APUSH UNIT 4 - Progressive Era

16th Amendment

Established a gradual federal income tax

17th Amendment

Allowed voters to directly elect U.S. Senators

Reduced political corruption and increasing democratic participation.

Were previously selected by State Legislatures.

18th Amendment

Began Prohibition by banning the production, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages in the U.S.

19th Amendment

Guaranteed women the right to vote (women’s suffrage)

Booker T. Washington

Advocated for vocational (job) training and economic self-reliance for African Americans; founded Tuskegee Institute.

Bull Moose Party

Progressive political party formed by Theodore Roosevelt

Advocated for reforms like women's suffrage and trust regulation.

Played a major role in the Election of 1912.

Child Labor

The exploitation of children in dangerous factory jobs and mines with long hours and low pay, especially during industrialization.

Clayton Anti-Trust Act

Enhanced the Sherman Anti-Trust Act by defining unethical business practices

Protected Labor Unions Right’s

Made it easier to close down trusts by closing loopholes

Cross of Gold Speech

Willian Jennings Bryan’s famous 1896 speech

Criticized banks and businesses for becoming rich at the expense of their workers and farmers.

Direct Election of Senators

Made Senate elections more democratic

Transferred power from state legislatures to the people.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Leading woman suffragist and abolitionist who co-organized the Seneca Falls Convention and co-authored the Declaration of Sentiments.

Federal Reserve Act

Created the Federal Reserve System to stabilize the economy by controlling the money supply and interest rates.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Regulatory agency to ensure safety in food and medicine

Caused by public outcry over unsanitary conditions in industries.

Passed as a result of women’s organizations and muckrakers (Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle).

Francis Willard

Temperance reformer and woman suffragist
Helped lead the Women’s Christian Temperance Union to promote moral reform.

Gilded Age

Time of rapid industrialization, economic growth, and political corruption from the 1870s to about 1900.

Grandfather Clause

Voting restriction targeting African Americans

Those whose grandfathers had voted prior to the 15th Amendment could vote without extra requirements

Gradual Income Tax

Created a tax system where the rich pay a higher percentage than the poor, addressing income inequality.

Grange Movement

Started as a social group for farmers

Grew into a political force supporting rural and agricultural interests.

Supported the Populists

Wanted the government to own utilities and railroads.

Hull House

Community center in Chicago founded by Jane Addams’

Assisted immigrants with education, housing, and job training

Part of the Social Gospel Movement.

Ida B. Wells

Journalist and activist who exposed the horrors of lynching

Fought for African American civil rights

Also a women’s suffragette.

Ida Tarbell

Investigative reporter

Exposed corruption in Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company

Leading to public reforms and anti-trust laws.

Immigration Restrictions

Nativist pushed for restrictions on immigration.

During the Progressive Era the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Industrial Age

Era of major industrial growth, leading to urbanization, technological innovations, the rise of big business, abuse of workers, child labor, and problems with rapid urbanization.

Initiative

Process where citizens can propose laws through petitions to be voted on by the public.

Interstate Commerce Act

Law regulating railroad practices and rates

Protected farmers and small businesses from monopolistic control

First time the government stepped in to regulate businesses.

Interstate Commerce Commission

Government agency that enforced the Interstate Commerce Act and oversee fair trade and transport.

Jacob Riis

Photojournalist whose work in 'How the Other Half Lives' exposed slum conditions in tenements and influenced housing reforms.

Jane Addams

Social reformer and founder of Hull House

Key figure in settlement house movement and women’s suffrage

Was a follower of the Social Gospel Movement.

Jim Crow Laws

Segregation laws that enforced racial discrimination in public facilities, schools, and transportation.

Were fueled by the Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Fergusson.

John Muir

Environmentalist who promoted conservation

Helped establish national parks like Yosemite with President Theodore Roosevelt.

Literacy Tests

Tool used to suppress African Americans voters by requiring reading and writing tests, often unfairly administered with subjective grading.

Meat Inspection Act

Federal inspection of meatpacking plants to ensure cleanliness and consumer safety.

Passed as a result of women’s organizations and Upton Sinclair who published The Jungle.

