developed national leagues
Progressives believed that only an energetic national government could establish the social conditions of freedom.
The most significant political development of early-twentieth-century America was the rise of the national state. Nationalization was occurring everywhere: national corporations dominated the economy; national organizations like the American Medical Association began to raise the incomes and respect of professions. Even sports developed national leagues in this period. Progressives believed that only an energetic national government could establish the social conditions of freedom. Poverty, economic insecurity, and an absence of industrial democracy were national problems that could only be solved nationally. Herbert Croly, editor of the New Republic, argued that the democratic national state was an alternative to the forces that controlled Americans' lives, whether the narrow interests that manipulated politics or corporations. Croly suggested that "Jeffersonian ends" of democratic self-determination and individual freedom could be secured only through the "Hamiltonian means" of government intervention in the economy.

Theodore Roosevelt was the first of the Progressive-era presidents to address this question. As vice president, Roosevelt became the youngest president ever to hold office after an anarchist assassinated William McKinley in 1901. He was an impetuous and energetic man who celebrated the "strenuous life" of manly adventure and daring, and he became the model for the twentieth-century president, actively and continuously involved in domestic and foreign policy and setting the political agenda.

Roosevelt advanced a program he called the "Square Deal," which addressed problems of economic consolidation by distinguishing between "good" and "bad" corporations. Soon after taking office, Roosevelt shocked the business world by prosecuting the Northern Securities Company, a "holding" company created by financier J.P. Morgan to run three western railroads that monopolized rail transport between the Great Lakes and the Pacific. In 1904, the Supreme Court handed the antitrust movement a significant victory by ordering Northern Securities dissolved.
Poverty, economic security, and an absence of industrial democracy were national problems that could only be solved nationally
Herbert Croly (editor of the New Republic) - the democratic national states was an alternative to the forces that controlled American's lives - called for the "Jeffersonian ends" of democratic self-determination and individual freedom could be secured only through the "Hamiltonian means" of government intervention in the economy

Became the youngest President ever to hold office after an anarchist assassinated William McKinley in 1901
Impetuous and energetic man who celebrated the "strenuous life" of manly adventure and daring
Became the model for the 20th century president - actively and continuously involved in domestic and foreign policy and setting the political agenda
Advanced program called the "Square Deal" - addressed problems of economic consolidation by distinguishing between "good" and "bad" corporations
Shocked the business world by prosecuting the Northern Securities Company (J.P. Morgan company - meant to run three western railroads that had monopolized rail transport)
1904 - US Supreme Court ordered the Northern Securities dissolved
Theodore Roosevelt was the first of the Progressive-era presidents to address this question. As vice president, Roosevelt became the youngest president ever to hold office after an anarchist assassinated William McKinley in 1901. He was an impetuous and energetic man who celebrated the "strenuous life" of manly adventure and daring, and he became the model for the twentieth-century president, actively and continuously involved in domestic and foreign policy and setting the political agenda.

Roosevelt advanced a program he called the "Square Deal," which addressed problems of economic consolidation by distinguishing between "good" and "bad" corporations. Soon after taking office, Roosevelt shocked the business world by prosecuting the Northern Securities Company, a "holding" company created by financier J.P. Morgan to run three western railroads that monopolized rail transport between the Great Lakes and the Pacific. In 1904, the Supreme Court handed the antitrust movement a significant victory by ordering Northern Securities dissolved.
Presidents should help settle labor disputes as a neutral third party - and not simply act in favor of business
1902 - appointed commission to settle strike between union leaders and managers in the coal industry
1904 (re-elected) - advocated more direct economic regulations - including reinforcing the Interstate Commerce Commission
1906 (shift of public opinion in favor of Roosevelt) - passed Hepburn Act giving the ICC power to set railroad rates
Roosevelt also believed the president should help settle labor disputes as a neutral third-party, and not simply act in favor of business, as had previous presidents. In 1902, when a strike paralyzed the coal industry, he brought union leaders and managers to the White House and settled the strike by appointing a commission. Reelected in 1904, Roosevelt advocated more direct economic regulations, including reinforcing the Interstate Commerce Commission, whose powers had been restricted by the Supreme Court. In 1906, public opinion had shifted in support of Roosevelt, and Congress passed the Hepburn Act, giving the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) power to set railroad rates, an important step in giving the federal government regulatory power. While many businessmen supported the creation of new federal agencies to improve consumer product safety, they were alarmed by Roosevelt's calls for federal inheritance and income taxes and interstate business regulation.

