U.S History Progressive Era

Farmers’ problems

More settles moved to the Great Plains, crops were being overproduced. Prices dropped and caused farmers to earn less and be in debt. Railroads charged a lot of money to ship crops.

The Grange

Farmers joined Grange Movement. Grange movement worked together to save money and to lobby congress(to influence lawmakers)

The Interstate Commerce Act passed in 1887 to ensure they price farmers fairly.

The populist party

The Populist Party later emerged to fight for farmers, factory workers, and other laborers.

Third Party

The Populist Party was considered “third party” because it was not as widely supported as the Republican or Democratic parties. In the 1892 Presidential Election, the Populist Party won around 8% of the popular vote.

Progressive movement

People who wanted to fix the social problems caused by factories, industrialization, and government corruption.

Upton Sinclair was a muckraker(journalist) who wrote “The Jungle” to bring awareness to unsanitary food packaging practices.

Pure Food and Drug Act & Meat inspection Act was passed in 1906

Popular Progressives

Jane Addams founded “Hull House” which helped immigrants assimilate(adapt/fit) to the United States

Ida B.Wells fought for equal rights for women and for African Americans, helped found the NAACP

Booker T. Washington educator and orator, first president of the Tuskegee institute. He helped African Americans learn job and education.

W.E.B Du Bois educator, writer, helped found the NAACP, first African American to earn a Ph D from Harvard University.

Progressive State Reforms

Progressives worked for citizens to play more direct role in democracy by advocating(speak up) for citizens to get involved in government.

Pendleton Act

In 1883, Congress passed the Pendleton Act that helped stop government corruption and the spoils system by hiring according to skills and exams.

Theodore Roosevelt

Held a variety of political officers because he saw it as his job to look out for the common man and would break up trusts and monopolies.

He passed Square Deal to protect workers, consumer, and the environment.

William Taft

After Roosevelt served two terms, he was elected president and supposed to continue the policies of Roosevelt. Taft broke up monopolies but was unable to get laws passed like Roosevelt.

Disappointed Roosevelt ran for president again as Bull Moose Party(3rd party member)

After this, Taft served on the US Supreme Court until 1930

Woodrow Wilson

1912 election. The Republican Party split into two groups because of the Bull Moose Party. This helped Wilson, a Democrat, win and become the 28th president.

Wilson continued many of Roosevelt’s progressive ideas and passed new laws to improve the country.(Tax, Federal Reserve(central bank)& Laborers

Biggest achievement was creating the national park services in 1916