Transcript
Lindsey Graham (0:00)
There are more ways than ever to listen to History Daily ad free. Listen with Wondry plus in the Wondery app as a member of Noiser plus at noiser.com or in Apple Podcasts. Or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts@intohristory.com what do you know about Theodore Roosevelt? You probably know him for his appearance on Mount Rushmore. I bet you can also recall in your mind his broad, toothy smile, his full cheeks and round spectacles. You might remember him as a Rough Rider, a hero of the Spanish American War, and you surely know that the teddy bear was named after him. But what do you know about his politics? Teddy Roosevelt was an accidental president, rising to the office after the assassination of William McKinley, but he held the Vice Presidency as a sort of political quarantine. His fellow Republicans thought Roosevelt was too radical, too independent, too progressive. So they put him where he'd have no power, no voice and no effect. The Vice Presidency. He remained there only six months before a madman's bullet put him into the highest office in the land. The next 20 years became the bulk of what's now known as the Progressive Era, a period of political reform that sought to fight corruption, corporate power, dangerous consumer goods and labor conditions, and the decay of democracy. Roosevelt was at its vanguard. On today's Saturday matinee, we're sharing the first episode from a five part series on the Progressive Era from one of my other podcasts, American Historytellers. I hope you enjoy. While you're listening, be sure to search for and follow American Historytellers. We put a link in the show notes to make it easy for you. History Daily is sponsored by Express Pros. 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Strangers in Time is available in bookstores now imagine it's two o' clock in the morning in February 1896 in New York City's Low Reese sign. You wipe raindrops from your spectacles, trying to ignore the bone chilling cold. You're a police reporter for the New York Evening sun, and you're on one of your late night outings with your new friend, Theodore Roosevelt, the city police Commissioner. But tonight, you have something important you want to bring up with him. You step into the dim glow of the green lights of the Church street police lodging house, ready to delve into your pitch. These dingy police station basements are the only shelters available to the homeless. I think it's long past time we shut them down and open up real shelters, ones with beds and showers. But almost anything's better than what they've got. You wait till you see for yourself. Okay, then, lead the way. Roosevelt is new on the job and has never been to a police lodging house. All the other city officials have turned a blind eye to this misery. But you're hoping to change that. Roosevelt opens the door for you, then follows you inside. You nod at a familiar looking sergeant, then lead Roosevelt toward the narrow set of stairs to the basement. You know, I stayed here myself 25 years ago. When I first came to this city, I was an immigrant with nowhere else to go. What was it like? Not good. A tramp robbed me. Took my last token of home. Small gold locket containing a lock of my mother's hair. When I told the police officer on duty, though, he just threw me out. But I had my dog with me and I thought that would have been enough. But he started barking like mad in the street and a doorman snatched him up and beat him to death against the stone front steps of his building. That's barbaric. No man deserves to be treated like that. As you walk into the light of the damp, windowless cellar, you register the anger on Roosevelt's face. You look around and realize the room is just as you remember it. Three men are stretched out on dirty wooden planks. You point to the young man closest to you, tossing and turning in his sleep. You know, I was just like him. Oh God, he's just a kid. And a sick one by the looks of him. It wouldn't be unusual. A typhus epidemic spread through the lodging houses a few years back. Roosevelt shakes his head and then clenches his fists. I will smash them tomorrow. Smash them? What do you mean? Well, I'm going to get rid of the police shelters for good. Replace them with proper housing. Just like that. It's been 30 years and no police commissioner has managed to shut them down. But I am not just any police commissioner. You know how hard it is to make a change in this city. But there's a fierce glint in Roosevelt's eyes that makes you believe him. A resolve that could transform the lives of thousands of New Yorkers. From wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham and this is American Historytellers. Our history, your story on our show. We take you to the events, the times and the people that shaped America and Americans, our values, our struggles and our dreams. We'll put you in the shoes of everyday people as history was being made. And we'll show you how the events of the times affected them, their families, and affects