Editing Progressive Era (section)

==Key ideas and issues==
[[File:Monopoly brothers supported by the little consumer 1912.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Monopoly brothers—Politically powerful trusts created high prices all carried by hapless little consumer 1912; by Thomas Powers]]

According to historian Nancy Cohen:<ref>
Nancy Cohen, ''The Reconstruction of American Liberalism, 1865-1914'' (U of North Carolina Press, 2001) p.5.</ref> <blockquote> During the Progressive Era . . . the minimal state of an earlier liberalism was abandoned in favor of one with the power to intervene in the market and to promote social welfare. The progressives’ new liberalism, most historians conclude, was fundamentally reformist; it sought to use state power to regulate the capitalist economy and to improve the living conditions and ‘‘security’’ of the citizenry, without abolishing private property or revolutionizing liberal democratic political institutions.</blockquote> 
===Antitrust===
{{Main|History of United States antitrust law}}

Standard Oil, with its near monopoly on refining oil, was widely hated.  Many newspapers reprinted attacks from a flagship Democratic newspaper, ''The New York World'', which made this trust a special target. There were legal efforts to curtail the oil monopoly in the Midwest and South. Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky and Kansas took the lead in 1904–1905, followed by Arkansas, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia. The results were mixed. Federal action finally won out in 1911, splitting Standard Oil into 33 companies. The 33 seldom competed with each other. The federal decision together with the [[Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914]] and the creation that year of the [[Federal Trade Commission]] largely de-escalated the antitrust rhetoric among progressives.<ref>Hidy and Hidy, pp. 683, 708–718.</ref><ref>Bruce Bringhurst. ''Antitrust and the Oil Monopoly: The Standard Oil Cases, 1890–1911'' (1976).</ref> The new framework after 1914 had little or no impact on the direction and magnitude of merger activity.<ref>Carl Eis, "The 1919–1930 Merger Movement In American Industry" ''Journal of Law & Economics'' (1969) 12#2 pp. 267–296.</ref>

===Primaries===
{{Main|Partisan primary}}

By 1890, the secret ballot was widely adopted by the states for elections, which was non-controversial and resulted in the elimination of purchased votes since the purchaser couldn't determine how the voter cast their vote. Despite this change, the candidates were still selected by party conventions. In the 1890s, the South witnessed a decrease in the possibility of Republican or Populist or coalition victories in most elections, with the Democratic Party gaining full control over all statewide Southern elections. To prevent factionalism within the Democratic Party, Southern states began implementing primaries. However, candidates who competed in the primaries and lost were prohibited from running as independents in the fall election. Louisiana was the first state to introduce primaries in 1892, and by 1907, eleven Southern and border states had implemented statewide primaries.<ref>J. Morgan Kousser, ''The shaping of southern politics: Suffrage restriction and the establishment of the one-party south, 1880–1910'' (Yale University Press, 1974).{{ISBN?}}</ref>

In the North, Robert LaFollette introduced the primary in Wisconsin in 1904. Most Northern states followed suit, with reformers proclaiming grass roots democracy. The party leaders and bosses also wanted direct primaries to minimize the risk of sore losers running as independents.<ref>John D. Buenker and Edward R. Kantowicz, ''Historical Dictionary of the Progressive Era, 1890–1920'' (1988) pp. 380–381.</ref><ref>Peter H. Argersinger, "Electoral Processes." in ''Encyclopedia of American Political History'' (1984) 2: 489–512.</ref>

When candidates for office were selected by the party caucus (meetings open to the public) or by statewide party conventions of elected delegates, the public lost a major opportunity to shape policy. The progressive solution was the "open" primary by which any citizen could vote, or the "closed" primary limited to party members. In the early 20th century most states adopted the system for local and state races—but only 14 used it for delegates to the national presidential nominating conventions. The biggest battles came in New York state, where the conservatives fought  hard for years against several governors until the primary was finally adopted in 1913.<ref>H. Feldman, "The Direct Primary in New York State" ''American Political Science Review'' (1917) 11#3 pp. 494–518 {{JSTOR|1944250}}</ref><ref>Robert F. Wesser, ''Charles Evans Hughes: Politics and Reform in New York, 1905–1910'' (Cornell UP, 2009) pp. 252–301. {{ISBN?}}</ref>

