A History of the Progressive Movement in Los Angeles: the Teens

1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s

1913: Ironmolder and union activist Dan Grayson, fresh from beating charges of violating a harsh Los Angeles anti-picketing ordinance, runs successfully for Governor on the Socialist Party ticket. Once in office he signs into law a "living wage"/"right to work" law that guarantees jobs for all wage earners.

Sound far-fetched? This election takes place in "From Dusk to Dawn," a silent film that drew large audiences when it first opened at a socialist movie hall on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. With a cast of over 10,000, "From Dusk to Dawn" realistically portrayed life in the era's poverty-stricken slums, the brutality of dangerous workplaces, and the violence used by private companies and local police to destroy union organizing and undermine the struggle of ordinary people for better lives and working conditions.

"From Dusk to Dawn" was not Hollywood escapism. To the contrary, its nationwide popularity was rooted in its close reflection of the political times and popular aspirations. In fact, labor lawyer and Socialist leader Job Harriman, who makes a cameo appearance in the film, was nearly elected mayor of Los Angeles just two years earlier. In the 1911 and 1913 elections, Socialist candidates for Los Angeles City Council came close to winning elections on platforms that included an industrial policy based on "closed shop" union contracts and a "fair day's wage for a fair day's work," a water and land use policy that advocated growth boundaries and livable cities, and a "good government" program to rid the corruption and elite nature of the power structure that ruled Los Angeles. At the time, these ideas were considered radical, but eventually many of them became incorporated into our political mainstream.

The first wave of feminism also made an impact on this coastal city. California women fought for and won the right to vote in 1911, almost a decade before the nation granted women the franchise. Through a variety of organizations- including the Women's Trade Union League of Los Angeles, the Friday Morning Club of Los Angeles, the Women's Socialist League of California, and the California Federation of Women's Clubs- women activists played key roles in Progressive Era reforms. They campaigned for the state's pioneering laws: protective labor legislation for women, mother's pensions, the eight-hour working day, and the minimum wage.

Throughout the 20th century-from the Socialist campaigns in 1911 and 1913 to the successful "living wage" crusade last year-progressives and radicals have played a central role in the city's political history. Even in Los Angeles-headquarters of urban sprawl, the Hollywood "dream factory" and volatile racial and class divides- the forces of social equality, political reform, and environmental health have made significant and lasting contributions to a more livable metropolis.