APUSH Unit 7.4

Muckrakers

Investigative journalists and authors during the Progressive Era who wrote sensationalized reports exposing corruption, inequality, and social injustices.

Ida Tarbell

A leading muckraker best known for her book The History of the Standard Oil Company, which exposed the aggressive and monopolistic tactics of John D. Rockefeller. (1904)

Jacob Riis

A photojournalist and muckraker who published How the Other Half Lives, a shocking photo-essay documenting the squalid living conditions in New York City tenements. (1890)

The Jungle, Upton Sinclair

A muckraking novel intended to expose the exploitation of immigrants in the Chicago meatpacking industry, but which instead revolted readers with graphic descriptions of unsanitary food preparation. (1906)

Secret Ballot

A voting method in which voters make their choices in private rather than on colored ballots printed by political parties.

Direct Primary

A system where voters, rather than party bosses, select candidates to run for office.

17th Amendment (1913)

A constitutional amendment requiring that U.S. Senators be elected directly by the voters of each state rather than by state legislatures. (Add Date)

Initiative, Referendum, and Recall

A set of state-level progressive reforms: the initiative allows voters to propose laws; the referendum allows voters to vote directly on laws; and the recall allows voters to remove corrupt officials before their term ends.

16th Amendment; Income Tax (1913)

A constitutional amendment that authorized the federal government to collect a graduated income tax. (Add Date)

18th Amendment (1919)

A constitutional amendment that prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcoholic beverages. (Add Date)

19th Amendment (1920)

A constitutional amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. (Add Date)

"Square Deal"

Theodore Roosevelt's domestic program based on the "three Cs": conservation of natural resources, control of corporations, and consumer protection.

Trust-busting

The government policy of enforcing antitrust laws to dissolve monopolies that stifled competition.

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

A tragic industrial fire in a New York City garment factory that killed 146 workers, mostly young immigrant women, due to locked exit doors. (1911)

Pure Food and Drug Act

A law forbidding the manufacture, sale, and transportation of adulterated or mislabeled foods and drugs. (1906)

Meat Inspection Act

A law passed largely in response to The Jungle that established federal regulations for meatpackers and a system of inspection. (1906)

Conservation

The movement to protect America's natural resources, championed by Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot.

Election of 1912

A four-way contest between Woodrow Wilson (Democrat), Theodore Roosevelt (Progressive), William Howard Taft (Republican), and Eugene Debs (Socialist).

Bull Moose Party

The nickname for the Progressive Party formed by Theodore Roosevelt after he lost the Republican nomination to Taft in 1912.

Socialist Party, Eugene Debs

A political party dedicated to the welfare of the working class, calling for public ownership of railroads, utilities, and major industries.

Federal Reserve Act

A law that created a central banking system consisting of 12 district banks regulated by a Federal Reserve Board. (1914)

Clayton Antitrust Act

Legislation that strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act by explicitly listing illegal business practices and closing loopholes. (1914)

Child Labor Act

Also known as the Keating-Owen Act, this law prohibited the interstate shipment of goods manufactured by children under 14. (1916)

NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)

A civil rights organization co-founded by W.E.B. Du Bois that aimed to abolish segregation and discrimination and to achieve political and civil rights for African Americans. (1909)

National Urban League

An organization formed to help African Americans migrating from the South to northern cities adjust to urban life. (1911)

Carrie Chapman Catt, NAWSA

The president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association who devised the "Winning Plan," a pragmatic strategy that combined lobbying for a federal amendment with state-by-state suffrage campaigns.

Alice Paul, National Woman's Party

A militant suffragist who broke from NAWSA to form the National Woman's Party, utilizing aggressive tactics like picketing the White House and hunger strikes.