Final Essay (The Progressive Era) PDF

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An essay on many different instances of social change during the 1890s-1920s including imagration and racial acheivements....

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The Battle For Social Justice During The Progressive Era

Progress is an unstoppable train on the tracks of time, there will always be people in the world that want to move the world forward in someway or another. The idea of progressivism did not get a name in the United States until the mid-1890s, when many different “progressives”

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started to reform many different things in the United States. Dr. Francis J sicius consolidates this topic in his book The Progressive Era when he says “In broadest terms, it marks the collective response to the newly emerging industrial world, which presented challenges to every aspect of traditional american life including attitudes toward the natural environment, gender roles, class discrimination, and race relations.”1 Among these new challenges were things such as workers rights, African American equality, and gender equality. These three topics specifically will be selected for broader examination within this paper, this examination of these topics will look into the trifles endured by the people of the early 20th century and some of the solutions that came out of the social reform movement. One of the largest social issues that progressive reformers fought against during the late 19th century and the early 20th century was workers’ rights. The rapid expansion of industry between 1860 to 1900 brought about factories creating a new class of industrialized worker 2. Conditions of the workers in these factories across the United States were virtually inhuman. This caused an increase in the amount of strikes and riots about social justice reforms. In many factories workers were paid by the day which was considered to be 12 hours long, from 5am to 5pm. This long work day led to walkouts and strikes. One early case of this happening was in 1886 at the McCormick Plant in Chicago, when the workers walked off the job in demand that the day should be decreased to 8 hours instead of 12. Unfortunately this did not stop the factory owner who just hired new workers in their place. In response on May 3,1886, the factory workers attacked the replacement workers - known as strikebreakers - that had been hired. A riot ensued and the police were called to intervene. One factory worker died and several were wounded. August Spies, a known anarchist leader in Chicago at the time witnessed what 1 Francis J. Sicius, The Progressive Era: a reference guide (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2015), Preface 2 Ibid. 13

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had happened and published it in his weekly paper, The Arbeiter Zeitgung 3. The events that Spies witnessed at the McCormick Plant compelled him to instigate a rally at Haymarket Square the following evening. Nearly 1,400 workers showed up. The rally was once again broken up by police who began to shoot into the crowd at which point the crowd responded in kind with their own shots. Seven police died in the fight, this fueled the anti anarchist movement that used the deaths as leverage to convince the public to turn against the workers. This is only one example of the worker unrest during The Progressive Era. An entirely different battle for worker justice was taking place in the coalfields of Pennsylvania with The Molly Maguires. The Molly Maguires were a group of irish immigrants that fought against the unfairness of a mining company that employed most of the workers in the Pennsylvania towns from 1861 to 1875. They used violence against bosses and bombs to sabotage the mines to prevent any work from being done. Their methods were slightly more unorthodox than those of the Chicago factory workers because they did not rely on riots but relied more on keen deception and violence. Although the impact of The Molly Maguires was effective in the short term, it was stopped when a detective of the Pinkerton Detective Agency infiltrated and betrayed the group. On June 21, 1877 ten of the Molly Maguires were executed causing an end to the mayhem. As tragic as this was it was still just the beginning of the struggle for social justice in the United States. The irish were not the main minority in america during the progressive era though, African Americans were fighting a separate battle for social justice. After the Civil War had ended in the United States, Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment ending slavery everywhere. African-Americans in the South rejoiced because they would finally be free American citizens. The Civil Rights Act in 1866 finally granted former slaves birthright citizenship. Then in 1870 the Fifteenth Amendment passed granting the right to 3 Ibid 16

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vote for male African-American citizens. Although African-Americans now had the right to vote that did not mean that they always could, in most southern states white males terrorized the African-American community in an attempt to convince them not to vote. Radical changes in the southern United States had triggered anger among the white citizens and plantation owners who were being told to change the way they had been taught to think and act for over 100 years.These new laws to protect the rights of blacks instigated a new wave of white supremacy in the south and soon spread to the governmental level. In an effort to counteract the newly elected southern Democratic House of Representatives, the Republican Senate passed the strongest Civil Rights bill the country would see for a century. The bill mandated the open access all public facilities for African-Americans 4. This was counteracted by the Supreme Court ruling that it was the choice of the individuals who own the establishments to allow access to African-American or not. The acts set in place by the United States government attempted to build a more just society for all races of people but they could not force people to change the way that they thought and acted towards others. Racially motivated acts of violence such as lynching.. From 1889 to 1918 nearly 2,400 African-Americans were hung and burned at the stake5. Progressives in the South who were thought to be more sympathetic to the African American race actually accepted the segregation that was taking place in the 1890s. Not all African Americans were as bad off as the former slaves that lived in the South. There were those like Jack Johnson who was the boxing heavyweight champion of the world who flaunted his wealth and fortune. This idea of a well off african american man was shown in the 1981 film Ragtime which takes place in the early 20th century, it features a character named Coalhouse Walker Jr. who is an African-

