USHIST Unit 4: The Progressive Era

Progressivism

an American political movement based on social and political reform

idealism & liberalism

primary characteristics of progressivism

Reform Darwinism

the belief that human intellect could shape and speed up the process of human evolution

settlement houses

houses founded in poor neighborhoods and designed to provide assistance & social services to poor communities

Jane Addams

leader of the settlement house movement in Chicago

Hull House

most famous settlement house, founded in Chicago

social work

modern profession that was established by the settlement house movement

social gospel

a new expression of Christianity that advocated reforming not just individual people but society as a whole

social purity movement

term for the progressive campaign to attack immorality in society

Women's Trade Union League (WTUL)

cross-class workers' alliance designed to organize working women into unions

the "uprising of the twenty thousand"

greatest success of the WTUL; Triangle Shirtwaist Company employees went on strike to protest low wages, dangerous conditions, & prohibition of organization

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory

factory in which an accidental fire killed 146 of 500 employees; owners were not convicted over the incident

Muller v. Oregon

1908 court case that limited women's workdays to 10 hours

Teddy Roosevelt

McKinley's vice president who took over after his assassination & used the office of president as a "bully pulpit" for social reform

the Square Deal

Term for Teddy Roosevelt's efforts to challenge big business

Sherman Antitrust Act

law used by Roosevelt to dissolve 43 trusts during his time in office, including Standard Oil

Hepburn Act

law that gave the Interstate Commerce Commission power to investigate private businesses & set rates to prevent price discrimination; considered the high point of Roosevelt's presidency

muckrakers

journalists who exposed social injustice to outrage the public

The Jungle

Upton Sinclair's famous muckraking work that exposed unsanitary working conditions in Chicago meatpacking plants

conservation

term for the efficient use of natural resources; one of Teddy Roosevelt's primary focuses, along with preservation

Panama Canal

one of Roosevelt's most important economic & military achievements; doubled the power of the U.S. Navy

Russo-Japanese War

Teddy Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for negotiating an end to which conflict?

William Taft

president who succeeded Teddy Roosevelt; easily manipulated by prominent Republicans, no experience in office, no real head for politics

16th Amendment

amendment that established a federal income tax

17th Amendment

amendment that established direct election of senators

13th Amendment

amendment that abolished slavery

14th Amendment

amendment that established citizenship rights, due process, and equal protection

15th Amendment

amendment that established universal male suffrage

Progressive Party

political party formed by Roosevelt's supporters during the election of 1912; nicknamed the "Bull Moose Party"

Woodrow Wilson

Democratic presidential candidate who won the election of 1912

Eugene V. Debs

leader of the American Railway Union during the Pullman Strike who later became the Socialist Party leader who ran for president 5 times between 1900-1920

Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson

Progressive presidents

Alien Land Law

law passed in 1913 that prevented Japanese immigrants from buying land in California

Chinese Exclusion Act

law preventing Chinese immigrants to the U.S. that was renewed in 1902

literacy tests & poll taxes

2 primary methods of disenfranchising black voters in the South

Jim Crow

term for laws designed to segregate public facilities in the South

Booker T. Washington

most prominent African American leader of the Progressive Era; opened the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama; emphasized education & economic progress

W.E.B. DuBois

black intellectual who advocated fighting for civil rights & racial justice

Plessy v. Ferguson

court case that upheld the legality of racial segregation

•Strong presidency

•High levels of federal involvement in the economy & social welfare

2 parts of the legacy of the Progressive Era

People's Party/Populist Party

third party formed in 1892 by the Farmers' Alliance; reformers who fought for economic democracy

Homestead Strike

1892 strike against Andrew Carnegie's steel mills in which workers were locked out of the factory

Henry Clay Frick

antilabor industrial manager hired by Carnegie to prevent a strike

Cripple Creek Strike

1894 strike in which miners won 8-hour workdays

Pullman Strike

1894 strike that essentially stopped the US railroads from running

American Railway Union

union that formed the basis of the Pullman Strike

Monroe Doctrine & Open Door Policy

2 pillars of American foreign policy during the 1890s

Monroe Doctrine

policy designed to keep European powers from interfering with politics in the Americas (1823)

Open Door policy

proposal recommending that all major powers be allowed access to trade in China while maintaining Chinese sovereignty

yellow journalism

sensationalist reporting designed to provoke an emotional response (especially during the Spanish-American War

Spanish-American War

1898 war in which the US fought to help Cuba gain independence from Spain and to build an American empire

U.S.S. Maine

battleship that exploded in Cuba to begin the Spanish-American War

Treaty of Paris

treaty that ended the Spanish-American War

Emilio Aguinaldo

leader of the Filipino independence movement against first Spain and then the U.S.