In the 1890s, Scottish-born naturalist John Muir founded the Sierra Club to help preserve forests from uncontrolled logging from timber corporations. Muir's deep love for nature came from religious beliefs. Almost blinded in an industrial accident in Indianapolis, Muir believe that his sight was restored so that he could appreciate the natural beauty of "God's creations." For example, he called forests, "God's first temples."

Roosevelt was also an avid outdoorsman. While the United States led the world in conserving wilderness areas, having established the first national park at Yellowstone in 1872, it had no national conservation policy until Roosevelt's administration. He ordered that millions of acres be set aside as wildlife preserves and urged creation of new national parks. Conservation was typically Progressive in some ways. Experts would help the government serve the public good while preventing "special interests" from damaging the environment. But conservation also served efficiency and control, as conservation aimed to control the exploitation of minerals and forests on national lands, not prevent it. In the West, water was especially scarce and required regulation in order to conserve and distribute it fairly.
John Muir and the Spirituality of Nature
John Muir (Scottish-born) founded the Sierra Club in the 1890s to help preserve forests from uncontrolled logging from timber corporations
Deep love of nature came from religious beliefs - almost blinded in an industrial accidence - he believed that his sight was restored so that he could appreciate the natural beauty of "God's creations"
Roosevelt and Economic Regulation
John Muir and the Spirituality of Nature
The Conservation Movement
Roosevelt was an avid outdoorsman
US led the world in conserving wilderness areas - and the establishment of its first park (Yellowstone) was in 1972 - but it had not conservation policy
Roosevelt ordered that millions of acres be set aside as wildlife preserves and urged creation of new national parks
Conservation was Progressive experts helping the government to serve the public good while preventing "special interests" from damaging the environment)
Conservation also served efficiency and control - as it aimed to control the exploitation of minerals and forests on national lands - not prevent it

W.H. Taft ran as Roosevelt's successor (federal judge from Ohio and former governor of the Philippines - would later serve as a Supreme Court Justice from 1921-1930)
Defeated Bryan's third unsuccessful run for the presidency
Progressive - he believe that the government should go beyond laissez-faire principles of the 19th century
Pursued anti-trust more aggressively than Roosevelt
Convinced Supreme Court to declare Rockefeller's Standard Oil company to be in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act (broken up into separate companies)
Rule of reason - antitrust policy allowing the government to distinguish between "good" and "bad" companies that stifled competition
Supported the 16th amendment - which allowed Congress to establish a graduated national income tax - giving the national government a more reliable and flexible revenue source than the tariff
Roosevelt's successor to run for president in 1908 was William Howard Taft, a federal judge from Ohio and former governor of the Philippines. Taft defeated William Jennings Bryan in his third unsuccessful run for the presidency. Taft was Progressive in that he believed government should go beyond laissez-faire principles of the nineteenth century, and he pursued antitrust more aggressively than had Roosevelt. In 1911, he convinced the Supreme Court to declare John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act and ordered its breakup into separate companies. This case, along with a similar prosecution of the American Tobacco corporation, birthed a "rule of reason" in antitrust policy, allowing the government to distinguish between "good" companies and the "bad" companies that stifled competition. Taft also supported the Sixteenth Amendment, which allowed Congress to establish a graduated national income tax, thus giving the national government a more reliable and flexible revenue source than the tariff.

But Taft, despite his Progressive policies, tended to ally with the more conservative wing of the Republican Party, and a dispute in 1910 with reform-minded officials within his administration alienated Progressives. In 1912, when Roosevelt failed in challenging Taft for the Republican nomination, he launched a new and independent Progressive Party.