4 Ibid 77 5 Ibid 81

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American pianist,who is fed up with the arrogance of the white man. After his car is defiled by white men he tried to get the justice he deserves but he fails as his plea for justice is ignored. This act of being looked past was a recurring theme among african americans during this time. W. E. B. Du Bois, author and Civil Rights activist, advocated with Booker T. Washington an american educator, author, and orator.6 Among African Americans they acted as a voice for the fight against racism. From civil rights advocacy to the National Association in the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. While African-Americans were fighting for their safety and rights, women were fighting for their own voices to be heard. Women during the Progressive Era played a different, yet prominent, role in the climate of social justice. For example, in the movie Ragtime there is a character who is the wife of a wealthy businessman who lives a fairly good life or so it may seem, but throughout the movie you see a sense of distress among the woman whenever she wants to do something she needs to get the approval of her husband first. Working class women had it just as tough as working class men if not worse.

Their hours were long and the conditions where they worked were very poor. So justly working class women started to get in on the workers reform movement in 1897 in the forming of “The Working Girls Club” which by 1900 had grown to the point in which they established a National League Of Women Workers7. By the beginning of the 20th century 5.3 million women were working in factories under less than ideal conditions. Take into consideration the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire that happened in New York in 1911. An industrial disaster in which 146 garment workers were killed, 123 of them being women. The reason so many people died in this 6 Ibid 89 7 Ibid 59

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disaster was because the owners had locked all the door to the stairwells and exit to prevent the workers from taking breaks. This just shows the amount of respect that the owners had for the workers. Strangely enough this fire came after one of the first large scale strikes in 1909, known as the uprising of 20,000,” which began as a spontaneous walkout of the Triangle Shirtwaist company Factory8. The social justice served by the women of the progressive era was just as prominent as any other oppressed class. The achievements of the the progressives during the late 19th and early 20th centuries was undoubtedly substantial. Many of the social justice reforms that highlighted progress throughout the 20th century was started during the Progressive era. This era brought about reforms among factory workers and coal miners, who advocated for better working conditions and shorter hours. This era brought about substantial reforms of African-American civil rights and the advocacy of the first African american leaders. This era also brought about social as well as political and civil reforms for women, in politics, at home, and in the work force. These social justice movements taken by people throughout The Progressive Era are undoubtedly considered to be some of the greatest battles for social reform ever.

8 Ibid 60

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Bibliography

Sicius, Francis J. The Progressive Era: a reference guide. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2015.

"Booker T. Washington." Wikipedia. February 22, 2017. Accessed February 22, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_T._Washington.

"Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire." Wikipedia. February 20, 2017. Accessed February 22, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire.

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"WIC - Women's History in America." WIC - Women's History in America. Accessed February 22, 2017. http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm.

St. Thomas University Miami Gardens, FL

Women, Literature & Africans Americans during the Progressive Era

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The Progressive Era was truly a period of political reforms, and social activism spreading thirty years, from 1890 to the cusp of the roaring twenties. The primary objective of this movement was the elimination of social difficulties arising from “industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and corruption in government.” This movement truly gained impetus as a collective group of reformers attempted to regulate the national political agenda. This era of great progression was one of the first instances in which women began to have a significant contribution within the American society and were acknowledged. As stated that “many women rebelled against the cold, sexless, and statistic-driven world men had created.”9 The Progressive Era was also a time of extreme racial tensions and antagonism, as Reconstruction came to an end in 1877 the years to follow are considered the nadir of black history as a steady decline in the living conditions of the African American race arose. This time period also witnesses a great deal of literacy within America, it is estimated that by the commencement of the twentieth century nearly “95 percent of Americans could read.”10 9 Sicius, Francis J. The Progressive Era: a reference guide. (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2015.) 57. 10 Ibid, 95.

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The new century was seen by many as being fragmented, and there was a consensus that “feminine wisdom would bring a new vision of unity to the rapidly fragmenting new century.”11 During this time period it was understood that throughout the nineteenth century the traditional way of life in which the woman had reigned the household slowly eroded. This was due to infatuations with advancements by man such as “factories, cities, rapid transportation and faith in material progress.”12 In this era of progression such politicians as Henry Adams stated that “men might remain confused as to the direction of the new century but he was confident that women would embrace the challenges and exert a great influence on the history of the next hundred years.”13 He annotated that the same force which “dislocated the home from the center of the moral universe”, also freed and allowed women to “pursue domestic harmony in the public sphere.” This century truly witnesses a rise in the voice of women within the political arena, as at the turn of the century “The General Federation of Women’s Clubs”, which was conceived in 1890, with half a million members rose to have over a million members by 1905. Apart from these clubs other organizations which promoted a sense of egalitarianism amongst the sexes also grew to great numbers simultaneously in this century, with a great deal of women focusing on reforms in the new century. These femininely dominated groups “added a domestic dimension to formerly male-dominated reform movements. As one historian pointed out women brought the benefits of motherhood to the public sphere.”14 Throughout this era the contributions which women made towards society was unparalleled as they embarked and successfully created “libraries, trade schools for girls, university extension courses... introduced home economics 11 Ibid, 57. 12 Ibid, 57. 13 Ibid, 57. 14 Ibid, 58.

