Transcript Cundari Ch 29 PPT

Progressivism & the
Republican Roosevelt
1901-1912
Chapter 29
A.P. US History
I.
Progressivism: Theory & Practice
A. Progressive Roots - Pragmatism, &
Social Engineering (cont.)
• Progressivisms’ interventionist and theoretical basis was
rooted in (1) the Greenback Labor party of the 1870s,
• (2) the Populists of the 1890s, and, most importantly
• (3) a dynamic new ‘reform Darwinism’ that emphasized
‘pragmatism’, scientific management, experimentation, and
efficiency
• In the ‘Progressive Era’, a new group of sociologists argued
that evolution could be advanced if men and women used
their intellect to alter the environment – insisting that the
‘state’ should play a more active role in solving social
problems [a condemning view of ‘laissez-faire’ politics]
• Progressives were influenced primarily by the work of two
philosophers – William James and John Dewey
I.
Progressivism: Theory & Practice
B. The ‘Muckrakers’
• Among the era’s notable investigative journalistic works were (1)
Henry Demarest Lloyd’s ‘Wealth Against Commonwealth’, an
exposé of Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company, (2) Thorstein
Veblen’s ‘The Theory of the Leisure Class’, which attacked
‘conspicuous consumption’ and ‘predatory wealth’, (3) Ida
Tarbell’s investigative pieces on Standard Oil which appeared in
McClure’s Magazine, (4) Jacob Riis’s ‘How the Other Half Lives’,
an exposé on life in New York slums, (5) Lincoln Steffens’ ‘The
Shame of the Cities’, a series of articles on political corruption,
(6) David G. Phillips’ ‘The Treason of the Senate’, a series of
articles on U.S. Senate corruption, and (7) John Spargo’s ‘The
Bitter Cry of the Children, an exposé on the abuses of child
labor
I.
Progressivism: Theory & Practice
C. Cities, Women, & ‘Social Purity’ (cont.)
• Ministers in the ‘social purity’ movement allied with doctors
and women reformers to end prostitution by (1) closing
down red-light districts in U.S. cities, (2) winning passage in
1910 of the ‘Mann Act’ making it illegal to transport
women across state lines for ‘immoral purposes’, and (3)
control venereal disease by securing passage of state
legislation requiring a syphilis blood test before marriage
• Joining the reformers were the ‘Woman’s Christian
Temperance Union’, the ‘Anti-Saloon League’ and other
anti-liquor organizations pushing their attacks against
alcohol
I.
Progressivism: Theory & Practice
D. Working-class Women (cont.)
• In 1908, the principle of protective legislation won a major
victory when the U.S. Supreme Court in ‘Muller v. Oregon’
upheld an Oregon law that limited the hours women could
work to ten a day
• In ‘Muller v. Oregon’, attorney Louis Brandeis presented a
legal brief [on behalf of Florence Kelley of the ‘National
Consumers’ League’ and Josephine Goldmark of the
‘WTUL’] delivering sociological evidence of the ill effects
of long work hours on women
• The ‘Court’s’ ruling in set a precedent that separated the
well-being of women workers from that of men – arguing
that women’s reproductive role justified special treatment
I.
Progressivism: Theory & Practice
E. Political Progressivism
• Progressives, frustrated by the reluctance of private
industry to respond to the need for reforms, turned
increasingly to government at the federal, state, and local
levels to solve society’s problems
• By 1901, progressive reform efforts could be seen at every
level of government - the politicians who became premier
progressives were generally the followers, not the leaders,
of a movement already well advanced at the grassroots level
• Among the premier politicians of the progressive era were
Mayor Tom Johnson of Cleveland, Ohio, Governor Hiram
Johnson of California, Governor Robert La Follette of
Wisconsin, President Theodore Roosevelt, President
William Howard Taft, and President Woodrow Wilson
I.
Progressivism: Theory & Practice
E. Political Progressivism (cont.)
• Wisconsin’s Governor
Robert La Follette
launched the grassroots
movement for reform –
first as Governor [19011905] and as a U.S. Senator
[1906-1925]
• He recruited professors
and scientists from the
University of Wisconsin,
to serve in his
administration
II.
