The Progressive Era (1890-1920) – Key Terms

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering major people, movements, and reforms of the Progressive Era as described in the notes.

Progressive Era

1890s–1920s period of widespread social, political, and economic reform in the United States aimed at addressing problems from industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and corruption (including labor laws, regulatory agencies, women’s suffrage, and prohibition).

Progressives

A diverse group of reformers from many backgrounds who believed government action, experts, and volunteers could improve society and government; sought democracy, efficiency, regulation, and social justice.

Muckrakers

Investigative journalists who exposed social ills and corruption, giving journalism a social purpose and fueling reform (noted as a strength in diagnosis, with some critique about remedies).

Social Gospel

Religious movement applying Christian ethics to social problems to promote justice and reform; key figures included Washington Gladden and Jane Addams.

Settlement houses

Community centers in urban immigrant neighborhoods offering social services, education, and support for residents.

Jane Addams

Leading reformer who helped establish settlement houses and advocated for social reforms and women's activism.

Washington Gladden

Prominent Social Gospel advocate who argued Christians should address social justice issues.

Taylorism

Frederick Taylor’s scientific management; applying systematic, efficiency-minded methods to production and government.

Direct primary

Democratic reform allowing party members to vote for nominees, reducing control by party bosses.

Initiatives and referendums

Direct democracy tools that let citizens propose laws and vote on them in elections.

Seventeenth Amendment

1900s–1913 amendment establishing the direct election of U.S. Senators (ratified 1913).

Nineteenth Amendment

1920 amendment granting women the right to vote.

Bull Moose Party

The Progressive Party formed by Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 after a split in the Republican Party.

New Nationalism

Roosevelt’s program advocating stronger federal regulation of big business and social welfare.

New Freedom

Woodrow Wilson’s program focused on limiting big business power, tariff reform, and banking reform.

Federal Reserve Act

1913 law creating the Federal Reserve System to oversee monetary policy and stabilize the currency.

Clayton Antitrust Act

1914 act strengthening antitrust laws and protecting labor rights from monopolistic practices.

Federal Trade Commission

1914 agency created to investigate and prevent unfair business practices.

Adamson Act

1916 law establishing an eight-hour workday for railroad workers.

WCTU (Women’s Christian Temperance Union)

Women’s organization promoting temperance and contributing to broader reform movements, including suffrage.

Prohibition

Movement to ban alcoholic beverages nationwide as part of reform efforts.

Eugenics

Pseudoscientific movement promoting selective breeding; linked to racist and discriminatory policies.

Immigration restrictions

Policies aimed at limiting who could enter the U.S., often via literacy tests and xenophobic attitudes.

Conservation

Efforts to protect natural resources and manage them for sustainable use, championed by Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot.

Gifford Pinchot

Conservationist who promoted the sustainable, efficient use of natural resources and led early U.S. forest policy.

Populism

Late 19th-century movement by farmers and laborers seeking economic reform and political power against elites; heavily influenced later Progressive reforms.