Period 7 - Progressivism Flashcards

Progressivism

a widespread, diverse reform movement in the US aiming to address the political, social, and economic inequities caused by industrialization and urbanization

Who were the progressives?

White, urban middle class

Muckrakers

investigative journalists, novelists, and photographers who exposed corruption in government, big business, and social injustices to spur reform

Upton Sinclair

One of the more well known Muckrakers due to his book The Jungle which exposed the meatpacking industry in Chicago

Settlement House Movement

a Progressive Era social reform initiative aimed at reducing poverty and aiding immigrants by establishing community centers in slum neighborhoods. Led by educated middle-class women like Jane Addams (Hull House), these centers offered education, daycare, and healthcare.

Social Gospel Movement

a Protestant-led movement aiming to apply Christian ethics to social ills caused by industrialization and urbanization, urging Christians to combat poverty, inequality, child labor, and poor housing. They viewed social reform as a moral duty to create the "Kingdom of God" on Earth

Initiatives

gave people the power to write their own laws

Referendums

allowed citizens to reject or accept laws

recalls

gave voters power to remove legislators

17th amendment

provided for the direct election of US senators

Muller v. Oregon

a Supreme Court case where the Court upheld an Oregon law limiting women to a 10-hour workday, ruling that special "protective" labor legislation for women was constitutional. It marked a victory for Progressive-era reformers but divided feminists by highlighting the "physical difference" between men and women.

Margaret Sanger

Progressive Era nurse, educator, and activist who launched the modern birth control movement. She founded the American Birth Control League (1921), later Planned Parenthood, and opened the first U.S. birth control clinic in 1916.

Alice Paul

a radical American suffragist and activist who led the successful campaign for the 19th Amendment (1920) using militant tactics, such as picketing the White House and hunger strikes. She founded the National Woman's Party

Carrie Chapman Catt

a pivotal American suffragist leader and president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) who implemented the "Winning Plan" to secure women's voting rights by lobbying for a constitutional amendment

19th Amendment

gave women the right to vote

Americanization

the process where immigrants and indigenous peoples were pressured to adopt American language, values, customs, and culture to fit into mainstream US society

The Urban League

an organization created to assist African Americans, particularly those moving North during the Great Migration, with finding jobs, housing, schools for their kids, and with adjusting to city life

Roosevelt’s Square Deal

President Theodore Roosevelt's domestic program aimed at ensuring fairness for workers, consumers, and businesses. It focused on three main goals: consumer protection, natural resource conservation, and curbing corporate excesses

Hepburn Act of 1906

Strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) by empowering it to enforce maximum railroad rates/prices

Elkins Act of 1903

Allowed the government to fine railroads that gave favored rates to shipper

16th Amendment

authorized congress to create a graduated income tax

Federal Reserve Act of 1913

a landmark Progressive Era law signed by Woodrow Wilson that created the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the U.S, which controlled interest rates and the supply of money

Federal Trade Commission

Monitored businesses to prevent monopolies, false advertising, and dishonest labelings

Clayton Antitrust Act

Strengthened the Sherman Antitrust act by defining specific activities in which businesses could not engage, along with protecting labor unions from being defined as trusts, allowing them more freedom to organize