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Reforming the Workplace
In 1900 the avarage laborer worked nearly 10 hours a day and six days a week. Unfortunately they only made about $1.50 a day. Women and children earned even less. -
History of the Standard Oil Company
"History of the Standard Oil Company" was published in 1902 by McClure's Magazine. "History of the Standard Oil Company" was written by Ida Tarbell. Ida was deeply angered when John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company began swallowing up independent oil companies. -
Florence Kelley
Progressives campaigned for laws to force factories to limit the hours employers demanded. In 1903 Florence Kelley helped lobby the Oregon leglislature to pass a law. The law limited female laundry workers to ten-hour days. -
Industrial Workers of the World
While gompers and the AFL unions negotiated with business owners for worker gains, a new union with a different agenda emerged. Founded in Chicago in 1905, the Industrial Workers of the World opposed capitalism. Feferring to the Continental Congress that had declared U.S. independence, IWW leader William "Big Bill" Haywood made claims for the working class. -
City Planning
The city-planning movement grew out of progressive's belief that cleaner cities would produce better citizens. The First National Conference on City Planning was held in 1909. Its participants hoped that wise planning could halt the spread of slums and beautify cities. Daniel Burnham created a plan to redesign Chicago. -
Amercian Industrial Laborers
In 1910 some 70 percent of all American industrial laborers worked an average of 54 hours a week. As a result, American workers had higher accident rates than workers in other industrial countries. In one Pittsburgh steel mill 25 percent of its workforce was injured or killed on the job each year between 1907 and 1910. -
Employment Rising
Progressive reformers also fought for higher wages. Some 30 million men and 7.5 million women were employed in 1910. About one third of them lived in poverty. -
Tweed Days in St. Louis
"Tweed Days in St. Louis" was published in 1910 by McClure's Magazine. "Tweed Days in St. Louis" was written by journalists, Lincoln Steffens and Claude Wetmore. This article marked the real beginning of "muckraking". The article exposed the corrupt political machine in St. Louis, comparing it to Boss Tweed's control of New York City. -
American Indians Organize
In 1911 a group of 50 Americans, most of them middle-class professionals, formed the Society of American Indians. Members discussed ways to improve civil rights, education, health, and a local government. The society publicized the accomplishments of American Indians such as Olympic gold medalist Jim Thorpe. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
A tragic event in 1911 highlighted the need for such reforms. On Saturday, March 25, some 500 employees - most of them young Jewish or Italiam immigrant women - were completing their six-day workweek at New York City's Triangle Shirtwaist Company. As they rose form their crowded tables and started to leave, a fire erupted in a rag bin.