US history Progressivism, imperialism and populism

Social Darwinism

The belief that competition and “survival of the fittest” explain success in society; some used it to justify wealth inequality and imperialism.

Homestead

Small family farm on the Great Plains; homesteaders faced drought, isolation, debt, and difficult farming conditions.

Gold Standard

A monetary system in which paper money could be exchanged for a fixed amount of gold.

Bimetallism

A monetary system using both gold and silver to back currency.

Free Silver

The movement to coin silver freely to increase the money supply, raise crop prices, and help debtors.

The Grange

A farmers' organization that promoted cooperation and fought high railroad rates and unfair business practices.

National Farmer's Alliance

A farmers' organization that pushed for economic and political reforms to help struggling farmers.

Omaha Platform

The 1892 Populist Party platform calling for reforms such as free silver, a graduated income tax, and government control of railroads.

Mary Elizabeth Lease

A Populist speaker who encouraged farmers to organize and challenge powerful banks and corporations.

William Jennings Bryan

A Democratic and Populist-supported presidential candidate in 1896 who advocated free silver.

Populism

A political movement representing ordinary farmers and workers against powerful banks, railroads, and corporations.

16th Amendment

Established the federal income tax.

17th Amendment

Established the direct election of U.S. senators by voters.

18th Amendment

Prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages.

19th Amendment

Prohibited denying the right to vote on the basis of sex, securing women's suffrage nationally.

Bull Moose Party

The Progressive Party formed by Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 after he broke with the Republican Party.

Jacob Riis

A journalist and photographer who exposed poverty and overcrowded living conditions in New York City through How the Other Half Lives.

Muckrakers

Journalists who exposed corruption, unsafe working conditions, poverty, and abuses by powerful businesses.

Theodore Roosevelt

The 26th president, known for trust-busting, consumer protection, conservation, and an active presidency.

William Taft

The 27th president, who continued some Progressive reforms, pursued antitrust cases, and supported the 16th Amendment.

Woodrow Wilson

The 28th president, associated with the New Freedom, banking reform, antitrust legislation, and the 19th Amendment's ratification during his presidency.

Tenement

A crowded, often poorly maintained apartment building where many working-class and immigrant families lived.

Upton Sinclair

A muckraking author whose novel The Jungle exposed unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry.

Jane Addams

A social reformer who founded Hull House in Chicago to provide services and support to immigrants and poor communities.

Nellie Bly

Investigative journalist who exposed abuses in a mental institution and helped advance investigative reporting.

Lincoln Steffens

A muckraker who exposed political corruption in American cities in The Shame of the Cities.

Ida Tarbell

A muckraker who exposed the unfair business practices of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company.

Conservation

The protection and responsible management of natural resources, forests, and wildlife.

John Muir

Naturalist and conservationist who helped protect wilderness areas and founded the Sierra Club.

Square Deal

Theodore Roosevelt's domestic program emphasizing consumer protection, corporate regulation, and conservation.

New Freedom

Woodrow Wilson's reform program focused on restoring competition, lowering tariffs, reforming banking, and regulating monopolies.

Meat Inspection Act (1906)

Federal law requiring inspection of meat and sanitary standards in meatpacking plants.

Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)

Federal law prohibiting adulterated or misbranded food and drugs and improving consumer protection.

Trust Busting

Government efforts to break up or regulate monopolies and trusts that restricted competition.

Prohibition

The movement to ban alcohol; the 18th Amendment prohibited its manufacture, sale, and transportation.

Suffrage

The right to vote.

Bully pulpit

The president's position as a powerful platform for influencing public opinion and promoting reforms.

Roosevelt Corollary (1904)

Theodore Roosevelt's addition to the Monroe Doctrine, claiming the U.S. could intervene in Latin American countries to address chronic instability or financial problems.

Moral Diplomacy

Woodrow Wilson's foreign policy of supporting governments he considered democratic and legitimate, although U.S. interventions sometimes contradicted this goal.

