United States History: The Drive for Reform

Vocabulary flashcards covering key reformers, concepts, publications, and political reforms of the Progressive Era from Section 1: The Drive for Reform.

Progressivism

A reform movement largely led by the emerging middle class that believed honest and efficient government, along with logic, reason, and scientific techniques, could bring about social justice.

Muckrakers

Socially conscious journalists and writers who used investigative reporting to uncover and dramatize societal ills and the need for reform.

Lincoln Steffens

Muckraking author of The Shame of the Cities, who exposed corruption in urban government.

Jacob Riis

Muckraking photographer and author of How the Other Half Lives, who exposed the deplorable living conditions of the urban poor.

Social Gospel

A reform philosophy based on Christian principles that demanded social justice, including a shorter workday and an end to child labor.

Settlement house

A community center that provided social services to the urban poor and immigrants.

Jane Addams

A leading Progressive figure in the settlement house movement who opened urban community centers providing services to immigrants and the poor.

Direct primary

An election reform that allowed voters to select party candidates directly rather than having them chosen by party leaders.

Initiative

A political reform that gave citizens the power to propose new laws directly.

Referendum

A political process that allowed citizens to vote to accept or reject laws passed by their legislature.

Recall

A political reform that gave voters the power to remove legislators or officials from office before the end of their term.

John Spargo

A muckraking writer who exposed the hardships of child labor in his work, The Bitter Cry of the Children.

Ida Tarbell

A muckraker who exposed the ruthless business practices of John D. Rockefeller's monopoly in The History of Standard Oil.

Naturalist novel

A literary genre of fiction during the Progressive Era that realistically portrayed the struggle of common people.

Upton Sinclair

Progressive author whose naturalist novel, The Jungle, exposed the shocking and unsanitary conditions in Chicago's meatpacking stockyards.

Theodore Dreiser

Progressive novelist whose book, Sister Carrie, examined factory conditions for working women.

Francis Ellen Watkins

Progressive novelist whose book, Iola Leroy, addressed and focused on racial issues.

Frank Norris

Progressive novelist whose work, The Octopus, dramatized the tensions and conflicts between farmers and railroad monopolies.

United States Children’s Bureau

A federal government agency established in 1912 to examine and protect the welfare of children as child labor decreased.

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

A tragic 1911 industrial fire in New York where 156 workers died, dramatically raising public awareness and demand for workplace safety laws.

Robert M. La Follette

Progressive Governor of Wisconsin who spearheaded government reforms including direct primaries, initiatives, referendums, and recalls to return political power to the people.

17th Amendment

A constitutional amendment passed in 1913 that established the direct election of United States Senators by the popular vote of the people.