Unit 7 - Period Review (Part B)
Part B - Progressive Reforms and the 1920s
By 1900, America was a troubled nation. The urbanization and industrialization of the late nineteenth century damaged the country’s social, economic, and political systems. Business competition all but vanished, governments served only the needs of the wealthy, and millions of people lived in economic deprivation. To combat these problems, progressive reformers stepped forward to change America. Growing out of the Populist Party’s platform, the Mugwump revolt, and the Social Gospel movement, these middle-class reformers tried to restore equality and fairness to American society. Although made up primarily of politicians, progressives also included social workers such as Jane Addams and writers such as Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, and Upton Sinclair. These “muckrakers” exposed the injustices of society in order to bring solutions to a wide range of abuses.
Progressive Reformers
Early progressive reform occurred at the municipal and state level. Mayors such as Tom Johnson and Samuel “Golden Rule” Jones began to clean up their cities and make government more responsive to the people. On the state level, Hiram Johnson and Robert La Follette instituted direct primaries, initiative, and referendum in their states. As Wisconsin governor, La Follette developed a regulatory plan for railroads and utilities that was a model for the nation.
In Washington, Republican Theodore Roosevelt and Democrat Woodrow Wilson led a bipartisan drive to reform the nation. Operating around the 4 Cs of change: control of corporations, conservation of natural resources, citizen protection, and cleaning up government, these presidents harnessed the power of the federal government to correct problems. They created the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Department of Commerce and Labor, and encouraged Congress to expand the national parks, to pass the Pure Food and Drug Act, and to enact national child labor laws. Overall, the reforms were rather modest, yet the progressives took the first steps to ending the laissez-faire philosophy of government and to promoting social justice.
New Freedom vs. New Nationalism
In 1912, Wilson and Roosevelt offered competing visions of progressivism. Wilson espoused “New Freedom” as he rhetorically opposed big business and pledged to dismantle abusive trusts. Roosevelt, in contrast, proposed his “New Nationalism,” which called on the nation to regulate large corporations but accept their existence as part of modern life. In the election, the people chose between these progressive philosophies and President William Howard Taft’s program of steady, limited government action. With Taft and Roosevelt dividing the Republican vote, Wilson was elected to the White House despite polling only 42 percent of the popular vote.
The first shots of World War I all but extinguished progressive reforms. As the nation confronted outrages on the seas and the military preparedness campaign drained resources, the reform fervor faded. When America entered the war in 1917, the nation mobilized for war and much of the unfinished progressive agenda languished until the New Deal of the 1930s.
Urban vs. Rural Values
When World War I ended, Americans were jolted with changes and challenges. By the 1920s, for the first time in history, over 50 percent of the population lived in cities. From the rural point of view, these urban areas were corrupt, sinful, and unhealthy. In addition, progressive reforms and wartime agencies had spawned new bureaucracies, and despite progressive attempts at regulation, trusts continued to dominate economic life.
The decade became a battleground between those who accepted change and those who longed for the days of the nineteenth century. Prohibition, the Scopes Trial, and the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan were skirmishes in this struggle over the direction of American life. The Eighteenth Amendment attempted to restrict the supply of liquor and prevent cities, with their large immigrant populations, from gaining dominance in society. Similarly, the Scopes Trial in 1925 pitted the rural fundamentalists against urban modernists for control over school curriculum. And the emergence of the Ku Klux Klan was, in part, a response by white, rural Protestants to the rising tide of immigrants, modern women, and the “New Negro.”
The Women’s Movement
Few groups experienced more changes in the 1920s than women. The efforts of Carrie Chapman Catt, Alice Paul, and other reformers finally convinced the nation to approve the Nineteenth Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. In addition, the number of working women increased over 25 percent during the decade. While most employment was in the traditional areas of teaching and secretarial/retail services, this new economic independence propelled some women to challenge conventional sexual and social roles.
The “New Negro”
Throughout the years 1900–1929, African Americans confronted the Jim Crow system of racial discrimination. Many blacks looked to Booker T. Washington and his “don’t-rock-the-boat” approach to race relations as a means of coping with the injustices. On the other hand, W. E. B. DuBois, Washington’s chief rival, called on African Americans, especially “the talented tenth,” to agitate for political, social, and economic equality.
World War I and the Great Migration promoted a new attitude among blacks. Four hundred thousand black men served in the war and came home with raised expectations for equality. However, racial clashes during the “Red Summer” of 1919 dashed hopes for better understanding between the races. The migration of southern blacks into northern cities continued after the war. For example, from 1920 to 1930, the black population of New York City doubled, and brought cultural changes as well. In Harlem, writers such as Langston Hughes and Claude McKay wrote about life under Jim Crow. This Harlem Renaissance also featured jazz clubs and theaters that headlined top black entertainers.
When Booker T. Washington died in 1915, DuBois and his allies were unable to fill the leadership void. A new leader, Marcus Garvey, emerged and gained support among urban blacks. Although he was arrested in 1923 and deported in 1927, Garvey’s message of racial self-sufficiency, black pride, and pan-Africanism resonated among many black Americans throughout much of decade.
The Red Scare and Normalcy
In the 1920s, America rejected European immigration. Embracing past biases and fearful of Communism, Congress reduced the number of immigrants from 800,000 per year in 1920 to 150,000 by 1929. In addition, A. Mitchell Palmer convinced the country that a Bolshevik revolution was imminent and led a series of raids against suspected radicals before the Red Scare ran its course in the spring of 1920. The hysteria lingered, however, and set the stage for the injustice of the Sacco and Vanzetti case.
Republicans returned to political dominance in the 1920s with presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge promising to return to “normalcy.” Reducing taxes and government regulations, the Republicans tried to emulate the policies of William McKinley. Although scandals during Harding’s terms slowed policy direction, Coolidge restored faith in the White House and established the most pro-business administration since the time of Alexander Hamilton.