William McKinley

President during the Spanish-American War; under his administration, the U.S. acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines and annexed Hawaii.

Yellow Journalism

Sensationalized, often exaggerated news reporting used to attract readers; it helped increase public support for war with Spain.

Annexed

Formally added territory to a country.

Alfred Thayer Mahan

Naval strategist who argued that a powerful navy and overseas bases were essential to national strength and influence.

What were the main priorities of the Populist Party?

The Populists wanted to help farmers and workers by regulating railroads, increasing the money supply through free silver, introducing a graduated income tax, directly electing senators, and reducing the power of banks and monopolies.

How did the 1892 and 1896 elections affect life in the West and Populism?

In 1892, the Populists won significant support and showed that farmers' grievances had become a national political issue. In 1896, William Jennings Bryan supported free silver, but William McKinley won. Many Populists joined the Democrats, weakening the independent Populist Party. Western farmers continued to face economic challenges, although some reforms were later adopted.

Explain the decline of Populism.

The Populist Party declined after its defeat in 1896, when many supporters joined the Democratic Party behind William Jennings Bryan. Economic conditions later improved for some farmers, and Progressive reforms adopted parts of the Populist agenda, reducing the party's separate influence.

How did labor issues contribute to the rise of a third party?

Low wages, long hours, unsafe workplaces, unemployment, and powerful corporations caused workers to lose faith in the two major parties. Third parties, including the Populists, promised government action, economic reform, and greater protection for ordinary people.

How did life on the homestead contribute to the rise of a third party?

Homesteaders faced droughts, crop failures, isolation, high transportation costs, falling crop prices, and debt. Many believed banks and railroads treated farmers unfairly, so they supported the Populist Party's demands for economic and political reform.

What were four main issues or priorities for the Progressives?

1. Political reform, including direct primaries and direct election of senators. 2. Economic reform, including regulating corporations and monopolies. 3. Social reform, including safer workplaces and better living conditions. 4. Environmental reform, including conservation of forests and natural resources.

How did Progressive ideas respond to industrialization and urbanization?

Progressives believed rapid industrial growth and urban expansion created problems such as corruption, unsafe factories, overcrowded housing, poverty, and monopolies. They used journalism, social work, laws, and government regulation to improve conditions and make society fairer.

What different solutions were proposed during the Progressive movement?

Progressives proposed antitrust laws, workplace safety regulations, child labor restrictions, food and drug inspections, conservation, housing and sanitation improvements, women's suffrage, direct primaries, initiatives, referendums, recalls, and direct election of senators.

Why is Theodore Roosevelt seen as the first modern president?

Roosevelt expanded the president's role in national affairs by regulating big business, enforcing antitrust laws, protecting consumers, mediating labor disputes, conserving public lands, and using the bully pulpit to influence public opinion.

Identify examples of political, economic, social, and environmental reforms during the Progressive Era.

Political: 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th Amendments and direct primaries. Economic: antitrust enforcement and the Federal Reserve Act. Social: Meat Inspection Act, Pure Food and Drug Act, settlement houses, and workplace reforms. Environmental: national forests, wildlife protection, and conservation of public lands.

What were five goals of U.S. foreign policy during imperialism?

1. Obtain overseas markets for American goods. 2. Gain access to raw materials and economic opportunities. 3. Build a powerful navy and acquire overseas bases. 4. Expand U.S. political and strategic influence. 5. Spread American culture, Christianity, and ideas about government, sometimes used to justify imperialism.

How, when, and why did the United States acquire territories such as Alaska, Hawaii, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico?

Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867 for resources and strategic interests. Hawaii was annexed in 1898 after American business interests helped overthrow its monarchy; the islands were strategically important for Pacific trade and naval power. Puerto Rico and the Philippines came under U.S. control after the Spanish-American War through the 1898 Treaty of Paris. Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory, while the Philippines became a U.S. possession after Spain ceded it. These acquisitions expanded markets, access to resources, and American military and strategic influence.