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Progressivism
The movement known as progressivism began in the late 1800's and lasted until the early 1900's. Reformers focused on the problems of urban life, such as poor sanitation, dangerous working conditions, and social issues within the middle class. People of all types in America participated in the Progressive Era, an era of great change for the U.S. -
Ida Tarbell
Ida Tarbell was born in Western Pennsylvania in 1857, the daughter of an indpendent oil producer. She enrolled at Allegeny College in 1876, the only female student in her class. She then had a successful career as a writer for the series, Mclure's, starting in 1902, and was labeled a muckraker for her criticisms of Standard Oil. -
Muckrakers
"Muckrakers" was the name given to journalists whose goal was to spread the reform message. The name was derived form a speech of Theodore Roosevelt's; so-called becasue they "raked up" the muck of society. Muckrakers highlighted corruption in politics, business, and social issues, in popular magazines such as McClure's Magazine. -
Muller v. Oregon & the "Brandeis Brief"
In this Supreme Court case, a business owner was unhappy with the new 10-hour workday law, so he challenged it. Reformers Florence Kelley and Josephine Goldmark, along with lawyer Louis Brandeis all worked together to defend the law. The "Brandeis Brief" was a compilation of research done by Brandeis that supported the 10-hour workday law, which convinced the Court to uphold the it, and became a model for many other social legislation cases. -
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
Workers of the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. of New York, were about to leave for the day on March 25, when a fire started in a rag bin on the eighth floor of the building. It spread quickly, and escape was impossible becasue the fire escaes were kept locked, since managers feared that employees might steal. In desperation, many workers jumped out the window, to fall to their death, some attempted to take the jammed elevator, and in the end, more than 140 workers had perished. -
Prohibition-18th Amendment
Progressives considered alchohol consumption to be immoral, and called for prohibition. The ASL and WCTU also supported prohibition. As a result, Congress was eventually persuaded to propose the 18th amendment- banning all sale, manufacture, and distribution of alchoholic beverages. It was unpopular and difficult to enforce, so the 18th amendment was repealed in 1933.
