Comprehensive U.S. Progressive Era and Early 20th Century History

Roosevelt Presidency

Roosevelt is considered the first modern President.

Trustbusting

Considered a 'Trust Buster' who wanted to curb the power of big business.

Northern Securities Companies

First suit was against Northern Securities Companies in 1902 for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.

United Mine Workers Strike

140,000 union members walked off in Summer 1902 demanding a pay hike and recognition of their union.

Square Deal

Roosevelt's intervention in a coal strike to benefit all parties involved.

Muckrakers

Journalists who expose corruption and weakness in society and business.

Ida Tarbell

Enlisted by muckrakers to expose Standard Oil through 19 articles detailing Rockefeller's illegal gains.

The Jungle

Written by Upton Sinclair emphasizing unsanitary conditions in factory plants.

Pure Food and Drugs Act

Resulted from The Jungle, giving federal supervision over corporations.

Social Gospel

Christians should address social problems caused by urbanization and industrialization.

Women's Suffrage

Movement focused on voting rights, women's pay, and easier divorce processes.

NAWSA

National American Women Suffrage Association, founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

Alice Paul

Unhappy with NAWSA's cautious tactics, she sought radical change and a Constitutional Amendment.

Changing Workplace

Business partnered with universities to research and develop new products.

Triangle Shirtwaist Company

Used deplorable conditions leading to a fire that claimed 146 lives.

Ludlow Massacre

Confrontations during a strike led to the deaths of 5 strikers, 1 soldier, 2 women, and 11 children.

Prohibition

Movement led by the Woman's Christian Temperance Union against alcohol consumption.

Children Reform

Efforts to protect children from urban dangers and promote safe environments.

Children's Bureau

Created in 1912 to address child labor issues, but little congressional reform occurred.

Presidential Successor 1908

Roosevelt named Secretary of War William Howard Taft as his successor.

Taft vs. Roosevelt

Taft's policies did not match Roosevelt's ideas, leading to a split in the Republican Party.

Bull Moose Party

Created by Roosevelt to run as a 3rd party candidate in the 1912 election.

Woodrow Wilson

Democrats turned to Wilson as their candidate in the 1912 election.

Eugene V. Debs

Socialist candidate hoping to prepare the way for a nation turning to socialism.

Lowered tariffs on imported goods

To offset lost revenue instituted income tax

16th Amendment

Allowed for the federal government to tax income

Federal Reserve System

Created a bank to control currency and ensure adequate money supply

Federal Reserve Act

Instituted a central bank with 12 reserve banks

17th Amendment

Called for direct election of senators by the states' voting population

18th Amendment

Prohibition of the product or sale of alcoholic beverages (1919)

19th Amendment

Granted women the right to vote (1920)

Militarism

Improving military strength and technology to display force

Triple Alliance

Consisted of Germany, Austrian Empire, Italy, and Ottoman Turks

Triple Entente

Consisted of France, Great Britain, and Russia

Imperialism

Nations seeking more power by controlling territories

Nationalism

Pride in one's nation leading to disagreements with others

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Sparked the outbreak of World War I

The Schlieffen Plan

Germany's strategy to defeat France quickly before turning to Russia

Trench Warfare

A form of warfare where opposing troops fight from trenches

Battle of the Somme

The bloodiest battle of WWI with significant casualties

British Blockade

Blocked Germany from importing food and industrial goods from 1914-1919

Machine Guns

The number one cause of death in WWI, operable by one person

Toxic Gas

Caused death and disorientation, necessitating gas masks

Airplanes in WWI

Provided tactical advantages for reconnaissance and air assaults

Tanks

Developed to break the stalemate of trench warfare

Crop-Lien Systems

Credit system where farmers share portions of their yield for supplies

Plessy v. Ferguson

Supreme Court case that upheld 'Separate but equal' doctrine

Booker T. Washington

Advocated for economic self-sufficiency and education for blacks

W.E.B. Du Bois

Argued for a more active approach to civil rights and founded the NAACP

Homestead Act 1862

Allowed settlers to receive a 160-acre plot of land

Cattle Towns

Calmer towns that lined the trails for cattle drives.

