Progressive Era Vocab

Secret Ballot

Reform that established a system of secret voting in private booths, with government-printed ballot to avoid corruption and intimidation. Increased citizens ability to participate in the government.

Direct Primary

Robert La Follette, introduced a new system that bypassed politicians, putting the nominating process directly into Citizens hands. They can vote on who they want to be the different parties candidates for the election.

Muckraker

Journalists who began to publish pieces of work that would direct the public attention to the social, economic, and political injustices of the Gilded Age.

Known as mudrakers for “raking up mud” and being committed to exposing the corruption and injustice.

16th Amendment

A national income tax

17th Amendment

The direct election of senators, Senators had been chosen by the state legislature, now they are directly elected by the people of a state.

18th Amendment

outlaws the sale, manufacturing or transportation of alcohol that lasted from 1920 to 1933.

19th Amendment

The constitutional amendment that guaranteed voting rights to women throughout the nation. This created another increase in democracy.

Ballot Initiative

A method by which all voters could compel the legislature to consider a bill

Referendum

Method that allows citizens to vote directly on proposed laws printed on their ballots.

Recall

Enabled voters to remove a corrupt or satisfactory voter from office by majority vote before the officials term had finished.

Women Suffrage

The advocacy for women’s right to vote

Sherman Anti-trust act

Prohibits anti-competitive business practices such as price-fixing, monopolies, and trusts that restrain trade.

Clayton Anti-trust act

Builds off of the Sherman Anti-trust act and stops integration turning into monopolies.

Meat inspection act of 1906

Roosevelt encouraged Congress to pass the 1906 Meat Inspection Act, which created federal standards for meatpacking factories. Ensured sanitary food conditions, by stating that the government could inspect all meat products.

Interstate commerce

The Hepburn act gave Interstate commerce the power to set maximum freight rates, suggest bookkeeping methods, no free passes to individual companies, and RR companies can’t carry their own goods in the interest of railroad regulation.

Pure food and drug act of 1906

Required that all processed food and drugs have to include ingredient labels

Forest reserve act

Act that allowed President can set aside land for parks, monuments and national forests that would be Run by the National Parks
Service. Some of the land is for conservation
and preservation.