Woodrow Wilson:

Democratic President elected in 1912 who implemented his "New Freedom" platform, targeting tariffs, banks, and trusts through major laws like the Federal Reserve Act, Clayton Antitrust Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act

Margaret Sanger

Women's health advocate who launched the birth control movement and opened the country's first family planning clinic to improve women's health and living conditions.

Woodrow Wilson

Democratic President elected in 1912 who implemented his "New Freedom" platform, targeting tariffs, banks, and trusts through major laws like the Federal Reserve Act, Clayton Antitrust Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act

Jane Addams

Leading Progressive reformer who co-founded Hull House in Chicago in 1889, pioneering the settlement house movement to assist urban poor and immigrant communities [2, passage

W.E.B. Du Bois

Civil rights leader who insisted African Americans demand immediate political and civil rights through unceasing agitation and voting; co-founder of the Niagara Movement and the NAACP

Gifford Pinchot

Head of the U.S. Forest Service under Theodore Roosevelt who advocated for conservation—the rational, sustainable planning and management of natural resources on public lands

Booker T. Washington

Civil rights leader who advocated a gradual strategy, encouraging African Americans to focus on property ownership, vocational education, and economic independence before demanding political equality

Jacob Riis:

Muckraking photojournalist and author of How the Other Half Lives, who exposed the dangerous and unsanitary conditions of New York City tenement slums

Alice Paul:

Suffrage leader who formed the National Woman's Party (NWP) and used militant tactics—such as public picketing and hunger strikes—to force federal passage of women's voting rights

Theodore Roosevelt

Progressive President (1901–1909) who expanded presidential power through his "Square Deal" program, trust busting, consumer protection legislation, labor arbitration, and land conservation

William Howard Taft

Handpicked successor to Roosevelt whose conservative shifts created Republican Party divisions that split votes during the 1912 presidential election

Lincoln Steffens

Muckraking journalist who wrote The Shame of the Cities in McClure's Magazine, exposing political corruption in urban governments such as St. Louis

Upton Sinclair

Muckraking novelist whose 1906 book The Jungle exposed horrible unsanitary practices in the meatpacking industry, directly prompting federal food safety laws

Ida Tarbell

Muckraking journalist who authored The History of Standard Oil in McClure's Magazine, exposing the ruthless, anti-competitive business practices of John D. Rockefeller

Walter Rauschenbusch

Leading pioneer of the Social Gospel movement and author of Christianity and the Social Crisis (1907)

Ida B. Wells

African American activist born into slavery who led anti-lynching campaigns, protested racial violence, and advocated for women's suffrage

Robert La Follette

Leading Progressive reformer (governor/senator from Wisconsin) who championed government reforms like the direct primary and fair corporate taxation (note: home state of WI is outside provided sources)

Florence Kelley

Progressive advocate for workers and children who helped found the National Consumers League (NCL) and fought for legal restrictions on women's working hours and child labor

Susan B. Anthony

Early women's rights pioneer who spearheaded the long campaign for a federal constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote

Carrie Chapman Catt

President of NAWSA who executed a state-by-state and federal "winning plan" to secure constitutional women's suffrage

Frances Willard:

nfluential leader of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) who linked the anti-alcohol crusade to broader social reform and women's political empowerment

John Muir

Wilderness preservationist who argued that natural lands should remain completely untouched by human development, contrasting with Roosevelt's resource conservation approach

NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)

Bi-racial civil rights organization founded in 1909 to eradicate racial prejudice, secure legal equality, and protect educational, political, and economic rights

Niagara Movement:

Group formed in 1905 by W.E.B. Du Bois and other Black intellectuals that rejected gradualism and called for immediate constitutional civil rights

Urban League

Network of civic groups focused on helping African Americans settle into cities by providing employment services, social aid, and economic support.

Anti-Defamation League (ADL)

Organization established to protect Jewish people against verbal and physical attacks, false statements, and discrimination

NAWSA (National American Woman Suffrage Association)

Mainstream suffrage group led by Carrie Chapman Catt that lobbied state and federal governments for voting rights

NWP (National Woman's Party)

Militant suffrage organization founded by Alice Paul that organized protests, pickets at the White House, and hunger strikes to compel national enfranchisemen

WCTU (Women's Christian Temperance Union)

Organization led by Frances Willard that conducted "Women's Crusades" to ban alcohol and promote family welfare and suffrage

NCL (National Consumers League)

dvocacy group led by Florence Kelley that used consumer purchasing power to push for workplace safety, shorter hours, and child labor bans