Progressivism Finds a President
A. T.R. & the ‘Square Deal’ (cont.)
• In the ‘Election of 1904’ Roosevelt ran against Democratic
opponent Alton B. Parker and Socialist candidate Eugene V.
Debs – winning 336 electoral votes and 57.9 percent of the
popular vote (the largest popular majority any candidate had
polled to that time)
• Roosevelt’s campaign slogan promised a ‘Square Deal’ for
capital, labor, and the public at large by calling for (1) consumer
protection, (2) control of corporations, and (3) conservation of
natural resources
• Roosevelt’s stunning election victory gave him a mandate from
the people for reform – a difficult task considering the U.S.
Senate was controlled by Republican ‘Old Guard’ conservatives,
many of whom were on the payrolls of corporations
II.
Progressivism Finds a President
A. T.R. & the ‘Square Deal’ (cont.)
• Muckraking journalism, a
term Roosevelt coined, had
been of enormous help in
securing ‘progressive’
legislation – Upton
Sinclair’s novel ‘The Jungle’
(1906), proved particularly
useful in winning passage
of (1) the ‘Pure Food and
Drug Act’ of 1906 and (2)
the ‘Meat Inspection Act’
of 1906
II.
Progressivism Finds a President
A. T.R. & the ‘Square Deal’ (cont.)
 Toward the end of his presidency, TR moved further
to the political left, allying
with the more ‘progressive’
wing of the ‘Republican
Party’
 In late 1907, he was confronted by an economic
panic – business blamed it
on his trust-busting and
regulatory activism, hence
the ‘Roosevelt Panic’
III.
Roosevelt & the ‘Conservation’ Crusade
A. Earth Control (cont.)
 In 1891, Congress passed
‘Forest Reserve Act’ giving
presidents the power to
‘reserve’ forest land from
commercial development
by executive order
 TR used his powers
liberally under that law–
setting aside nearly 150
million acres for national
parks and wildlife preserves
IV.
The Troubled Presidency of Taft
A. Republican Party Strife
• Still popular in 1908, TR
could easily have won a
second term – but, bound by
the promise made in 1904, he
retired from the presidency
• TR endorsed to William
Howard Taft - a man who
had served ably as head of
the ‘Philippine Commission’
following the 1898 War and
as Sec. of War in Roosevelt’s
administration
IV.
The Troubled Presidency of Taft
A. Republican Party Strife (cont.)
• In the ‘Election of 1908’ Taft defeated William Jennings
Bryan, his Democratic opponent [321electoral votes to 162;
7,265,320 popular votes to Bryan’s 6,412,294]
• Roosevelt believed that President Taft would continue his
policies – a task that Taft was ill suited to carry out
• Roosevelt had led the Republican Party’s conflicting
elements [progressives, moderates, and ‘Old Guard’
conservatives] by sheer force of personality and public
popularity – Taft, with none of Roosevelt’s charisma and
zeal for political fights, soon fell under the control of the
Republican ‘Old Guard’
IV.
The Troubled Presidency of Taft
A. Republican Party Strife (cont.)
• Taft rejected TR’s ‘Big Stick’ – substituting “dollars for
bullets” in a policy critics called ‘dollar diplomacy’ –
championing American business interests over TR’s power
politics and strategic aims
• Taft’s ‘dollar diplomacy’ encouraged U.S. businesses and
Wall Street bankers to invest surplus dollars in areas of
strategic importance – particularly in the Far East and in
regions critical to the security of the Panama Canal
• Taft’s foreign policy provoked anti-American feelings in
Latin America by attempting to force commercial treaties
on Nicaragua, Haiti, and Honduras – an approach aimed at
keeping foreign investment out and to prevent economic
and political instability
IV.
The Troubled Presidency of Taft
A. Republican Party Strife (cont.)
• Taft, who first refused to back up his aggressive commercial
with military might, was ultimately forced to send U.S.
Marines into countries in Latin America and the Caribbean
to protect American investment
• In 1911, Taft was forced to recognize the limits of ‘dollar
diplomacy’ when revolution broke out in Mexico – U.S.
investments there amounted to more than $4 billion
• In June 1910, TR returned to New York from his trip to
Africa and Europe – receiving a virtual hero’s welcome and
calls from Republican progressives to challenge Taft for the
1912 Republican nomination