Progressives test US2

Urbanization Reformers

Activists during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era who sought to address urban issues like poverty, overcrowding, and corruption.

Tenements

Overcrowded, multi-family urban dwellings, often unsanitary, dark, and lacking proper plumbing or ventilation.

Nativism

Overt favoritism toward native-born Americans, leading to anti-immigrant sentiment and discrimination.

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

1911 industrial disaster in NYC that killed 146 workers, driving major reform in workplace safety laws and factory standards.

Social Gospel Movement

A 19th/20th-century reform movement based on the belief that Christians have a responsibility to help improve working conditions and alleviate poverty.

Settlement Houses

Community centers in slum neighborhoods that provided assistance, education, and social services to local residents and immigrants.

Prohibition

The period during which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages were legally banned in the US.

Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)

A major reform organization founded in 1874 that spearheaded the Prohibition movement and established kindergartens and social programs.

Anti-Saloon League

A leading organization lobbying for Prohibition, often fueled by anti-immigrant and anti-Irish sentiment due to heavy drinking associations.

Scientific Management

The application of scientific principles to increase efficiency in the workplace, attempting to balance optimal speed with worker capabilities.

Eugene V. Debs

A prominent American socialist, union leader, and candidate for President of the United States.

Muckrakers

Investigative journalists and writers during the Progressive Era who exposed corruption, unsafe conditions, and corporate wrongdoing.

Initiative

A political reform allowing voters to propose a bill directly onto a ballot by collecting signatures.

Referendum

A political reform where a proposed law or issue is submitted directly to the voters for approval or rejection.

Recall

A procedure enabling voters to remove an elected official from office before their term ends through a special election.

Primary System

A political mechanism allowing voters—rather than party bosses—to select party candidates for elections.

Political Boss / Boss System

A corrupt political arrangement where powerful leaders or organizations ("machines") secured votes in exchange for favors, jobs, and kickbacks.

Kickbacks

Illegal payments or returns of money made to political bosses or officials in exchange for government contracts or favors.

Muller v. Oregon (1908)

A Supreme Court decision that upheld a state law limiting working hours for women, establishing a precedent for state regulation of workplace safety.

Keating-Owen Act (1916)

A short-lived federal law prohibiting the transportation of goods produced by child labor across state lines; later declared unconstitutional.

16th Amendment (1913)

Constitutional amendment authorizing Congress to enact a federal income tax.

17th Amendment (1913)

Constitutional amendment establishing the direct election of US Senators by popular vote rather than state legislatures.

18th Amendment (1919)

Constitutional amendment that established Prohibition by banning the manufacture, sale, and transport of intoxicating liquors.

19th Amendment (1920)

Constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote across the United States.

Hammer v. Dagenhart (1917)

Supreme Court ruling that declared federal child labor laws unconstitutional, stating regulation belonged to state jurisdiction.

Eugenics

A discredited movement popular among some Progressives that sought to improve the human population through selective breeding and social engineering.

Espionage and Sedition Acts

WWI-era legislation used by the government to suppress dissent and radicalism by criminalizing interference with military operations or critical speech.

Sensational Journalism

A style of news reporting—pioneered by Pulitzer and Hearst—that relied on dramatic headlines and sensationalism to boost newspaper sales.

Vaudeville

A popular form of live theater featuring a variety of short acts like comedy, music, and slapstick aimed largely at working-class audiences.

Bully Pulpit

The presidential office viewed as a prominent platform from which to advocate agenda items directly to the American public, a term popularized by TR.

Square Deal

Theodore Roosevelt’s domestic program focused on trust busting, government regulation, consumer protection, and environmental conservation.

1902 PA Coal Miners Strike

A major strike resolved when TR threatened federal intervention, setting the precedent that government arbitrates when public welfare is at risk.

Trust Busting

Government actions aimed at breaking up illegal monopolies and corporate trusts that harm consumers or manipulate politics.

Northern Securities Co. v. United States

A 1904 Supreme Court ruling that dissolved J.P. Morgan's railroad trust, affirming federal trust-busting authority.

