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Timespan
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Robert LaFollette
In 1900, LaFollette was elected governor, he vigorously backed a reform movement soon known as the Winsconsin Idea- that became a model for other states. He increased taxes on railraods and the public utilities, and created commissions to regulate these companies in the publis intrest. -
ILGWU
An AFL union that tried to assist unskilled workers, established in 1900. It sought to unionize workers- mainly Jewish and Italian immigrant women- employed in sewing shops like the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. -
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Teddy Roosevelt
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Jane Addams
Janes Addams started the settlement-house movement in order to provide college eductaed women like herself an opportunity to "learn of life from life itself." Her settlement house grew and became a great example of social reforms in child labor, health care, urban renewal, and public education. -
McClure's Magazine
McClure's ran the first installment of Ida Tarbell's "History of the Standard Oil Company". When Tarbell's father went bankrupt and his partner committed suicide, 15 year old Tarbell blamed Rockefeller. -
Elkins Act
The Elkins Act forbade shippers from accepting money, secretly given back to shippers in return for their business. -
National Child Labor Committee formed
Florence Kelley was a women fighting to prohibit child labor and to limit the number of working hours for women. The National Labor Committtee worked to persuade state legislatures to pass laws against employing young children. By 1912 The National Labor Committee had helped 39 states pass child labor laws. Many employers, however, refused to obey the laws, claiming that their success depended on the cheap labor of the children. -
The Square Deal
Roosevelt promised to "see to it that every man has a square deal, no less and no more." His pledge showed that Roosevelt believed in balancing the interests of labor, business, and consumers. Roosevelt's Square Deal called for limiting the power of trusts, prmoting public health and safety, and improving working conditions. -
The Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World opposed capitalism. Bill Haywood, its leader, vowed to organize migrant farm workers, miners, lumber workers, and textile workers to overthrow the capitalist system. The IWW consisted of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans. They pursued their goals through strikes, boycotts, and industrial sabotage. It took two months of strike, but when it was over, the mill owners gave in to their demands. -
Lochner v. New York
n Lochner v. New York, the Court overturned the New York law limiting bakers' workdays to 10 hours, declaring that the law robbed workers of their "liberty of contract". -
Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle"
Author of "The Jungle", a novel about the meat-packing industry in Chicago. The images that Sinclair formed in his novel, made some readers phsically sick. In response to "The Jungle", Americans demanded federal laws prohibiting unhealthful conditions in food-processing industries. -
Hepburn Act
The Hepburn Act authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to set railroad rates and to regulate other companies engaged in interstate commerce, such as pipelines and ferries. This, along with the Elkins Act turned the ICC into a significant regulatory agency. -
Consumer Protection Laws
There was the Meat Inspection Act, which required government inspection of meat shipped from one state to another. And then the Pure Food and Drug Act, which forbade manufacture, sale, or transportation of food and patent medicine containing harmful ingredients. These acts were put into effect for the consumer's sake, as companies were lying about what their product could do. -
10 hour work day law was challenged
Florence Kelley had helped push through the Oregon legislature. She and her co-worker, Josephine Goldmark, swung into action to convince the Court to uphold this hard-won law. Their "Brandeis Brief" included extensive evidence of the bad effects that working long hours had on women's health. This social research became a model for the defense of other social legislation, and reform. -
NAACP is founded
Through its magazine, "The Crisis", the NAACP publicized cases of racial inequality and called for social reforms that would ensure equal rights for African Americans. It also worked through the courts to end restrictions on voting and other civil rights. The NAACP was a prime example of Social Justice Reform. -
Urban League is founded
Another important organization in the struggle for racial justice, the League worked to improve job opportunities and housing for urban blacks. One of its chief goals was to help Africn American mingrants from the South adjust to life in the northern cities. The Urban League, along with the NAACP, was great example of Social Justice Reform. -
Mann-Elkins Act
At Taft's urging, Congress passed the Mann-Elkins Act in 1910, extending the regulatory powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission to telephone and telegraph companies. -
Eugene Debs
A Socialist Presidential candidate, who's strategy and ideas could not appeal to enough people to earn any electoral votes. -
Society of American Indians is formed
The Society of American Indians was formed from a group of 50 middle-class Native Americans. The Society provided a forum for Indian leaders and a basis for later attempts to improve conidtions for Native Americans. Public Service Reform. -
Massachusetts passes minimum wage law
In response to progressive agitation, Massachusetts passed the nation's first minimum wage law- setting the base wages for women and children. Gradually, other states followed suit, and in 1938, there was a minimum wage law that effected all workers. This was a sort of Business Reform. -
New Freedom
In the 1912 campaign, Woodrow Wilson brilliantly captured the nation's reform mood. His program, the New Freedom, called for a revival of small business and a return to an America where the "little guy" was free from the control of big business and government. -
Roosevelt: shot
Roosevelt's candidacy, however, almost ended on October 14, 1912, when a deranged man shot him in the chest during a campaign stop. Roosevelt went ahead with his planned speech, despite the bullet lodged in his body. This reckless display of courage reinforced his image as a larger-than-life hero. -
16th Amendment
The Taft administration was partly responspible, too, for the adoption of the Sixeenth Amendment. Ratified in 1913, the amendment authorizes a national tax based on individual income. Progressives had long supported such a tax as a way to fund needed government programs in a fair way. -
17th Amendment
The Seventeenth Amendment proposed to change the method of electing U.S. senators. The amendment authorized voters to elect their senators directly. -
National Woman's party
In 1913, Alice Paul, a militant Quaker suffragist, broke away from NAWSA and formed another organization, which in 1916 became the National Woman's party. It focused on passing an amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing women the right to vote. This was Alice Paul's way of bringing Social Justice Reform and freedom to women. -
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Woodrow Wilson
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Underwood Tariff Act
The Underwood Tariff Act reduced tariffs to their lowest levels in 50 years. To make up for the lost revenue, the bill imposed a graduated income tax, taxing people with high incomes at a higher rate than those with low incomes. Wilson mounted a public campaign to undermine the business lobby and overcome Senate opposition. His strategy worked, and it brought Social Justice Reform. -
18th Amendment ratified
The Eighteenth Amendment prevented the manufacture, sale, or importation or alcoholic beverages. It was difficult to enforce though, as people would find ways to make, buy, or sell their alcohol. It's attempt was for reforming Corrupt Practices though. -
19th Amendment ratified
By 1919, thrity states had granted women full or partial voting rights, and in the same year, Congress Passed the Nineteenth Amendment. The next year, it was ratified, and American Women won their long battle for the right to vote.
