Unit 7: Period 7 (1890–1945) Study Guide

Progressivism

A broad reform impulse (c. 1890–1920) arguing that modern industrial society required modern government action, regulation, and professional expertise to fix structural problems.

Populist Movement

Late-1800s political movement of largely agrarian (farmer) reformers that promoted radical government action and helped normalize the idea of large-scale change through politics.

Trusts and Monopolies

Large business combinations that could dominate markets in the industrial era, prompting Progressive calls for regulation and antitrust enforcement.

Political Machine

An urban political organization that gained and held power through patronage and vote manipulation; sometimes provided services but was often associated with corruption.

Muckrakers

Investigative journalists who exposed corruption and exploitation, helping build public support for Progressive reforms (e.g., food and drug regulation).

Social Gospel

Protestant reform movement teaching that Christianity should address social problems like poverty and inequality, framing reform as a moral duty.

Settlement House

Community center in immigrant neighborhoods offering services (childcare, education, job training) and supporting research and advocacy for reforms.

Hull House

A famous Chicago settlement house led by Jane Addams that served immigrants and promoted public health, housing reform, and labor protections.

Robert La Follette

Progressive Wisconsin governor associated with state “laboratory of democracy” reforms using expertise to regulate railroads and reduce machine influence.

Direct Primary

Progressive reform in which voters, not party leaders, choose party nominees for office.

Initiative

A process allowing citizens to propose legislation directly, often used in western states during the Progressive Era.

Referendum

A process allowing citizens to vote directly on proposed laws or measures.

Recall

A process allowing voters to remove elected officials from office before their term ends.

17th Amendment (1913)

Constitutional amendment establishing direct election of U.S. senators, intended to reduce corruption linked to state legislatures.

Jim Crow

System of laws and practices enforcing racial segregation and Black disenfranchisement, especially in the South, limiting Progressive-era democratic expansion.

Square Deal

Theodore Roosevelt’s domestic program emphasizing control of corporations, consumer protection, and conservation.

Sherman Antitrust Act

Federal law used to combat monopolies; Roosevelt enforced it more aggressively, helping earn the “trustbuster” reputation.

Meat Inspection Act (1906)

Law expanding federal inspection of meatpacking, passed amid public pressure over unsanitary conditions.

Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)

Law increasing federal oversight of food and medicines to protect consumers from unsafe or mislabeled products.

Conservation (Progressive Era)

Protection and management of natural resources; Roosevelt set aside millions of acres as parks, forests, and monuments.

New Freedom

Woodrow Wilson’s reform agenda emphasizing competition and restraint of monopolies through expanded federal economic regulation.

Federal Reserve Act (1913)

Law creating a central banking system to stabilize currency and credit in the U.S. economy.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Agency created in 1914 to target unfair business practices and regulate competition.

Clayton Antitrust Act (1914)

Antitrust law that strengthened earlier rules and was more labor-friendly than prior enforcement.

19th Amendment (1920)

Constitutional amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote nationwide.

18th Amendment (1919)

Constitutional amendment establishing Prohibition (banning manufacture, sale, and transport of alcoholic beverages).

NAACP (1909)

Civil rights organization co-founded by W.E.B. Du Bois to fight racial discrimination and demand full civil and political rights.

Imperialism

Extending a nation’s political, military, or economic power over other regions through direct control or indirect dominance.

Treaty of Paris (1898)

Treaty ending the Spanish–American War; the U.S. gained Puerto Rico and Guam and took control of the Philippines.

Anti-Imperialist League

Organization arguing U.S. empire violated American ideals of consent of the governed; motives varied from moral objections to racism or labor fears.

Platt Amendment (1901)

Measure limiting Cuban sovereignty and allowing U.S. intervention, demonstrating continued U.S. control after Cuban “independence.”

Open Door Notes (1899–1900)

Policy calling for equal trade access in China and preservation of China’s territorial integrity to prevent exclusion by imperial powers.

Roosevelt Corollary (1904)

Claim that the U.S. could intervene in Latin America to prevent European involvement, making the U.S. a regional “police power.”

Dollar Diplomacy

Taft-era foreign policy using U.S. loans and investment to influence Latin America and East Asia.

Zimmermann Telegram (1917)

German message proposing a German–Mexican alliance against the U.S., helping push public opinion toward entering WWI.

Selective Service Act (1917)

Law creating a military draft to staff U.S. forces in World War I.

War Industries Board (WIB)

WWI agency coordinating industrial and agricultural production; expanded federal role but often faced inefficiency and delays.

Committee on Public Information (CPI)

WWI propaganda agency promoting support for the war, increasingly using sensational anti-German messaging.

Espionage Act (1917)

Law restricting interference with the war effort or draft (including via the mail), used to suppress dissent.

Sedition Act (1918)

Law making it illegal to obstruct bond sales or speak disparagingly of the government, military, or Constitution during WWI.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Supreme Court case upholding speech limits during WWI using the “clear and present danger” standard.

Great Migration

Movement of over 500,000 Black Southerners to Northern cities during WWI for industrial jobs and to escape Jim Crow violence.

Fourteen Points

Wilson’s WWI peace program advocating open diplomacy, self-determination, reduced arms, and creation of a League of Nations.

League of Nations

International organization created by the Treaty of Versailles to maintain peace; the U.S. never joined after Senate rejection.

Installment Plans (Consumer Credit)

Buying goods on credit with payments over time; fueled the 1920s consumer boom but increased vulnerability if incomes fell.

Immigration Act of 1924 (Johnson–Reed Act)

Law tightening national-origins quotas to favor northern/western Europe and sharply restrict “new immigrants,” aiming to freeze America’s ethnic makeup.

Dust Bowl

Great Plains environmental disaster during the Depression caused by drought and poor farming practices, intensifying rural poverty and migration.

Social Security Act (1935)

New Deal law creating retirement pensions and unemployment insurance, establishing a long-term federal social insurance system.

Executive Order 9066 (1942)

Order authorizing removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans from military zones during WWII, driven by fear and racism.

GI Bill (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, 1944)

Law expanding veterans’ access to education and housing, shaping postwar prosperity and growth of higher education.