you. Now, in 1896, reporter Jacob Riis befriended New York City Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt and took him on late night walks through Manhattan's Lower east side to investigate the problems plaguing the urban poor. Reese was an immigrant himself who arrived in New York with nothing, then made a name for himself exposing the horrors of tenement life. Roosevelt was a member of one of America's wealthiest families. But both men envisioned far reaching reforms that could make a lasting impact on the lives of the city's most vulnerable. These men became two of the leading figures of the Progressive era. By the 1890s, more than two decades of astonishing economic growth had made the United States one of the world's great industrial powers. Bustling cities, sprawling factories and powerful corporations drove unprecedented wealth. But this prosperity hid the darker truth of a society rife with corruption, poverty and injustice. Between the 1890s and World War I, a diverse group of reformers resolved to right America's wrongs by harnessing the power of government. Activists, journalists, lawyers and politicians all fought a wide range of battles, seeking to cleanse cities of crime, prostitution and drinking. They championed corporate regulation and worker protections. And they strove to reinvigorate democracy and root out corruption. Above all else, these progressives believed in a strong, active government that worked on behalf of all Americans rather than the privileged few. And as the United states entered the 20th century, the progressive movement steered the nation in a bold new direction, launching an era of reform to restore power to the people. This is episode one in our five part series on the progressive roots of reform. In the summer of 1894, Chicago became the epicenter of a labor strike that paralyzed rail traffic across the Midwest. The Pullman Palace Car Company was a manufacturer of luxury railway cars based in Pullman, Illinois, just south of Chicago. And in the wake of A punishing economic depression. Company owner George Pullman cut employee wages by 25%. But he refused to lower the rents in company owned housing, which were already significantly higher than the rents in the surrounding area. Before long, many Pullman employees and their families faced starvation. So in May 1894, 3,000 workers walked off the job in protest. But one woman tried to intervene. Jane Addams was a college graduate and the daughter of one of the richest men in Illinois. But she had devoted her life to helping the poor as a leader in the settlement house movement, an attempt to address poverty and social issues by establishing community centers in impoverished neighborhoods, providing services like education, health care and social programs. Beginning in the 1880s and 1890s, thousands of middle class college educated reformers, especially young women, moved to working class neighborhoods across America to try to combat the problems plaguing the urban poor. In 1889, Adams rented an abandoned Chicago mansion in an immigrant neighborhood and opened Hull House. There, she and her fellow settlement workers provided their neighbors with education, health care and social services, including a nursery and a public kitchen. And over the next five years, Adams won the respect and support of local politicians, business leaders and philanthropists. Among them was George Pullman, who had donated small amounts of money to Hull House. So In June of 1894, Adams offered to mediate between the strikers and the company. But Pullman refused to speak with her, insisting there was nothing to negotiate. Soon after, the country's largest railway union launched a nationwide strike in solidarity with the Pullman workers. 125,000 rail workers joined the boycott, refusing to handle any trains carrying Pullman cars. As a result, rail traffic ground to a halt in 27 states, threatening the health of the US economy. So in early July, President Grover Cleveland deployed federal troops to Chicago on the grounds that the strike threatened the delivery of mail. On Independence Day, the US army marched on the city. Three days later, soldiers fired on a mob of protesters, killing several. And while this violence raged, Jane Addams would discover the cost of her commitment to the cause. Imagine it's July 1894 in Chicago. You're huddled over the oak desk in your corner office, rechecking your calculations. The Pullman strike has wreaked havoc on the railroad industry, and your clients are struggling. You stamp out your cigar in a silver ashtray and pinch the bridge of your nose in frustration. You let out a slow breath as Jane Addams enters your office. Her hair is pulled back away from her face and she wears a plain brown silk dress, the picture of wealth and practicality. She doesn't wait for A greeting. Good afternoon, sir. Your kind secretary let me through. Oh, did she now? Well, she shouldn't have. I am busy. I apologize for not making an appointment. I promise not to take much of your time. You've been so generous in your