WTUL (Women's Trade Union League)

Organization of working-class and wealthy women that supported female factory workers in forming labor unions and conducting strikes

NACW (National Association of Colored Women)

Organization formed to promote education, social progress, and voting rights for African American women

NAOWS (National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage)

Organization that opposed women's suffrage, arguing that voting would undermine women's family roles and social effectiveness

Progressive Party

Political party (nicknamed the "Bull Moose Party") established by Theodore Roosevelt to run in the 1912 presidential election after splitting from the Republican Party

Square Deal

Theodore Roosevelt's domestic policy framework designed to prevent corporate fraud, protect consumers, and ensure fair treatment for workers and owners alike

New Nationalism

Theodore Roosevelt's 1912 platform advocating heavy federal regulation of trusts, environmental protection, and social justice legislation

New Freedom

Woodrow Wilson's 1912 presidential campaign program aimed at restoring market competition by dismantling monopolies, lowering tariffs, and breaking up the "Triple Wall of Privilege"

Triple Wall of Privilege

Woodrow Wilson's target for economic reform: tariffs, banks, and corporate trusts

Social Gospel

Movement led by Walter Rauschenbusch that applied Christian ethics and biblical teachings directly to urban social issues like poverty and labor exploitation

Muckrakers

investigative journalists and authors who exposed social ills, corporate corruption, and political abuse to inspire public outcry and reform

Americanization

Progressive assimilation campaigns carried out by settlement houses and civic groups to teach immigrants English and encourage adoption of middle-class Protestant customs

Conservation vs. Preservation

Conservation (Pinchot/Roosevelt) called for managing public lands for controlled, sustainable commercial and public use; Preservation (Muir) demanded keeping wilderness areas entirely undisturbed

Progressive Women Limiting Workday

egal efforts (supported by cases like Muller v. Oregon) to cap maximum working hours for women to protect female health and family

Settlement Houses

Neighborhood social centers (such as Hull House) in urban slums that provided social services, classes, and child care to poor immigrants

Oberlin College

Early coeducational college notable for offering higher education opportunities to women and Black students

Galveston, Texas

Efficient city commission system adopted after a devastating 1900 hurricane to eliminate corruption and handle municipal services smoothly

Election of 1912

Significant four-way presidential election where a vote split between Republican Taft and Progressive Roosevelt enabled Democrat Woodrow Wilson to win the presidency

Sixteenth Amendment

Authorized the federal government to collect a direct, graduated income tax

Seventeenth Amendment

Established the direct popular election of U.S. senators by citizens rather than state legislatures

Eighteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that instituted Prohibition, banning the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol

Nineteenth Amendment

Ratified in 1920, it prohibited denying voting rights based on sex, granting nationwide female suffrage

Meat Inspection Act

Law granting federal inspectors the power to audit meat-processing plants and inspect all meat crossing state lines

Pure Food and Drug Act

Legislation banning interstate transportation of impure or mislabeled food and medicine, allowing federal product inspections

Hepburn Act

Law strengthening the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) by empowering it to set maximum railroad shipping rates and regulate pipelines and tolls

National Reclamation Act

Law allocating funds from public land sales to build western irrigation and water-management projects

Federal Reserve Act

Created the Federal Reserve System to oversee commercial banks, control interest rates, and manage monetary policy

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act (1914)

Created the FTC to monitor commercial practices, suppress false advertising, and stop unfair competition

Clayton Antitrust Act (1914)

Law strengthening antitrust regulations by detailing illegal corporate actions and explicitly protecting labor unions from monopoly prosecution

Underwood Tariff Act

Law reducing import tariffs significantly to curb trust power, offsetting reduced revenue with a graduated income tax

American Indian Citizenship Act of 1924

Federal law granting full U.S. citizenship and civil rights to all Native Americans born in the United States

Direct Primary

Election reform allowing voters—rather than party bosses—to select party candidates directly

Initiative

Power given to citizens to petition and place proposed laws or constitutional amendments directly on election ballots

Referendum

Process enabling voters to approve, modify, or reject laws passed by state legislatures

Recall

Procedure allowing voters to remove elected public officials from office before their term expire

1902 Coal Miners Strike

Pennsylvania strike where President Roosevelt threatened federal military takeover of mines to force mine owners into arbitration with workers

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911)

NYC industrial disaster where 146 trapped workers died due to locked exit doors, driving mandatory state workplace safety and fire reform laws