HST 102 1nd Edition Lecture 8 Outline of Last Lecture II Previously III Part 1 Urbanization IV Part 2 Industrialization a Taylorism b Fordism V Part 3 Immigration VI Part 4 A Progressive Response Outline of Current Lecture VII Seeds of the Progressive Era VIII Power of Progressiveness IX Part 1 The Sixteenth Amendment a Tax Season b Stuck in Neutral c The Amendment X Part 2 The Seventeenth Amendment a The Senate b Power to the People c The Amendment XI Part 3 The Eighteenth Amendment a Temperance b Temperance as a Woman s Issue c Activisim d Prohibition XII Part 4 The Nineteenth Amendment a The Local Phase b The National Woman s Party c Growing Momentum d Success XIII Part 5 Who and What made Progress a Progressive b Who were they c What does it mean These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Current Lecture Lecture 2 5 15 The Progressive Era by Amendment Seeds of a Progressive Era o Extensive and growing anxieties about major changes in American society o An overabundance of solutions o Leads to the Progressive Era 1890 1920 o Eagerness to pursue and enact change cutes across all levels of society and takes many different forms o Women as a growing force for reform o A more powerful federal government The power of Progressiveness o Reformers in the Progressive Era capitalize on social and political anxieties o Become increasingly successful at enacting reforms locally and nationally o Believe in the power of an informed electorate o Progressivism is soon widespread and powerful enough to change the Constitution several times Part 1 The Sixteenth Amendment o Tax season Nearly all federal revenue came from taxes on goods and trade Income tax only existed temporarily during the civil war But three factors increase a push for peacetime income taxes Some growth in the size of the federal government Deficits during economic panics like 1893 Gilded age disparities in wealth and income o Stuck in neutral Income tax bills are regularly proposed in congress during the 1870s Law taxing income over 4 000 year at 2 passes in 1894 Struck down by the Supreme Court in 1895 Pollock v Farmers Loan and Trust Taxation becomes a key Progressive cause and gains political support steadily after 1907 o The amendment Conservatives in Congress urge a Constitutional amendment assuming it will never pass But it gains widespread popular support and is ratified in 1913 Fewer than 500 000 people pay income taxes each year from 1913 until World War 1 During peacetime fewer than 3 of American s paid income taxes until the 1940s Part 2 the Seventeenth Amendment o The senate Senators are elected by state legislatures and not by popular vote Senate was initially seen as a balance of power and not as a representative body After the Civil War the Senate is viewed as corrupt and unaccountable to the people o Power to the People Progressives see the Senate as an obstacle to reform and urge direct election Several factors push a political consensus on the issue State preferential primaries Corruption and bribery scandals Gridlock in state legislatures o The Amendment A constitutional amendment for direct election proposed in 1911 Gains massive popular support ratified in 1913 A major shift in federal accountability and popular political power Part 3 the Eighteenth Amendment o Temperance Alcohol is a ubiquitous presence in American society Resurgence in the 1870s as a mass movement Remains strong but largely unsuccessful until the Progressive Era o Temperance as a Woman s Issue Women play a crucial role in the success of the Temperance movement Limitations on women s rights make alcoholism an especially troubling issue An appropriate sphere for women s involvement in politics and public society o Activism Framed as a key moral social and political cause Led by the middle class By 1915 eighteen states have banned alcohol Temperance grounds now seek a national solution Movement grows as World War 1 takes shape o Prohibition Prohibition amendment put forward in December 1917 Ratified just 13 months later Takes effect in 1920 A new experiment in altering private behavior and social mores by force of law From the state however enforcement is half hearted Part 4 the Nineteenth Amendment o The local phase Efforts to get a woman suffrage amendment after the Civil War Abandoned by 1890 in favor of local campaigns Led by the National American Woman Suffrage Association Succeed in getting some western states to embrace suffrage o The national woman s party In 1914 a new campaign for constitutional amendment A more vocal and confrontational group takes a leading role the National Woman s Party Begins picketing the White House Deemed unladylike by the NAWSA Gain public attention after their arrest and violent treatment in prison o Growing momentum 13 states have enfranchised women by 1918 President Woodrow Wilson endorsed Constitutional amendment that same year The Senate delays passage until the Summer of 1919 o Success A 14 month campaign for ratification In august 1920 Tennessee becomes the 36th state to ratify State legislature is split evenly Final vote comes from an anti suffrage freshman legislator who changes his vote at the last minute Women can vote in time for the 1920 election Part 5 who and What made Progress o Progressive Progressivism is a diverse set of ideas and agendas There is no master plan An attitude rather than a movement Some basic similarities Reform rather than radical change Gov t should have a role in bringing out progress Empowering an educated electorate Private groups as the engine of social advancement Empowering experts to improve efficiency and order o Who were the Progressives A majority of Americans saw themselves as Progressives during this era Cuts across political affiliations class lines and racial lines Encompasses a wide array of ideologies o What does it mean Progressivism is a widespread attitude Leads to dramatic social and political changes Expanding gov t role Expanding the electoral vote Augmented by WW1 The reform sentiment kindled in the early 20 th Century never really goes away