support for Hull House, and our relief work depends on donors like you. You stifle a laugh, exhaling sharply. So you've come to ask for more money? I've long considered you to be one of the most charitable men in Chicago. Even a small gift would go a long way toward helping our poorest neighbors. You know, Ms. Adams, you had a good thing going. I think you really did. But then you had to go and throw it all away. Throw it away? I'm afraid I don't understand. Well, that figures. Because like an idiot, you went and mixed yourself up with something you know nothing about. Oh, you mean the Pullman strike. You wave a hand toward all the paperwork scattered across your desk. Yes, Those striking workers have cost my clients money. They've cost me money. Well, sir, you must understand I took no sides. I only wanted to help mediate. Well, of course, the saintly Jane Addams comes to the rescue, playing peacemaker. But you put your nose where it doesn't belong. Now Hull House is going to pay for it. Adam straightens her shoulders and then takes a step closer. Me and my nose belong wherever I see suffering and injustice. Don't be so naive. Those workers should be grateful for what George Pullman has done for them for all these years. They're a danger to law and order and the stability of the economy. Sir, you must understand. These men and women are struggling to feed their families. They've been pushed past their limits. Oh, I understand completely. And I don't want my money anywhere near those labor radicals. Now, would you please get out of my office, and I will instruct my secretary not to let you back. Adams flinches, and for a second, you think she's going to argue. But then she lifts her chin and walks out the door. You return to your calculations feeling a little bit better about your client's losses after having put her in her place. Although Jane Addams insisted on a neutral stance during the strike, she lost friends and donors who accused her of supporting the workers. Affluent Chicagoans called her a traitor to her class. One friend recalled the famous Pullman strike was for her the most painful of experiences, because she was forced by conviction to work against the stream, to separate herself from the great mass of her countrymen. Seeking solace from her estrangement, Adams walked nearly five miles in the sweltering summer heat to Chicago's Lincoln park, as the city's streetcars were also on strike. There she found the newly erected bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln. And etched in stone were Lincoln's immortal words with charity towards all. They were a powerful reminder of Adams lifelong mission and her sense of responsibility to a democracy she thought was in danger. She reflected that the Pullman strike crisis gave her the paralyzing consciousness that our best efforts were most inadequate. The Pullman strike was one of the most explosive conflicts in an era of rapid industrialization, extreme wealth inequality and violent labor strife. In the final three decades of the 19th century, America shed its agricultural past and transformed into an industrial economy. In steel mills, oil refineries and Wall street banks, powerful businessmen amassed unprecedented fortunes. Skyscrapers rose up over cities and immigrants flocked to American shores for a piece of the prosperity. But this feverish economic growth came at a cost. Mark Twain dubbed the era the Gilded Age, observing that a dazzling surface of wealth and excess masked a society riddled with corruption and inequality. Workers toiled under harsh conditions for little pay. Robber barons used ruthless tactics to crush the competition. And politics was mired in corruption and scandalous. So that by the 1890s, years of social and economic upheaval had convinced many Americans that democracy itself was under threat from the forces of big business. Jane Addams was just one of many reformers who fought the economic and social injustice they saw. They called themselves progressives, and among these, some of the most effective in uncovering injustice and corruption were investigative journalists who published scathing exposes of exploitation and urban life. In 1890, Danish immigrant Jacob Riis published his groundbreaking book, how the Other Half Lives, A damning account of New York City's disease ridden slums. The book's photographs and vivid details gave middle class readers a shocking window into the squalor of immigrant neighborhoods in the South. Black journalist Ida B. Wells investigated lynching, challenging the myth that it was primarily used to punish black men for raping white women. Armed with statistics and personal testimony, Wells exposed lynching as a tool to terrorize black people and enforce white supremacy. But journalists weren't the only crusaders. The spirit of reform extended to politics too. In the early 1890s, the Populist movement swept across the Midwest and South. Populism mobilized millions of farmers, laborers and middle class activists who were determined to challenge corporate power. They urged