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courses and elected women to school boards.”15 This time truly saw the emergence of not only the middle and upper-class women, but also working-class women. These women established organizations such as “Working Girls Club.” Which spread the principles of “cooperation, self-government, and self-reliance.”16 Unlike other women, these working class feminist made strides to improve basic and traditional female skills which it was believed all women should have such as; cooking, sewing, typewriting and also bookkeeping. This century differs largely from the past as women begin to demonstrate a sense of independence. This assertion is made from the realization that women no longer felt compelled or forced to marry due to a sense of dependency. In the year 1880 it has been calculated that there was separation of marriage for every twenty one marriages, in 1909 numbers soared to one in ten. By the twentieth century it is believed that a vast number of women questioned the institution of marriage. Following the Civil War marriage was understood as a sense of security for women, however, in the progressive age women were seen as being the driving force behind the increase in divorces. Unfortunately the African American community was not as welcomed in society and were neglected many opportunities for advancement. This is seen in the opening chapter as W. E. B. Du Bois articulates a story of an African American by the name of John. This individual was fortunate enough to be educated in the North, but upon his arrival home he attempts to spread this knowledge with his fellow brothers only to be halted as if committing a crime by attempting to educate the black community. Du Bois speaks of the conditions and the soul of black folks,

15 Ibid, 58. 16 Ibid, 59.

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articulating that the soul continues to persevere even after centuries of oppression. He states: “we refuse to allow the impression to remain that the Negro-American assents to inferiority, is submissive under oppression and apologetic before insults… the voice of protest of ten million Americans must never cease to assail the ears of their fellows, so long as America is unjust.”17 This history of perpetual dominance and oppression is more relevant at the turn of the nineteenth century as ninety percent of black Americans lived in conditions similar to that of John from the story by Du Bois. Upon the ending of the Civil War a great deal of optimism was expressed for the future progression of the black population. This optimistic sentiment is witnessed in legislation with the passing of the Thirteen Amendment which ended the institution of chattel slavery. Apart from this amendment there was also the passing of the Civil Rights Act, which granted citizenship to all former slaves as a birthright. The Fourteenth Amendment then passed in 1868 which protected these former slaves and all American citizens with protection and the guarantee that one’s freedom shall not be interfered with, without due process. In 1870 the Fifteenth Amendment gave former male slaves the right to vote. And in the years to follow in 1875 Congress passed the Civil Rights Bill which, “guaranteed African Americans equal treatment in public accommodations, public transportation and prohibited exclusion from jury service.”18 Even with such legislation and rhetoric it was sadly not enough to undo 200 years of injustice. And within only a generation following the Civil War, the white power structure which dominated the South in the past once again asserted dominance.19 As time passed a new form of slavery took form known to this day as “share cropping.”

17 Ibid, 73. 18 Ibid, 74. 19 Ibid, 75.

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Share cropping was a form of servitude where former slaves who had no source of income continued to work on plantations only now these former slaves were working for a form of compensation. Slaves would remain on the plantations and “work the fields in exchange for a share in the profits after harvesting the crops.”20 However, things were not as they seemed, for these former slaves would end up having deductions once the crops were harvested. Such deductions as rent for living on the plantation and the food provided by the landowner. Thus at the time of harvest a sharecropper might be in a predicament in which he is in debt to the landowner, and would be left without a choice, but to continue working the land in the hope of paying this oddly acquired debt off. For those who repudiated this new sly version of slavery found themselves in bondage as new vagrancy laws were passed. As time passed these conditions grew worse until new laws were placed in effect which legally segregated the blacks from the white community. There was a misconception that due to differing customs and traditions both whites and blacks would be more comfortable apart from each other. Thus arises the “misconceived concept of separate but equal.”21 These new laws separating groups of people solely because of race remained in place for the next 60 years. It was rather obvious that these laws regarding segregation were not placed in effect to keep whites away from blacks, but in actuality these laws were created to retain blacks from entering “superior white facilities.”22 According to statistics the twentieth century saw a boom in education as ninety-five percent of American citizens had the capability to read. It is believed that at least half of the poor black farmers in the south even knew, or were capable to read. It is stated in this work that

20 Ibid, 75. 21 Ibid, 80. 22 Ibid, 81.

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“every literate person took some time to read the newspaper,” and aside from reading the paper, one of the more and possibly the most “common form of literature was the magazine.”23 There were different magazines for the different classes, the magazines for the rich were called glossy magazines which were usually about the finer things and had a pages that almost shine. It is in this era that there is the emergence of certain classical pieces of literature which gain publication through magazines. In 1894 the first printing of The Jungle Book is produced, following we have a children’s classic the Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900, and the work of William Rice Burrough’s, Tarzan is later produced in 1912. This era was one of great change and progression. Although...