History exam #3

Progressive Movement

Built on Populist ideas; wanted increased government power to regulate industry, finance, transportation, agriculture, labor, and morals. Rejected laissez-faire. Goal was to crush political machines, restore ethics to business and politics, promote direct democracy, and preserve capitalism.

Muckrakers

Citizen reporters who exposed political and financial corruption and social problems through books and articles to encourage reform.

Ida Tarbell

Muckraker who exposed the unfair practices of the Standard Oil Trust and called it a dangerous conspiracy against the American people.

Upton Sinclair

Muckraker who wrote The Jungle, exposing horrible conditions in the meatpacking industry.

David Graham Philips

Muckraker who wrote Treason of the Senate, portraying the Senate as a tool of the wealthy and powerful.

Jacob Riis

Muckraker who wrote How the Other Half Lives, using photographs to expose poverty in urban slums.

Progressive State Reforms

Included graduated state income taxes, restrictions on abusive corporations, child labor age limits, and workers' compensation programs.

Theodore Roosevelt

Challenged trusts and monopolies he believed abused their power; he did not oppose every monopoly. (Trust buster)

Hepburn Act (1906)

Expanded the Interstate Commerce Commission's power to regulate railroad rates and transportation.

Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)

Required accurate labeling of food and medicines and prohibited the sale of adulterated or misbranded products.

Meat Inspection Act (1906)

Required federal inspection of meat in interstate commerce.

Big Stick Diplomacy

Roosevelt's foreign policy of using the threat or use of military force to strengthen American power, especially in the Western Hemisphere.

1908 Presidential Election

Roosevelt chose not to seek another term and supported William Howard Taft, who defeated William Jennings Bryan.

New Nationalism

Roosevelt's 1912 platform calling for a strong central government to regulate business and address social problems.

New Freedom

Woodrow Wilson's 1912 platform emphasizing competition, antitrust reform, and limiting concentrated economic power.

1912 Presidential Election

Roosevelt ran as the Progressive Party (Bull Moose) candidate, splitting the Republican vote with Taft; Democrat Woodrow Wilson won.

16th Amendment

Established the federal government's power to collect an income tax.

17th Amendment

Required the direct election of U.S. senators by voters.

Federal Reserve System

A network of regional reserve banks and a central governing structure to help regulate the banking system and economy.

Keating-Owen Act (1916)

Attempted to prohibit child-labor-produced goods from being sold in interstate commerce; the Supreme Court later struck it down.

Missionary Diplomacy

Wilson's foreign policy of promoting democracy and applying moral standards to other governments, including intervention in Mexico.

American Neutrality (1914)

When World War I began in Europe in August 1914, President Wilson declared that the United States would remain neutral.

Sinking of the Lusitania (May 7, 1915)

A German submarine sank a British passenger liner, killing 128 Americans; the sinking increased tensions but did not immediately bring the United States into the war.

1916 Presidential Election

Wilson won reelection with the Democratic message that he had kept the United States out of war.

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare (1917)

Germany announced that its submarines would attack ships in designated war-zone waters, including neutral vessels.

Zimmermann Telegram (1917)

A German message proposing a German-Mexican alliance; Germany suggested Mexico could recover Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona if the United States entered the war against Germany.

Selective Service Act (1917)

Established the draft to build the American military during World War I; approximately five million Americans served in the armed forces.

Espionage Act (1917)

Made certain acts interfering with military operations, recruitment, or wartime security federal crimes.

Sedition Act (1918)

Expanded wartime restrictions by criminalizing certain forms of disloyal, abusive, or threatening speech about the U.S. government and military.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

The Supreme Court upheld a conviction for anti-draft speech under wartime circumstances and used a clear-and-present-danger test to limit speech protections.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

An organization founded in 1920 to defend civil liberties, including freedom of speech, against government restrictions.

Russia's Withdrawal

Lenin's government signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany in March 1918, withdrawing Russia from World War I in exchange for territorial concessions.

Armistice (November 11, 1918)

The agreement that ended the fighting between Germany and the Allies in World War I.

Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points

A peace plan calling for principles such as open diplomacy, freer trade, national self-determination, and the creation of a League of Nations.

Point 14 of the Fourteen Points

Proposed a League of Nations to help maintain international peace and security.

Treaty of Versailles (June 1919)

The peace treaty that formally settled the war with Germany and imposed harsh penalties and territorial and military restrictions.

Article 231: War Guilt Clause

Required Germany and its allies to accept responsibility for war-related losses and damage, providing the basis for reparations.

U.S. Senate Opposition to the League of Nations

Opponents feared League membership could limit American independence in foreign policy and entangle the country in foreign conflicts.

Rejection of the Treaty of Versailles

The Senate rejected the treaty in 1919 and again in 1920, so the United States never joined the League of Nations.

Consequences of U.S. Rejection of the League

The League lost the participation of a major world power, weakening its ability to respond effectively to international aggression in the 1930s.

Red Scare (1919–1920)

Fear of a communist revolution in the United States, fueled by the Russian Revolution, labor strikes, and mail bombs.

Palmer Raids (January 1920)

Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer directed raids against suspected radicals; thousands were arrested, often without proper warrants, and about 500 noncitizens were deported.

Victor Berger

A socialist congressman whose seat in the House of Representatives was denied during the postwar Red Scare because of his opposition to U.S. involvement in World War I.

Marcus Garvey

Black nationalist leader who promoted racial pride, economic independence, and migration to Africa.

19th Amendment (1920)

Prohibited denying the right to vote on the basis of sex, granting women nationwide constitutional voting protection.

18th Amendment

Established national Prohibition by prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors.

Prohibition

The period when the 18th Amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors; it encouraged bootlegging and speakeasies.

21st Amendment (1933)

Repealed the 18th Amendment and ended national Prohibition.

Immigration Act of 1924 (Johnson-Reed Act)

Established strict national-origin quotas that sharply restricted immigration, especially from Southern and Eastern Europe, and largely excluded immigrants from Asia.

1920 Presidential Election

Republican Warren G. Harding defeated Democrat James M. Cox while promising a Return to Normalcy after World War I.