The Progressive Era

13.1 Vocabulary

  1. Progressivism – Political movement that crossed party lines. Progressives believed that rapid industrialization and urbanization had created many social problems, and that gov’t should take a more active role in dealing with these problems 

  1. Muckraker – Journalists who attacked corruption and scandal & investigated social conditions. Ex. Upton Sinclair 

  1. Jacob Riis – Exposed poverty, crime, disease in immigrant neighborhoods in How the Other Half Lives 

  1. commission plan - a plan in which a city’s government is divided into different departments with different functions, each placed under the control of a commissioner 

  1. Robert La Follette - Progressive governor of Wisconsin who initiated sweeping political reforms 

  1. direct primary - A vote held by all members of a political party to decide their candidate for public office 

  1. Initiative - The right for citizens to place a measure or issue before the voters for legislature approval 

  1. Referendum - The practice of letting voters accept or reject measures proposed by the legislature 

  1. Recall - The right that enables voters to remove unsatisfactory elected officials from office 

  1. Suffrage - the right to vote 

  1. Alice Paul – A Quaker and leader of the NAWSA (National American Women Suffrage Association) who organized a march on Washington 

  1. Temperance - Moderation in or abstinence from alcohol 

  1. Prohibition - laws banning manufacture sale and consumption of alcohol (18th amendment) 

  1. Socialism - The idea that the government should own and operate industry for the community as a whole 

13.1 Questions

  1. How did the muckrakers spark the progressive movement? 

    Muckrakers spark the progressive movement by targeting the government in their writings and exposing corrupt industries leading to public debates. 

  2. Why did progressives want to reorganize city government? 

    The progressives wanted to reorganize the city government so that it would be divided into several departments, in which each would be placed under control of an expert commissioner. 

  3. What was the impact of the 17th amendment?  What problem was it intended to solve? 

    The problem the 17th amendment intended to solve was senate corruption. 

  4. How successful were women in lobbying to achieve passage of the 19th amendment? 

    In 1878, the 19th amendment failed to pass but was eventually passed in 1919 and was ratified August 26th, 1920. 

  5. What actions did progressives take to deal with the issue of child labor? 

    Progressives established the National Child Labor Committee in 1904 to work towards abolishing child labor. 

  6. What was the impact of Eugene Debs and the Socialist Party on the 1912 election? 

    The impact of Eugene Debs and the Socialist Party on the 1912 election where they regulated business focused on the national level. 

13.2 Vocabulary

  1. Square Deal - Theodore Roosevelt’s promise of fair and equal treatment for all 

  1. Northern Securities - railroad trust that violated the Sherman Antitrust Act and was disbanded by the Supreme Court, making Roosevelt famous 

  1. United Mine Workers - labor organization (union) of mine and workers who led a strike against mine owners that established arbitration as a solution to labor disputes 

  1. Arbitration - settling a dispute by agreeing to accept the decision of an impartial outsider 

  1. Hepburn Act - this law was supposed to strengthen the Interstate Commerce Commission by giving it the power to set railroad rates but over time it became a supporter of the railroads interests 

  1. Upton Sinclair - exposed conditions in the meatpacking industry in his novel The Jungle 

 13.2 Questions

  1. What was the purpose of the Interstate Commerce Commission, and how successful was it? 

    The purpose of the Interstate Commerce Commision was to regulate the railroad industry. It was unsuccessful and ended up being ineffective due to little authority. 

  2. What two pieces of legislation were enacted due to the facts revealed in Upton Sinclair’s the Jungle? 

    Two pieces of legislation that were enacted due to the facts revealed in Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” were the Meat Inspection Act and The Pure Food and Drug Act. 

  3. How did Roosevelt’s policies help the conservation of natural resources? 

    It helped in the way that he created the Meat Inspection Act and started to closely inspect and monitor timber resources. 

13.3 Vocabulary

  1. Joseph G. Cannon - Speaker of the House of Representatives who secured passage of the Tariff 

  1. Payne-Aldrich Tariff - law reforming import taxes in hopes of increasing competition 

  1. Richard Ballinger - President Taft’s Secretary of the Interior who made public lands available for development but was accused of seeking personal profits by doing so 

  1. Syndicate - a business group for profit 

  1. Insubordination - disobedience 

  1. Pure Food and Drug Act – law prohibiting the manufacture, sale or shipment of impure or falsely labeled food and drugs 

  1. Meat Inspection Act – law inspired by Upton Sinclair’s novel that required federal inspection of meat sold through interstate commerce 

13.3 Questions

  1. What problems did President Taft have with progressives on tariff issues? 

    The problems President Taft had with progressives on tariff issues were that he didn’t cut tariffs like he promised to. 

  2. How did President Taft’s accomplishments regarding conservation and trustbusting compare to President Roosevelt’s? 

    President Taft doubled the amount of anti-trust lawsuits, expanded national forest systems, protected waterpower sites, and set up bureau of mines.