===Government reform===
Disturbed by the waste, inefficiency, stubbornness, corruption, and injustices of the [[Gilded Age]], the Progressives were committed to changing and reforming every aspect of the state, society and economy. Significant changes enacted at the national levels included the imposition of an [[income tax]] with the [[Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Sixteenth Amendment]], direct election of [[United States Senate|Senators]] with the [[Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Seventeenth Amendment]], [[Prohibition in the United States|prohibition of alcohol]] with the [[Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Eighteenth Amendment]], election reforms to stop corruption and fraud, and [[women's suffrage]] through the [[Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Nineteenth Amendment]] to the U.S. Constitution.<ref>David E. Kyvig, ''Explicit and authentic acts: amending the U.S. Constitution, 1776–1995'' (Kansas UP, 1996) pp. 208–214; Hedwig Richter: [https://www.academia.edu/25338056/_TRANSNATIONAL_REFORM_AND_DEMOCRACY_ELECTION_REFORMS_IN_NEW_YORK_CITY_AND_BERLIN_AROUND_1900_in_Journal_of_the_Gilded_Age_and_Progressive_Era_15_2016_149-175 "Transnational Reform and Democracy: Election Reforms in New York City and Berlin Around 1900"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713073401/https://www.academia.edu/25338056/_TRANSNATIONAL_REFORM_AND_DEMOCRACY_ELECTION_REFORMS_IN_NEW_YORK_CITY_AND_BERLIN_AROUND_1900_in_Journal_of_the_Gilded_Age_and_Progressive_Era_15_2016_149-175 |date=July 13, 2019 }}, in: ''[[Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era]]'' 15 (2016), 149–175</ref>

A main objective of the Progressive Era movement was to eliminate corruption within the government. They also made it a point to focus on family, education, and many other important aspects that still are enforced today. The most important political leaders during this time were Theodore Roosevelt and Robert M. La Follette. Key Democratic leaders were [[William Jennings Bryan]], [[Woodrow Wilson]], and [[Al Smith]].<ref name="The Progressive Era">{{cite web |title=The Progressive Era |url=http://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ushistory/chapter/the-progressive-era/ |website=Boundless US History |access-date=February 13, 2019}}</ref>

This movement targeted the regulations of huge monopolies and corporations. This was done through antitrust laws to promote equal competition among every business. This was done through the [[Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890|Sherman Act of 1890]], the [[Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914|Clayton Act of 1914]], and the [[Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914]].<ref name="The Progressive Era"/>

====City manager====
At the local level the new [[city manager]] system was designed by progressives to increase efficiency and reduce partisanship and avoid the bribery of elected local officials. Kansas was a leader, where it was promoted in the press, led by Henry J. Allen of the ''Wichita Beacon'', and pushed through by Governor [[Arthur Capper]]. Eventually 52 Kansas cities used the system.<ref>H. Edward Flentje, "The Political Roots of City Managers in Kansas" ''Kansas History'' (1984) 7#2 pp. 139–158.</ref>

===Family roles===
[[File:Lindsey ben.jpg|thumb|Colorado judge [[Ben Lindsey (jurist)|Ben Lindsey]], a pioneer in the establishment of juvenile court systems]]

By the late 19th century, urban and rural governments had systems in place for welfare to the poor and incapacitated. Progressives argued these needs deserved a higher priority.<ref>Gwendoline Alphonso, "Hearth and Soul: Economics and Culture in Partisan Conceptions of the Family in the Progressive Era, 1900–1920", ''Studies in American Political Development'', Oct 2010, Vol. 24 Issue 2, pp. 206–232.</ref> Local [[mothers' pensions|public assistance programs]] were reformed to try to keep families together.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Leff|first=Mark H.|date=1973|title=Consensus for Reform: The Mothers'-Pension Movement in the Progressive Era|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30021515|journal=[[Social Service Review]]|volume=47|issue=3|pages=397–417|doi=10.1086/643020|jstor=30021515|s2cid=154238579|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Inspired by crusading Judge [[Ben Lindsey (jurist)|Ben Lindsey]] of Denver, cities established juvenile courts to deal with disruptive teenagers without sending them to adult prisons.<ref>D'Ann Campbell, "Judge Ben Lindsey and the Juvenile Court Movement, 1901–1904", ''Arizona and the West'', (1976) 18#1 pp. 5–20.</ref><ref>James Marten, ed. ''Children and Youth during the Gilded Page and Progressive Era'' (2014)</ref>

