Progressive Era HOA Unit 2

problems that farmers faced

• insect infestations and drought

• falling good prices

• loan debts

• RR and banks taking advantage

• 1893 economic panic

populist party

A political party made up of farmers pushing for reforms, later becoming a part of the Democratic Party

Free coinage of silver

Believed it would increase the money supply, aid farmers and laborers by raising prices, and combat deflation

16th Amendment (1913)

Collection of a graduated income tax

17th Amendment (1913)

Direct election of senators via popular vote

The Secret Ballot

confidential voting - populist party reform

William Jenning Bryan

Presidential candidate that aligned with the lower class of America. Challenged elitists and wanted to dismantle monopolies.

William McKinley

President of the U.S. with industrialist views. Won the 1896 presidential election thanks to the support of large business tycoons. Assassinated

Theodore Roosevelt

NY governor turned V.P. turned President of the U.S. Known for campaigning against trusts like Morgan’s railroad industry.

Gold Standard

Currency has a value directly linked to a fixed amount of gold. Aimed to provide stability in currency values and reduce inflation, thus preferred by progressives.

conservation

planned use of forest lands for public and commercial purposes

preservation

protection of nature from harmful human activities

Newlands Act (1902)

The use of money from public-land sales for water management. Created dams which stimulated crop production

Roosevelt’s Role in Environment

• Was a preservationist

• Created national forests, reserves, monuments, and parks

Hetch Hetchy Valley

The 1913 Raker Act where the Sierra Club lost to Congress which made a dam in the Yosemite Park to power San Fransisco

John Muir

Preservationist writer who:

• Believed nature had sentience/souls

• Founded Sierra Club

Gifford Pinchot

A conservationist who was the head of the U.S. Forest Service. Believed “The greatest good to the greatest # for the longest time.”

Environmental Problems

• Water supply

• Extinction

• Air

• Land-use disputes

15th Amendment (1870)

Guaranteed all male citizens, including blacks, the right to vote.

14th Amendment (1868)

Protected citizens from government infringement of civil rights - especially important for blacks who were not given equal opportunity in court

Conflicts for African Americans

• Southerners used literacy tests and poll taxes to disenfranchise black voters

• Lost clientele

• Harsh prison gangs and slave-labor conditions

• Sadist lynching

• Hate crimes and murders

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Deemed segregation within streetcars, schools, parks, and cemeteries constitutional as long as commodities are equal

Jim Crow Laws

They enforced racial segregation in public facilities, schools, transportation, and other areas of life

Booker T. Washington

• Gradual approach of black rights focusing on economics - “accomodationist”

• Believed that if blacks worked practical jobs, they would garner respect from whites

• Secretly donated to activist organizations

• Relations with Teddy Roosevelt

W.E.B. DuBois

• Wanted immediate civil rights and higher education

• Helped found the NAACP

• Critical of Washington

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

Political equality for blacks and full integration

Niagara Movement

• A civil rights organization founded by a group of African American leaders, including W.E.B. Du Bois

• Aimed to combat racial discrimination and promote civil rights

• Named after the location of its first meeting at Niagara Falls, Ontario

• Laid the groundwork for future civil rights organizations, including the NAACP.

Convict leases

private individuals and corporations could lease labor from the state in the form of prisoners, nearly all of which were black

NAWSA

• Campaigned and advertised for women’s rights

• Consisted of white middle-class women

• State-by-state approach

Alice Paul

Founder of the Women’s Party who opposed Woodrow Wilson in the 1916 election. Pressured congress into nation-wide suffrage amendment.

Women Reforms

• Playgrounds/nurseries to slums

• No child labor

• Ban unsafe food

• Birth control and sex ed

Children Bureau (1912)

First Federal agency that overlooked children; T.R support

Keating Owen Act (1916)

• Limit the employment of children by setting minimum age requirements and regulating working hours.

• Declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1919

Muckraker

Progressive authors that emphasized the harsh reality of industrial life. Worked as factory workers ad observed child labor.

Settlement houses

Community centers for immigrants. Offered entertainment, life skills, education, employment bureaus, and nurseries. Many immigrants still felt politically oppressed.

Lewis Hine

Photographer whose focal point were child laborers.

Jane Addams

Opened the first immigrant social center called the Hull Hourse. Also contributed to increased sanitation within immigrant centers.

Federal Reserve Act (1913)

• 12 federal banks established under both public and private control

• Issued money to banks

• Controlled by Federal Reserve Board

• Wilson’s greatest achievement

Federal Trade Commission

• Watchdog agency over corporations

• Investigated violations and required regular reports

• Issued cease-and-desist

Clayton Antitrust Act

• Legal approach that listed corporate activites that could lead to lawsuit

• Successful in around 100 lawsuits against corporations

Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)

• Founded by Frances Willard

• 150k members

• Helped women gain experience as lobbyists and lecturers

• Also involved in welfare work, person reform, public health, and labor arbitration

Anti-saloon League

• Pushed for a ban on alcohol

• Consisted of protestant minters and full-time professionals

• Encouraged local churches to work for prohibition

Narcotics/Harrison Act

• Banned heroin, cocaine, and other addictive drugs from easy distribution

• Racist undertones, targeting Chinese and Black Americans

The Jungle (1906)

• Written by Upton Sinclair

• Described foul conditions in meatpacking plants

• Exploitation of immigrant workers

Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)

• Supported by Roosevelt

• Outlawed adulterated food/drugs

• Required ingredient labels

Meat Inspection Act (1906)

• Strict sanitary rules

• Federal inspection