Unit 3 Progressive Era Test Review Topics

W.E.B. DuBois

African American scholar and activist who founded the NAACP and fought for racial equality.

Susan B. Anthony

Women's rights leader who organized rallies and lobbied for suffrage, leading to the 19th Amendment.

Jane Addams

Reformer who founded Hull House, a settlement house that helped the poor and immigrants; also fought for women's rights.

Upton Sinclair

Muckraker who wrote The Jungle, exposing unsafe conditions in the meatpacking industry, which led to the Pure Food and Drug Act.

Ida B. Wells

African American journalist who exposed lynching and racial violence/inequality and advocated for women's suffrage.

Booker T. Washington

Educator who promoted a gradual approach and vocational training to improve life for African Americans.

Theodore Roosevelt

First of the three Progressive presidents; conserved public land, adopted the Square Deal, and used muckraking journalism to push reform.

William Taft

Progressive president who continued trust-busting and oversaw passage of the 16th Amendment.

Woodrow Wilson

President elected in 1912 who passed the graduated income tax, Child Labor Act, and the 17th Amendment.

Andrew Carnegie

Wealthy industrialist known for philanthropy, funding libraries and educational institutions.

Progressive Era

A period in the late 1800s/early 1900s marked by political, economic, and social reforms meant to fix problems from the Gilded Age.

Gilded Age

The era before the Progressive Era, marked by corporate monopolies, political corruption, and unfair labor practices.

Muckraker

A journalist or writer who investigated and exposed corruption and social problems (e.g., Upton Sinclair).

Monopoly

When one company dominates and controls an entire industry, eliminating competition.

Trust-Busting

Breaking up monopolies and trusts to restore competition in the economy.

Populist Party

A third party that fought for working-class citizens and farmers, pushing reforms like the graduated income tax and direct election of senators.

Third Party

A political party other than the two major parties (Democrats/Republicans); rarely wins but can affect election outcomes by drawing votes away from a major party.

Initiative

A process allowing citizens to propose a new law by gathering signatures on a petition.

Referendum

A process allowing citizens to vote directly on a proposed law (an initiative).

Recall

A process allowing citizens to remove an elected official from office through a special vote.

Pendleton Act (1883)

Established the merit system for federal jobs, requiring civil service exams instead of political connections.

Merit System

Filling government jobs based on qualifications and exams rather than political favoritism.

Spoils System

Rewarding political supporters with government jobs, regardless of qualifications — what the Pendleton Act replaced.

Square Deal

Theodore Roosevelt's program to address social and economic problems, including conservation and consumer protection.

Pure Food and Drug Act

A law that protected consumers by increasing federal regulation over the food and drug industries (inspired by The Jungle).

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws in the South that enforced racial segregation and restricted African American voting rights.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Supreme Court case that ruled racial segregation was constitutional as long as facilities were "separate but equal."

NAACP

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; founded by W.E.B. DuBois to fight for African American civil rights through legal action.

Settlement House

A community center (like Hull House) that helped poor and immigrant families in cities.

Temperance Movement

A movement to limit or ban alcohol, which led to Prohibition.

Prohibition

The nationwide ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol, established by the 18th Amendment.

Speakeasy

An illegal, hidden bar or club that sold alcohol during Prohibition.

Organized Crime

Criminal groups (gangs, mobsters) that grew powerful and wealthy by illegally selling alcohol during Prohibition.

Women's Suffrage Movement

The movement to gain voting rights for women, which began at Seneca Falls in 1848 and led to the 19th Amendment.

Bull Moose Party

The third party Theodore Roosevelt formed to run for president in 1912 after splitting from the Republican Party.

Laissez-Faire

A "hands-off" approach to government, where the government does not interfere in the economy or business — the approach before Progressive reforms.

Child Labor Laws

Laws passed during the Progressive Era to protect children from unsafe and excessive labor.

Graduated Income Tax

A tax system where people with higher incomes pay a higher tax rate.

Knights of Labor

An early national labor union that fought for better wages and working conditions.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

A labor union of skilled workers that advocated for better wages and hours.

Homestead Act

A law that gave free land to settlers who would farm it, encouraging westward expansion.

Transcontinental Railroad

The railroad connecting the eastern and western United States, completed in 1869, which encouraged westward migration.

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery.

14th Amendment

Granted U.S. citizenship to all people born in the U.S., including former slaves.

15th Amendment

Gave African American men the right to vote.

16th Amendment

Allowed Congress to levy (collect) an income tax.

17th Amendment

Established the direct election of U.S. Senators by the people (instead of state legislatures).

18th Amendment

Established Prohibition, banning the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol.

19th Amendment

Gave women the right to vote.