===Pure food, drugs, and water===
The purity of food, milk, and drinking water became a high priority in the cities. At the state and national levels new food and drug laws strengthened urban efforts to guarantee the safety of the [[food system]]. The 1906 federal [[Pure Food and Drug Act]], which was pushed by drug companies and providers of medical services, removed from the market patent medicines that had never been scientifically tested.<ref>Marc T. Law, "The Origins of State Pure Food Regulation", ''Journal of Economic History'', Dec 2003, Vol. 63 Issue 4, pp. 1103–1131.</ref>

With the decrease in standard working hours, urban families had more leisure time. Many spent this leisure time at movie theaters. Progressives advocated censorship of motion pictures as it was believed that patrons (especially children) viewing movies in dark, unclean, potentially unsafe theaters, might be negatively influenced in witnessing actors portraying crimes, violence, and sexually suggestive situations. Progressives across the country influenced municipal governments of large urban cities, to build numerous parks where it was believed that leisure time for children and families could be spent in a healthy, wholesome environment, thereby fostering good morals and citizenship.<ref>Black, Gregory D. ''Hollywood Censored: Morality Codes, Catholics, and the Movies''. Cambridge University Press 1994{{ISBN?}}</ref>

===Public health===

====Social hygiene movement====
{{Further|American Sexual Health Association}}

The [[social hygiene movement]] brought together different groups that were concerned with venereal disease, prostitution, society's moral standards, and family life. The primary objective was to enhance public health and promote social morality, specifically in matters concerning sexuality and reproductive health.<ref>Erin Wuebker, "Social Hygiene in America" (Gale, 2020) [https://www.gale.com/binaries/content/assets/gale-us-en/campaigns/archives-explored/essays/phma_essay_wuebker1_final.pdf online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401124933/https://www.gale.com/binaries/content/assets/gale-us-en/campaigns/archives-explored/essays/phma_essay_wuebker1_final.pdf |date=April 1, 2023 }}.</ref> The movement targeted prostitution or "white slavery" and aimed to eliminate it by criminalizing it and enforcing stricter penalties for those involved in the sex trade.<ref>Mara L. Keire, "The vice trust: A reinterpretation of the white slavery scare in the United States, 1907–1917." ''Journal of Social History'' 35.1 (2001): 5–41 [https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/10/article/17946/summary excerpt]</ref> When the US entered the war a high priority was to end prostitution in proximity to military installations. The result was a permanent closing of red light districts in major cities.<ref>Allen F. Davis, "Welfare, Reform and World War I." ''American Quarterly'' 19.3 (1967): 516–533 {{JSTOR|2711070}}.</ref><ref>Michael Imber, "The First World War, sex education, and the American Social Hygiene Association's campaign against venereal disease." ''Journal of educational administration and history'' 16.1 (1984): 47–56.</ref>

Besides public health, the social hygiene movement also aimed to uphold moral purity and family values. The [[Women's Christian Temperance Union]] (WCTU) and the [[Young Men's Christian Association]] (YMCA) were among the leading groups that encouraged abstinence and discouraged premarital sex. They also advocated for more stringent censorship of literature and entertainment deemed morally unacceptable.<ref>On international work for social hygiene see Lou Antolihao, et al. ''Spreading Protestant Modernity: Global Perspectives on the Social Work of the YMCA and YWCA, 1889–1970'' (University of Hawaii Press, 2020).</ref> While the social hygiene movement achieved considerable  success in promoting public health and morality, its approach of criminalizing prostitution and promoting abstinence failed to address the underlying causes of these issues, such as poverty, economic inequality, and gender inequality. Moreover, its strict moral standards often marginalized groups such as immigrants and African Americans. Nonetheless, the movement genuinely sought to promote public health and social morality and to create a more stable and ordered society.<ref>Christina Simmons, "African Americans and sexual victorianism in the social hygiene movement, 1910–40." ''Journal of the History of Sexuality'' 4.1 (1993): 51–75 {{JSTOR|3704179}}.</ref>