Elkins Act (1903)

A law making it illegal for railroads to give secret rebates or change advertised rates without notifying the public.

Hepburn Act (1906)

A federal law empowering the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to set maximum railroad shipping rates.

Gifford Pinchot

First head of the US Forest Service, who advocated a "gentle use" conservation model balancing environmental protection with managed resource use.

John Muir

A renowned preservationist who urged complete protection of pristine wilderness areas from human development.

The Jungle

A 1906 novel by Upton Sinclair exposing unsanitary conditions in the Chicago meatpacking industry, spurring major federal food safety reforms.

Meat Inspection Act (1906)

A federal law mandating sanitary conditions for livestock slaughter and meat processing under strict federal inspection standards.

Pure Food and Drug Act

A 1906 law halting the sale of contaminated foods or medicines and requiring truthful labeling of ingredients.

Payne-Aldrich Tariff

A tariff bill signed by President Taft that raised protective trade barriers, causing a rift between Progressive and Old Guard Republicans.

Bull Moose Party

The Progressive Party formed by Theodore Roosevelt for his 1912 presidential run after breaking with Taft and the traditional GOP machine.

Wilson's New Freedom

President Woodrow Wilson's reform platform targeting the "Triple Wall of Privilege": tariffs, banks, and trusts.

Clayton Antitrust Act (1914)

A federal law strengthening the Sherman Antitrust Act by prohibiting price discrimination and protecting union strike rights.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

A federal watchdog agency established in 1914 to investigate corporations and put an end to unfair business practices.

Federal Reserve System (1913)

The central bank system of the US, established to manage national currency, regulate banking, and move money efficiently.

Seneca Falls Convention (1848)

The first women's rights convention, where Elizabeth Cady Stanton presented the Declaration of Sentiments modeled on the Declaration of Independence.

National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)

A main suffragist organization founded in 1890 that primarily lobbied for women's voting rights on a state-by-state basis.

National Woman's Party (NWP)

A militant suffrage organization founded by Alice Paul that employed aggressive tactics like picketing the White House and civil disobedience.

Imperialism

The policy where stronger nations extend their economic, political, or military control over weaker territories.

Alfred T. Mahan

A naval officer whose influential writings argued that national strength and global supremacy depend on a powerful ocean navy.

White Man's Burden

A Eurocentric belief asserting that Western nations had a moral duty to civilize, Christianize, and educate non-Western cultures.

Annexation of Hawaii (1898)

The political absorption of Hawaii into the US, driven by American military strategy and sugar/pineapple commercial interests.

Great White Fleet

A 16-battleship US Naval fleet sent around the globe by TR to project American military capability and naval power.

Yellow Journalism

Exaggerated and sensationalized newspaper reporting designed to attract readers and shape public opinion, a catalyst for the Spanish-American War.

De Lôme Letter

An intercepted letter written by Spain's minister to the US criticizing President McKinley as weak, worsening Spanish-American relations.

USS Maine

An American battleship that exploded in Havana, Cuba, in 1898; US newspapers blamed Spain, accelerating the start of the Spanish-American War.

Teller Amendment

A pre-war resolution pledging that the United States would not annex Cuba following the war and would leave control to its people.

Platt Amendment

Provisions added to the Cuban Constitution giving the US broad rights to intervene militarily and maintain a naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

Emilio Aguinaldo

Leader of the Filipino independence movement who fought against both Spanish rule and later US forces during the Philippine-American War.

Treaty of Paris (1898)

The treaty ending the Spanish-American War in which Spain recognized Cuban independence and ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the US.

Open Door Policy

A policy issued by Secretary of State John Hay proposing equal trading rights for all foreign nations in China.

Boxer Rebellion (1900)

A violent uprising in China led by a anti-foreign group seeking to drive Westerners and foreign influence out of the country.

Treaty of Portsmouth (1905)

The peace agreement mediated by Theodore Roosevelt that ended the Russo-Japanese War and earned him the Nobel Peace Prize.