Populism, progressivism, and ww2

What were the key proposals in the Populist (People's Party) Omaha Platform of 1892?

Free silver, graduated income tax, government ownership of railroads/telegraphs, direct Senate elections, and an eight-hour workday.

How did the Supreme Court ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) shape Southern race relations?

In 1896 the Court upheld “separate but equal,” legitimizing Jim Crow segregation and supporting Southern racial discrimination.

What was the primary motivation behind the Open Door Policy in 1899?

John Hay sought equal U.S. trade access in China’s foreign spheres of influence without establishing American colonies.

How did Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois differ in their response to Jim Crow?

Washington favored vocational training and economic progress while temporarily accepting segregation; Du Bois demanded immediate civil and political rights and higher education.

What territory did the U.S. acquire following the Spanish-American War of 1898?

The U.S. acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines; Cuba became a U.S. protectorate under the Platt Amendment.

Who were the "muckrakers" and what impact did they have on federal legislation?

Investigative journalists exposing corruption and abuses; Upton Sinclair’s meatpacking exposé helped spur the 1906 Pure Food and Drug and Meat Inspection Acts.

What was Hull House and how did it exemplify Progressive Era social reform?

Jane Addams’s Chicago settlement house provided immigrant families education, healthcare, and childcare, modeling practical urban social reform.

How did the 19th Amendment alter democratic participation in the United States?

Ratified in 1920, it prohibited denying the vote on the basis of sex, expanding voting rights to women nationwide.

What was Theodore Roosevelt's "Square Deal" program?

Roosevelt’s “Three Cs”: control corporations, protect consumers, and conserve natural resources.

How did Taylorism (Scientific Management) change 20th-century American workplaces?

Frederick Taylor used timing and standardized tasks to boost productivity, but reduced workers’ independence.

What were President Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points" and their central diplomatic objective?

Wilson’s WWI peace plan called for open diplomacy, free trade, self-determination, and a League of Nations to prevent future wars.

How did World War I spark the first phase of the "Great Migration"?

WWI factory labor shortages, reduced European immigration, and escape from Jim Crow drew over 500,000 Black Southerners north and west.

How did the Espionage (1917) and Sedition (1918) Acts constrain civil liberties?

They criminalized interference with the draft and disloyal wartime speech; Schenck (1919) upheld restrictions under “clear and present danger.”

Why did the U.S. Senate refuse to ratify the Treaty of Versailles or join the League of Nations?

Senators feared League of Nations Article X could draw the U.S. into wars without Congress approving them.