Cowboys

Worked 14-hour days in long, rough, and rugged conditions.

Dawes Severalty Act

1887 law that surveyed native lands and apportioned each native 160 acres to farm individually.

Assimilation

Condition for natives to receive land under the Dawes Act, requiring them to adopt the customs of white settlers.

Native Lands Decrease

Total native lands decreased from 138 million acres to 47 million due to the Dawes Act.

Battle of Little Big Horn

A battle where General Custer led his men against a larger Sioux force, resulting in their annihilation.

US Army Response

Dispatched by President Ulysses S. Grant to avenge Custer by attacking Sioux villages.

Ghost Dance

A spiritual movement among Native Americans aimed at ending white domination and returning buffalo herds.

Wounded Knee Creek

Site of a battle where the Army used machine guns, resulting in 146 Native American deaths and 25 US soldier casualties.

2nd Industrial Revolution

Focused on modern transportation and communication, opening national and international markets.

Electricity in Factories

Improved efficiency and productivity in factories during the 2nd Industrial Revolution.

Phonograph

An innovation developed during the 2nd Industrial Revolution.

Kodak Camera

An innovation that emerged during the 2nd Industrial Revolution.

Alexander Graham Bell

Inventor of the telephone; by 1895, over 300,000 phones were in use.

Thomas Edison

Created the Direct Current (DC) system for electricity, which was safer but had limited range.

Nikola Tesla

Created the Alternating Current (AC) system, which could transmit electricity over longer distances.

General Electric

Company formed by Thomas Edison in partnership with J.P. Morgan.

Rockefeller

Created Standard Oil and gained control of 90% of the nation's oil refining.

Rockefeller's Trusts

Set up 'Trusts' to help keep control of the business in each state, without allowing for state regulation.

Rockefeller's Companies

By 1904, held 318 Companies and 5,300 factories.

Horizontal Integration

Used to consolidate control over the oil industry.

Andrew Carnegie

Steel production magnate whose wealth was estimated at 310 Billion.

Carnegie's Steel Production

America's production had risen to 4.3 million tons in 1890 then 10.2 million by 1900.

Carnegie's Production Control

Wanted to control all of the steps of production.

Bessemer Process

Infused oxygen into the iron, creating a faster, stronger, and cheaper product.

J.P. Morgan

Buys out smaller fledgling businesses and created the US Steel Company.

US Steel Company

First Billion Dollar corporation created by J.P. Morgan.

Gospel of Wealth

Carnegie argued it was 'not evil, but good' of the accumulation of wealth.

Labor Growth

Grew by 30% during the 1870's, with ⅕ due to immigration.

Workforce Statistics

By 1900, 1.75 million children were in the workforce, with 1 in 6 children under 14 working full time.

Samuel Gompers

Created the American Federation of Labor (AFL) which had 500,000 members by 1900.

Strikes

Protests outside places of employment due to cost cutting methods and harsh conditions.

Gilded Age

Phrase coined by Mark Twain to describe a period of apparent prosperity with underlying corruption.

Urbanization

Chicago and other major cities experienced a boom in population, leading to sanitation problems.

Chinese Exclusion Act

Banned Chinese entry into the US for 10 years, extended for another 10 years in 1892.

Pendleton Civil Service Act

Limited practice of campaign contributions from federal employees.

Sherman Antitrust Act

Outlawed combinations in restraint of trade, aimed at trusts and monopolies.

Farmers Alliance

Aimed to assist farmers suffering from deflation of prices and high railroad rates.

Populist Party

Focused on inflating the currency by adding silver to the basis of currency.

Elections of 1896

Democrats divided, Republicans turned to William McKinley for a dominant victory.

Election of 1900

McKinley replaced VP with Theodore Roosevelt, Democrats turned to William Jennings Bryan.