PROGRESSIVE LEGISLATION CHAPTER 19 SECTION 2

Authors were often well known reformers Henry George and Edward Bellamy. George felt that the continued increase in poverty was related to the growth of land speculation, which kept lands unimproved hoping the value of land could go up. The unused lands could have been used to produce crops or new jobs. Bellamy wrote a book about a man who is hypnotized in 1887 and he wakes up in 2000. He is surprised that the government controlled the big companies.

This is a group of individuals that stirred up public awareness of the wrongs of society: politically and economically Many of the muckrakers included accomplished writers such as: Ida Tarbell, Upton Sinclair, Lincoln Stephens, and Jacob Riis.

Reading these authors and others, people belonging to other reform groups began pushing for more reforms. Since all of these groups were looking forward to progress in America, this time period was known as the "Progressive Era".

City Halls were controlled by political machines and reformers like Seth Low tried to fight city hall. He lost his first bid for office but won his second attempt. Reforms that both city officials and these reformers made included: registering voters, improved city services, public health services, and influenced tenement codes. Reformers regulated or broke up the local monopolies of city utilities. Cities began making up city sponsored social programs. Public baths, parks, and work relief efforts were a few of these changes.

ROOSEVELT’S SQUARE DEAL A strike by the united mine workers to protest their low wages and with winter coming on Roosevelt called for the strike to end by giving 10% raise and cutting their hours from 10 to 9. The company did not recognize the union so every one was happy they called it a square deal (everyone was happy with the deal, both sides got something they wanted). After this Teddy Roosevelt tried to and did accomplish other federal reforms.

Progressive Era Legislation
Date	Legislation	Purpose
1890	Sherman Antitrust Act	Outlawed monopolies and practices that result in restraint of trade, such as price fixing.
1902	National Reclamation Act	Created to plan and develop irrigation projects.
1905	United States Forest Service	Created to manage the nation's water and timber resources.
1906	Hepburn Act	Required railroads to to obtain permission from the Interstate Commerce Commission before raising rates.
1906	Pure Food and Drug Act	Outlawed interstate transportation of impure or diluted foods and the deliberate mislabeling of foods an drugs.
1906	Meat Inspection Act	Required federal inspection of meat processing to ensure sanitary conditions.
1913	Department of Labor	Cabinet department created to protect and promote the welfare and employment of working people. Began with four existing bureaus, including eh Children's Bureau.
1913	16th Amendment	Gave Congress the power to levy an income tax
1913	17th Amendment	Provided for the direct election of senators.
1916	National Park Service	Created to take over the administration of the nation's parks.
1919	18th Amendment	Prohibited the manufacture and sale of liquor. (Repealed in 1933)
1920	Women's Bureau	Created within the Department of Labor to promote the status of working women.

Progressive Presidents: Taft as president promised to carry on the progressive reforms that Roosevelt had started. However, he gave into those who resisted the reform movements. True reformers called for lower tariffs and but Taft was romanced by business and he refused to push for lower tariffs. Going against Roosevelt's environmental ideals, Taft allowed his Secretary of the Interior, Ballinger to sale land to group of business men. However, Pinchot head of forest service blocked the sale, Ballinger fired him. This made many progressives mad at Taft. Election of 1910 Roosevelt called for more federal control of business, welfare legislation, and progressive reforms. Roosevelt favored stronger workplace protection for women and children, income and inheritance taxes, direct primaries, and the imitative, referendum, and recall. This was known as the New Nationalism, the program he wanted to establish in the united states. Being upset with President Taft's actions as president, Theodore Roosevelt created the bull moose party during the election of 1912, splitting the Republican Party.

Presidential Election of 1912
Candidates and Party	Popular Vote	Percent of Votes	Electoral Votes
Woodrow Wilson / Democrat	6,296,547	41.8%	435
Theodore Roosevelt / Progressive	4,118,571	27.4	88
William H Taft / Republican	3,486,720	23.2	8
Eugene V Debs / Socialist	900,672	6.0%	--
Eugene Chafin / Prohibition	206,275	1.4%	--
Arthur E Reimer / Socialist Labor	28,750	0.8%	--

Wilson criticized big business and big government. To strengthen the Sherman Antitrust Act, Congress passed the Clayton Antitrust Act which prevented companies from creating contracts to prevent buyers from buying from their competitors. The act also made strikes, peaceful pickets, and boycotts legal. Wilson also changed the Supreme Court by appointing Louis D. Brandeis, the first Jewish Supreme Court nominee.

Although Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson were good Presidents and somewhat progressive African Americans were left out of the reforms that were done during this era.

Women Suffrage is one reform that took awhile to pass through the progressive reform groups. But it passed in 1920.