Progressivism
A movement that emerged during the late nineteenth century whose adherents were united by the belief that if people joined together and applied human intelligence to the task of improving the nation, progress was inevitable. Progressives advocated governmental intervention, yet sought change without radically altering capitalism or the democratic political system.
Pragmatism
Philosophy that holds that truth can be discovered only through experience and that the value of ideas should be measured by their practical consequences. Pragmatism had a significant influence on the progressives.
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Muckrakers
Investigative journalists during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who specialized in exposing corruption, scandal, and vice. Muckrakers helped build public support for progressive causes.
Hull House
The settlement house, based on Toynbee Hall in England, established by Jane Addams and Ellen Starr in Chicago in 1889. It served as a center of social reform and provided educational and social opportunities for working-class poor and immigrant women and their children.
Segregation
The purposeful separation of people into ethnic or racial groups. Segregation was often actively perpetuated and enforced through “black codes” and Jim Crow era legislation which persisted into the latter half of the twentieth century.
National Association of Colored Women
Organization that became the largest federation of black local women’s clubs in 1896. The group was designed to relieve suffering among poor black people, defend black women, and promote the interests of all black people.
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Muller v. Oregon
1908 Supreme Court ruling that upheld an Oregon law establishing a ten-hour workday for women.
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Feminist
Someone who believes that women should have access to the same opportunities as men.
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National American Woman Suffrage Association
A national organization created in 1890 when the American Woman Suffrage Association and the National Woman Suffrage Association combined. The group contributed to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1919, which guaranteed women’s right to vote in the United States. \n
Suffragists
Supporters of voting rights for women. Campaigns for women’s suffrage gained strength in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and culminated in the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920.
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Nineteenth Amendment
Amendment to the Constitution granting women the right to vote, passed in 1919, and ratified into law in 1920.
Tuskegee Institute
African American educational institute founded in 1881 by Booker T. Washington. Following Washington’s philosophy, the institute focused on teaching industrious habits and practical job skills.
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National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
Organization founded by W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, Jane Addams, and others in 1909 to fight for racial equality. The NAACP strategy focused on fighting discrimination through the courts.
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Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)
Organization founded in 1874 to campaign for a ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol. In the late nineteenth century, under Frances Willard’s leadership, the WCTU supported a broad social reform agenda.
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Eighteenth Amendment
1918 amendment to the Constitution banning the production and sale of alcoholic beverages. It was repealed in 1933 with the Twenty-First Amendment.
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Mann Act
Also known as the White Slave Trade Act, the Mann Act was passed in 1910 and banned the transportation of women across state lines for immoral purposes. In practice, this legislation was used to enforce codes of racial segregation and standards of moral behavior that enforced traditional social roles for women.
Eugenics
The pseudoscience of producing genetic improvements in the human population through selective breeding. Proponents of eugenics often saw ethnic and racial minorities as genetically “undesirable” and inferior.
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Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
An infamous industrial fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory in New York City in 1911. Inadequate fire safety provisions led to the deaths of 146 workers, mostly young women and girls.
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Conservationism
Progressive Era political and social movement whose supporters worked for the preservation of America’s wildlife and natural lands.
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Rough Riders
The nickname of Theodore Roosevelt’s regiment of the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, which fought in Cuba during the Spanish-American War in 1898.
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Bully Pulpit
Term used by Theodore Roosevelt to describe the office of the presidency. Roosevelt believed that the president should use his office as a platform to promote his programs and rally public opinion.
Square Deal
Theodore Roosevelt’s plan to provide economic and political stability to the nation by guaranteeing the rights of everyday workers and protecting business interests.
Elkins Act
1903 act outlawed railroad rebates. The act was designed to protect smaller businesses and shippers who were paying higher rates than large favored customers, such as Standard Oil.
The Jungle
1906 muckraking novel by Upton Sinclair that portrayed the poor working and living conditions in the Chicago meat-packing district, as well as the unsanitary practices in the unregulated meat production industry, leading to a widespread call for government regulation of food safety.
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Pure Food and Drug Act
1906 law to prevent the manufacturing, sale, and transportation of harmful “foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors.”
Progressive Party
Third party formed by Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 to facilitate his candidacy for president. Nicknamed the “Bull Moose Party,” the Progressive Party split the Republican vote, allowing Democrat Woodrow Wilson to win the election. The party promoted an income tax, an eight-hour workday, unions, women’s suffrage, and an end to child labor.
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New Nationalism
Agenda put forward by Theodore Roosevelt in his 1912 presidential campaign. Roosevelt called for increased regulation of large corporations, a more active role for the president, and the extension of social justice using the power of the federal government.
New Freedom
Term used by Woodrow Wilson to describe his limited-government, progressive agenda. Wilson’s New Freedom was offered as an alternative to Theodore Roosevelt’s New Nationalism.
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Sixteenth Amendment
1913 amendment providing a legal basis for a graduated income tax, which had been previously deemed unconstitutional.
Clayton Antitrust Act
1914 act that strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act by banning certain corporate operations, such as price discrimination and overlapping membership on company boards, and by protecting labor unions. The Act was designed to encourage economic competition.
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Adamson Act
1916 act establishing an eight-hour workday and overtime for workers in private industry — in this case, railroad workers.
Keating-Owen Act
1916 act preventing the interstate sale of goods made by children under the age of 14, among other protections for children. The Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in 1918.
Workmen’s Compensation Act
Regulation guaranteeing the rights of federal employees to receive financial compensation or pursue legal action for any injury occurring on the job.
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Jane Addams
graduated from a women's college in Illinois and toured Europe in efforts to improve life for the impoverished
Lincoln Steffens
wrote about machine bosses ' shameful rule in many
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Ida Tarbell
journalist that lambasted the dishonest business practices of Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company
Ida Wells
former slave in Holly Springs , Mississippi that became a teacher , writer , editor and civil rights activist
Alice Paul
founded the National Women's Party in 1923 and proposed that Congress adopt an equal rights act for the equality of women as citizens
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Booker T. Washington
founded the Tuskegee Institute in 1881
W.E.B. Du Bois
urged black people to demand first - class citizenship ; pushed for equal voting rights and education
Frances Willard
led the WCTU in 1874
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Margaret Sanger
leading advocate of birth control
Theodore Roosevelt
Roosevelt was a leader of the progressive movement , and he championed his " Square Deal " domestic policies , promising the average citizen fairness , breaking of trusts , regulation of railroads , and pure food and drugs
Robert La Follette
American lawyer and politician . He represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the Governor of Wisconsin
Gifford Pinchot
American forester and politician . He served as the 4th Chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry , as the 1st head of the United States Forest Service , and as the 28th Governor of Pennsylvania
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John Muir
Scottish - American naturalist , author , environmental philosopher , botanist , zoologist , glaciologist , and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States of America
William McKinley
McKinley led the nation to victory in the Spanish - American War , raised protective tariffs to promote American industry , and kept the nation on the gold standard in a rejection of the expansionary monetary policy of free silver . He got assassinated