Muckrakers

Writers and journalists who exposed political corruption, abuse of businesses, and social injustices in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

Civil rights organization founded in 1909

Challenged segregation and promote equal rights for African Americans.

National Child Labor Committee

Group that exposed child labor abuses and advocated for reforms protecting children’s welfare and education.

National Woman Suffrage Association

Women’s suffrage group led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony pushing for voting rights for women.

New Freedom

Woodrow Wilson’s reform plan

Promoted stronger antitrust laws, banking reform, and tariff reductions.

Pendleton Act

Law that reformed the federal hiring process

Required government jobs to be filled based on merit through the Civil Service Exam.

The Civil Service Commission was created because of this law

Ended the Spoils System.

People’s Party

Also known as the Populists

A third political party that represented farmers and laborers

Called for economic reforms

Were supported by the Grangers.

Plessy v. Fergusson

Supreme Court case that challenged segregation.

The court said that “separate but equal” was constitutional

Fueled segregation.

It was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education.

Poll Taxes

Used to disenfranchise African Americans by requiring payment to vote, which many could not afford.

Populist Party

Another name for the People’s Party

Progressive Era

Reform era from 1890s to the 1920s

Focused on correcting social, political, and economic injustices from the Industrial and Gilded Ages through government action.

Spoils System

Practice of awarding government jobs to political supporters

Often led to incompetence and corruption

Ended by the Pendleton Act.

Prohibition

Nationwide movement aimed at banning alcohol to reduce crime, family abuse, and poverty.

Pure Food and Drug Act

Ensured truthful labeling of food and medicine

Banned harmful substances from consumer products

Passed with the support of women’s organizations and muckrakers (Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle).

Recall

Allowed citizens to vote to remove elected officials from office before their term ended.

Referendum

Permits voters to approve or reject laws passed by a legislature through a public vote. It put more power in the hands of voters.

Secret Ballot

A voting method ensuring privacy in elections

Reduced voter intimidation and fraud

Reduced the power of political machines

Segregation

Enforced separation of races in public spaces and institutions

Especially in the Southern U.S.

Fueled by the Supreme Court Case Plessy v. Fergusson.

Settlement Homes

Community-based housing that offered support services to immigrants and the urban poor

Part of the Social Gospel Movement.

Hull House was a settlement house.

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

Outlawed monopolies and practices that restrained trade

Used to regulate big businesses

Used by Theodore Roosevelt to shut down trusts, earning him the nickname “trustbuster.”

Social Gospel Movement

Reform movement where the followers believed they needed to perform good deeds to earn salvation

Focused on addressing social problems like poverty and injustice.

Square Deal

Policy for balancing business, labor, and consumer interests through progressive reforms.

Susan B. Anthony

Key figure in women’s suffrage

Helped lead the movement to secure the 19th Amendment.

Temperance Movement

Advocated for banning alcohol to combat its negative effects on families and society.

Theodore Roosevelt

Progressive president known for breaking up monopolies (trustbuster)

Expanded federal authority in business

He also helped to create the national parks

Passed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act.

Third Party

Political party outside the dominant two-party system

Often representing specific interests or reforms

Not often elected to office, but they do influence the larger parties

Trustbuster

Nickname for reformers who broke up monopolies and enforced antitrust laws. Theodore Roosevelt was called one.

Upton Sinclair

Author of 'The Jungle', whose work led to food safety reforms including the Meat Inspection Act.

Unlimited Coinage of Silver

Policy favoring the use of both silver and gold to back currency, helping farmers and those in debt.

W.E.B. DuBois

African American intellectual who co-founded the NAACP and promoted immediate civil rights for African Americans.

William Howard Taft

President after Roosevelt

Continued trust-busting

More conservative approach.

William Jennings Bryan

Populist leader and orator

Who advocated for farmers, free silver, and economic reform

Known for his Cross of Gold Speech.

Women’s Suffrage Movement

Campaign to win voting rights for women through protest, lobbying, and legal challenges

It was achieved with the 19th Amendment.

Woodrow Wilson

Progressive president who led during World War I

Promoted reforms like the Federal Reserve and income tax.