the government to rein in the abuses of Wall street and big business. And as the election of 1896 approached, they resolved to win a seat at the table. That year, the populace rallied behind the Democratic Party's new standard bearer, a brash 36 year old Nebraska congressman named William Jennings Bryan. That summer, Bryan electrified the Democratic National Convention with a call for the free coinage of silver to relieve farmers suffering under crippling debt. The party nominated him for President the next day. And with the fierce passion of an evangelical preacher, Bryan barnstormed the country, spellbinding audiences with speeches championing common people over corporate interests. Bryan's opponent in the 1896 election was the stately Republican nominee, William S. McKinley, a former governor of Ohio. Campaigning from his front porch In Canton, Ohio, McKinley gave sedate speeches in favor of protective tariffs and other business friendly policies. But what McKinley lacked in rhetorical flair, he made up for in powerful allies, and none more so than Mark Hanna, a millionaire industrial tycoon turned political kingmaker. Hanna raised an unprecedented $3.5 million from corporations and wealthy donors, a figure more than 10 times the amount in Brian's meager war chest. Hannah funneled this money into advertising, targeting various interest groups with specialized campaign ads. He also sent Republican speakers to the Midwest to persuade Democrats to vote for the Republican ticket. And it seemed these efforts worked. On election night, a group of wealthy businessmen and bankers gathered in an elite Chicago club. After midnight, the News arrived that McKinley had defeated Bryan by a margin of nearly 100 electoral votes. The room exploded with cheers, with men jumping on sofas and tables, running up and down stairs and dancing in each other's arms. In Cleveland, the jubilant Mark Hanna fired off a telegram to the President Elect declaring, God's in his heaven, all's right with the world. After Bryan's defeat, the populist movement fizzled. Their ideas would live on, but for now, it seemed as though only a minority of Americans shared Bryan's appetite for reform. Meanwhile, the election outcome was a resounding victory for big business and the wealthy. America's millionaire class felt reassured that their futures were in safe hands. But they wanted access to overseas markets and a chance to flex their muscles on the international stage. A Washington Post editorial declared, A new consciousness seems to have come upon us. The consciousness of strength, and with it a new appetite, the yearning to show our strength. That appetite fueled imperial ambitions. And the results of several conflicts abroad would soon cement America's status as a new imperial power. In the mid-1890s, Americans watched as Cuba fought a brutal war for independence against Spain. American businesses had $50 million invested in Cuba, and war fever burned through the halls of power. The opportunities to join the fight came In January of 1898, when a U.S. navy vessel, the USS Maine, was sent to Havana harbor to protect American interests in Cuba. On February 15, that battleship exploded, killing 260 men. The cause of the explosion was unclear, but soon after, Congress declared war on Spain, igniting the Spanish American War. This conflict lasted less than 100 days, but by the end of the year, the US had acquired sovereignty over Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. And it was there, in the aftermath of the war that Filipinos rebelled against their new American colonial rulers, igniting a war that would claim the lives of thousands of American and Filipino soldiers and some 200,000 Filipino civilians. But America prevailed in this conflict, too, and emerged from the Philippine American War as a global imperial power. At the same time, war driven federal spending and gold discoveries spurred an economic boom, reviving factories and ending mass unemployment. The United States was set to enter the 20th century with newfound prosperity and confidence, but many progressives were horrified by the violence overseas seas and how it distracted Americans from reforms needed at home. They argued that imperialism violated democratic ideals and served wealthy elites at the expense of ordinary Americans. But these conflicts had another important outcome. The Spanish American War catapulted Theodore Roosevelt into the national spotlight as a leader of a group of American volunteer fighters. His daring cavalry charges in Cuba made him a national hero and celebrity. And soon Roosevelt would begin a meteoric rise in politics, embarking on a path leading all the way to the presidency, avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start. Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin or what that clunking sound from your dryer is. With thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro, you just have to hire one. You can hire top rated pros, see price estimates and read reviews all on the app. Download thumbtack today.