The Progressive Era

What time was the progressive era?

1890s to 1920s

What were corporate leaders sometimes referred to as?

Robber barons

What was a major issue of the era?

The gap between rich and poor

Jane Addams

Founded the Hull House in Chicago to help immigrants adapt to life in the US

Ida Tarbell

A muckraker who exposed the corrupt business of Standard Oil by writing The History of the Standard Oil Company.

Sixteenth Amendment

(1913)- Established a federal income tax

Seventeenth Amendment

(1913)- Direct election of senators

Eighteenth Amendment

(1919)- Prohibition

Nineteenth Amendment

(1920)- Gave women the right to vote

Sherman Antitrust Act

(1890)- First Federal law to prohibit monopolies and promote business competition

Jacob Riis’s Book Published

(1890)- How the Other Half Lives is published, using photographs to expose tenement living conditions in New York

NAWSA Founded

(1890)- National women’s suffrage association led by Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cary Staton, pushed for women’s right to vote

Panic of 1893

(1893)- severe economic depression, calls for government reform and regulation

Plessy V Ferguson

(1896)- The Supreme Court upholds ‘separate but equal’. Racial segregation is legalized.

Spanish- American War

(1898)- Began with the sinking of the USS Maine in Cuba. Leads to US control of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, and a protectorate over Cuba.

Teddy Roosevelt becomes President

(1901)- President McKinley is assassinated and his VP Roosevelt takes over

Coal Strike of 1902

(1902)- Roosevelt takes federal control over coal mines that were striking needed to heat major cities in winter

Roosevelt’s Square Deal

(1902)- Government control over corporations, consumer protection, and conservation of natural resources

Elkins Act

(1903)- Strengthens federal regulation of railroads by prohibiting unfair rebates

Upton Sinclair’s Book

(1906)- The Jungle revealed horrible conditions in meatpacking and led to acts preventing poor conditions

Pure Food and Drug Act

(1906)- Passed due to The Jungle, prohibited sale of mishandled or unadulterated food and drugs in interstate commerce

Meat Inspection Act

(1906)- Passed due to the Jungle. Required federal inspection of livestock and meat conditions in slaughterhouses.

Muller V Oregon

(1908)- Supreme Court upholds working restrictions for women’s working hours, citing health and safety.

NAACP Founded

(1909)- Created by WEB Du Bois and others, fought racial injustice

Election of 1912

(1912)- Four way race: Taft, Roosevelt, Wilson, and Debs (Wilson wins, progressive reforms are the main issue)

Federal Reserve Act

(1913)- Created federal reserve system to stabilize economy and banking

Clayton Antitrust Act

(1914)- prohibit specific business activities that could substantially lessen competition, such as price discrimination, exclusive dealing, and mergers that might reduce competition. It also limited interlocking directorates (where one person sits on the boards of competing companies)

Federal Trade Commission Established

(1914)- created to enforce antitrust laws and protect consumers from anticompetitive, deceptive, or unfair business practices.

Keating- Owen Child Labor Act

(1916)- prohibits interstate sale of goods produced by child labor (later struck down by SC ruled unconstitutional)

US enters WW1

(1917)- A result of unrestricted sub warfare, sinking the Lusitania and killing Americans, and interception of the Zimmerman telegram (plan for Mexican- German alliance against US)