Progressivism Group Thesis Statement

Alexa, Sarah Margaret, and I have combined our progressive topics to form a thesis.

Alexa- electric chair
Sarah Margaret- Brooklyn Bridge
Cameron- "The Jungle" and Pure Food Laws

Thesis: "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair (focusing on pure food laws), the Brooklyn Bridge, and the electric chair, while very different, all have the intentions of moving forward, improving life, and increasing efficiency during the Progressive era.

Conclusion: Pure food laws were created after "The Jungle" exposed the horrible conditions of the meatpacking industry, which attracted publicity and investigations of all food industries. The Brooklyn Bridge created a large, new, and efficient way of transportation in the city. The electric chair began to be used as a form of execution because it was thought to be a quick and relatively painless death and created a more effective and efficient way to deal with criminals. All of these progressive reforms are connected by their goal to improve efficiency and life of the people.

Multiple Choice Answer Key

1. A

2. C

3. C

Thesis for Progressivism Topics

The different theses that each group came up with:

1. New expectations for government to act like a referee, promoting fairness. 

2. People solved problems but also their solutions sometimes created new problems. 

3. People looked to the government to protect the physical safety/ health/ lives of citizens from a variety of modern threats. 

4. People wanted to really improve society, moving forward, improving people's minds/health/ and lifestyle. 

Grand Thesis: 

In the progressive era, many new reforms were made to help protect and improve society's everyday life by focusing on the health and well being of humans. However, while solving issues they created new ones on which people looked to the government to serve as a referee to solve and promote fairness among individuals. Solving these issues helped introduce new technologies and helped the society move forward as a whole. 

Multiple Choice CH.21 Questions

1. The Muckrakers are described as all of the following except that they were...:

a. journalist who started extreme rivalries with important political figures by telling lies and distorted information about them and "mucked up" false information about leaders.
b. journalist who published information about important issues that was happening behind the scenes that the public needed to hear.
c. journalist who reported news on economic issues and social issues that they found unfair or cruel.
d. journalist who inspired others to speak up about their opinions on problems happening around them.
e. journalist who raised awareness to the public about corruption in the 20th century.

2. Which of the following is false about the "new woman"?

a. disapproved of marriage so they could be whatever they wanted to in life regardless of gender role.
b. most were factory workers due to less need of a woman figure in the house because advances in technology and education reforms.
c. They lived longer lives because having less children made them healthier and stronger.
d. more women wanted divorces
e. spent less time at home because they were out working for an income.

3. The author states that some less impactful reasons for support of women's suffrage was:

a.  It would help other movements because women were a huge percentage of the population
b. They had qualities from working at home for so many years that seemed useful for the public.
c. Because other minorities were given opportunities there was not any reason to hold back the women.
d. because they claimed their maternal influence, helped curb the aggressiveness of men
e. it would not effect or challenge the roles of men because they would stay on their "separate sphere"

The Electric Chair and how it is related to Progressivism

What were you able to discover, learn, and understand about the electric chair by examining primary source evidence in the newspaper archive? What did this topic have to do with Progressivism as a movement in the late 19th century/ early 20th century America?

Newspaper Links:
- Summary of Electric Chair 
- Wheeling Register- West Virginia, Wheeling, May 04, 1890 “ A New Era in Capital Punishment”

  New York Herald- New York, New York, July 24, 1889 "A Fight between Two Electrical Companies" 

     In my earlier research, I learned that the progressive era was the era of progress. It was a time when multiple economic and social issues were being debated and industrialization was being introduced to America. Many new reforms were made that affected people's everyday life. Some were happy with these changes and some were not. New technology was also being presented during this time period to make life easier for Americans. The telephone, the light bulb, and many more new inventions were rapidly being introduced to Americans in order to advance their lives in a positive way. However, some of these inventions were very controversial and not everyone saw them as a positive change. One of these inventions were the electric chair. The electric chair relates to progressivism because it was a new form of technology and was controversial throughout America. 

     The electric chair came to be in the late 19th century. Before then, most executions were done by hanging those who were deemed guilty. If one correctly, hanging someone was relatively painless and quick. However, if done wrong, it took a long time and was very painful for the rope's victim. Many Americans saw it as torture and wanted to find a new way to execute that seemed more humane. In 1886, the state of New York created a commission to do this. They researched and tested many methods but decided on electricity because it seemed the quickest and the least painful. In 1888 they passed the law that replaced hanging with electricity. This is how the idea of the electric chair came to be. Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse came up with two different methods in order to make this work. Eventually everyone came into agreement that Westinghouse's method was the cheapest and most efficient. Westinghouse came up with a new form of technology that had two alternating currents that would send multiple volts of electricity through them. I began to want to know more about the construction of the electric chair so I looked at the Wheeling Register on the article entitled " A New Era in Capital Punishment". This article gave a pretty good description of the chair. The chid was designed to look like a recliner. It had a footstool like a barber shop chair and a cap on it, similar to hair dryers in salons today, that had wires in it. Along the back of the chair was more wires that sent thousands of volts through it. It was a single chair in a cell that was made out of hardwood. It also contained multiple leather straps. This chair was a new form of technology because not only did it contain the two alternating currents but i was a quick process to end ones life that seemed the most humane to many people. However, there were some who did no think that was the case.

     The electric chair's first victim was a murderer named William Kemmler. The first time they placed him in the chair and flipped the switch it took 15 seconds for the electricity to fully pass through his body. They thought he was dead but then he started breathing again. They had to try another time in order to end his life. Their predictions of a fast and painless death had not been right. Many began to wonder if this was humane. People began to dislike the electric chair and many articles were written about the electric chair that made it seem very bad. After rethinking the technology the electric chair is still around today but is not the most popular or liked form of execution because many thought that it was torture. 

A photo of William Kemmler facing his death as the first victim of the electric chair

The first ever electric chair

William Kemmler

2nd Semester Reflection

Because the first semester of US History went well for me, I was feeling very confident going in to the second semester. So far we have been doing a lot of reading and have taken a test. I wish to improve my test scores even more as the semester progresses. In order to improve my test scores I will read over all of the material. I have been pretty consistent with my homework so I would love to keep that up as well. In the future, I plan to read a lot more closely so my reading questions are a lot more accurate. I loved studying documentaries because one of my favorite things to do is analyze film. I enjoy doing this because it gives me a better understanding of the story and also the director/ actors's intensions for the film. I hope to continue to do this as we move on in the semester because I find it very interesting.

Progressive era

1. Progress is the development and growth of something in a positive way.
2. The progressive era is between the 1890s and 1920s . According to gwu.edu, "Progressivism is the term applied to a variety of responses to the economic and social problems rapid industrialization introduced to America. Progressivism began as a social movement and grew into a political movement." That is why this time period is considered the progressive era. 
3. Progressive Era Goals/issues: 

• Outlaw the sale of alcohol 
• regulate child labor and sweat shops
• scientifically manage natural resources
• insure pure and wholesome water and milk
• women's suffrage
• race equality 

4. The thing that each one of these things have in common is that they help different types of people in large ways and has a huge impact on everyday life. 

5. Essential Goals worth striving for/ Necessary changes: child labor laws, race equality 

Good Goals: Women's suffrage, conservation of natural resources, pure water/milk

Strange Goals: outlaw the sale of alcohol 

Not a good Idea: outlaw the sale of alcohol