American Stories: Chapter 23 - From Roosevelt to Wilson in the Age of Progressivism

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering the key people, legislation, and movements of the American Progressive Era ($$1900-1920$$) as detailed in the Chapter 23 lecture notes.

Progressivism

A movement reflecting a concern about the effects of industrialization, optimism about human nature, and a reliance on government intervention and expert knowledge to effect social, political, and economic reforms between $1900$ and $1920$.

The Rise of the Professions

An organizational impulse between $1890$ and $1920$ where nearly $400$ national societies, such as the American Medical Association ($AMA$), were formed to govern entry and look after interests within specialized fields.

Social-Justice Movement

A movement involving ministers, social workers, and lawyers who focused on social cures and scientific analysis of neighborhoods and occupations to address the negative impacts of urban life.

Eighteenth Amendment

A constitutional amendment ratified in $1920$ that prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol in the United States.

Mann Act

A $1910$ law that prohibited the interstate transportation of women for immoral purposes, part of the Progressive effort to address sex work.

Nineteenth Amendment

A constitutional amendment ratified in $1920$ that granted women the right to vote.

National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)

An organization founded in $1890$ by Susan B. Anthony that utilized organization and peaceful lobbying to secure the right to vote for women.

Pragmatism

A philosophical concept popularized by William James based on dealing with things practically; it suggests that truth should work for the individual and that environment and people shape each other.

Socialist Party of America

A reformist political party organized in $1901$ by Eugene V. Debs which grew dramatically before World War I.

Wisconsin Idea

A series of state-level reforms promoted by Robert M. La Follette, including an industrial commission for factory safety, workers’ compensation, and the use of the direct primary for political nominations.

Initiative, Referendum, and Recall

Three methods sought by reformers to democratize government by allowing the electorate to propose laws, vote on existing laws, or remove officials from office.

Bully Pulpit

Theodore Roosevelt’s term for the presidency, viewing it as a powerful forum for ideas and national leadership.

Northern Securities Company

A large railroad holding company dissolved by the Supreme Court after being sued by Theodore Roosevelt's Justice Department for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Square Deal

Theodore Roosevelt’s term for his intervention in the $1902$ coal strike, where he acted as an impartial broker between labor and capital.

Hepburn Act

A $1906$ law that strengthened the rate-making power of the Interstate Commerce Commission and gave it the authority to fix reasonable maximum railroad rates.

The Jungle

A $1906$ novel by Upton Sinclair that exposed the unsanitary conditions of the meatpacking industry, leading to the passage of the Meat Inspection Act.

Pure Food and Drug Act

A $1906$ law that addressed the dangers of patent medicines and regulated the labeling and purity of food and drugs.

Gifford Pinchot

The chief of the Forest Service under Theodore Roosevelt who helped establish a national policy of conservation by focusing on the wise use of natural resources.

Payne-Aldrich Act

A high-tariff bill passed in $1909$ that split the Republican Party and discredited William Howard Taft’s reputation as a reformer.

Ballinger-Pinchot Affair

A controversy involving the sale of public land that damaged the relationship between President Taft and Theodore Roosevelt and led to the firing of Gifford Pinchot.

Mann-Elkins Act

A $1910$ act that strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission's ($ICC$) regulatory power over transportation and communications.

Sixteenth Amendment

A constitutional amendment initiated in $1909$ and ratified in $1913$ that authorized the federal government to collect a graduated income tax.

Bull Moose Party

The popular name for the Progressive Party during the $1912$ election, with Theodore Roosevelt as its candidate under the program of New Nationalism.

New Nationalism

Theodore Roosevelt’s $1912$ program calling for efficiency in government and society, a strong executive, and the use of experts to manage societal problems.

New Freedom

Woodrow Wilson’s political philosophy during the $1912$ campaign that emphasized business competition, small government, and individual economic freedom.

Underwood Tariff Act

A $1913$ law supported by Woodrow Wilson that lowered tariff rates by approximately $15\text{ percent}$ and established an income tax to compensate for lost revenue.

Federal Reserve Act

A $1913$ law that reformed the banking system, established a stable currency, and created the Federal Reserve Board to oversee the system.

Clayton Antitrust Act

A law that prohibited unfair trade practices and corporate policies that created monopolies, while specifically protecting labor unions from antitrust prosecution.

Adamson Act

A $1916$ law that imposed an eight-hour workday on interstate railways, representing a milestone in federal regulation of industry.

Hull House

The most famous settlement house, founded by Jane Addams in Chicago in $1889$, to provide education and resources to immigrant families.

Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire

A $1911$ tragedy in New York City that killed $146$ immigrant garment workers, triggering a massive wave of workplace safety and reform legislation.

Muller v. Oregon

A $1908$ Supreme Court case in which Louis Brandeis successfully used sociological data to defend a state law limiting working hours for women.

Hiram Johnson

The Progressive governor of California who ran for office in $1910$ on a platform advocating for direct democracy and the removal of the Southern Pacific Railroad's influence over the legislature.