New Freedom and New Nationalism
New Freedom (Wilson) - involved strengthening antitrust, protecting workers rights to organize unions, and encouraging small business (hope - create conditions of real economic competition without increasing government regulation)
New Nationalism (Roosevelt) - Wilson's plan was outdated, as it ignored inevitable economic concentration
Accepted big business and the need for a strong government regulation to check its abuses
Proposed heavy personal and corporate taxes and federal regulations of industries
Platform adopted many other Progressive reforms (woman's suffrage, 8-hour working day, living wages, national system of social insurance, unemployment and old age)
Influenced by Louis D. Brandeis, Wilson argued that government had to be independent of big business and restore market competition without creating "big" government. His program, the New Freedom, involved strengthening antitrust, protecting workers rights to organize unions, and encouraging small business. Wilson thus hoped to create the conditions for real economic competition without increasing government regulation of the economy. To Roosevelt and his supporters, Wilson's program was outdated, as it focused on small business but ignored inevitable economic concentration and the interests of professionals, consumers, and labor. Roosevelt's program, the New Nationalism, accepted bigness and the need for strong government regulation to check its abuses. Roosevelt proposed heavy personal and corporate taxes and federal regulation of industries such as rail, mining, and oil. His Progressive Party adopted a platform with many other Progressive reforms, such as woman's suffrage, an eight-hour day and living wage for workers, and a national system of social insurance covering medical care, unemployment, and old age. This program contained much of the agenda that came to define liberalism in the twentieth century.

The Republican party divide (between Roosevelt and Taft) gave Wilson a resounding victory
Regularly dealt with Congress regarding legislation (delivering messages personally) and was the first president to hold press conferences
Because the Democrats controlled Congress - Wilson pushed to implement his particular Progressive vision
Underwood Tariff - reduced duties on imports but made up for them with a graduated income tax on the wealthy
Clayton Act of 1914 - exempted unions from antitrust laws and barred courts from issuing injunctions that limited worker's right to strike
Other laws outlawed child labor, limited work in railroads to 8 hours per day, and gave credit to farmers who their crops in government warehouses
The split in the Republican Party gave Wilson a resounding victory, although Roosevelt came in second, embarrassing Taft. Wilson became a strong president. He regularly dealt with Congress regarding legislation, and he was the first president to hold regular press conferences. He was the first president to deliver messages personally to Congress. With Democrats controlling Congress, Wilson pushed to implement his particular Progressive vision. He passed the Underwood Tariff, which reduced duties on imports but made up for them with a graduated income tax on the wealthy. The Clayton Act of 1914 exempted unions from antitrust laws and barred courts from issuing injunctions that limited workers' right to strike. Other laws outlawed child labor, limiting work in railroads to eight hours per day, and gave credit to farmers who stored their crops in government warehouses.

Some of Wilson's policies seemed more in line with Roosevelt's New Nationalism than his own New Freedom agenda of 1912, and he abandoned antitrust for more government economic regulation. Wilson pushed Congress to create the Federal Reserve System in 1913, which gave government-regulated banks the ability to issue currency, help failing banks, and influence interest rates. In 1914, Congress, at Wilson's urging, also created the Federal Trade Commission, tasked with investigating and prosecuting "unfair" business activity such as price-fixing and monopoly. By 1916, Progressive-era efforts had vastly increased the powers of the national state.The Expanding Role of Government
Many of Wilson's policies seemed more in line with Roosevelt's New Nationalism than his own New Freedom agenda of 1912
Abandoned antitrust for more government economic regulation
1913 - Pushed Congress to created the Federal Reserve System (right to issue currency, help failing banks, and influence interest rates)
1914 - Creation of the Federal Trade Commission (tasked with investigating and prosecuting "unfair" business activity such as price-fixing and monopoly)
1916 - Progressive era efforts had vastly increased the powers of the national state

How did government change during the Progressive Era?

How did the role of government change during the Progressive Era quizlet?

What progress was made during the Progressive Era?

How did progressivism change American beliefs about the federal government quizlet?