Progressive Era Vocab

16th Amendment: The congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes on income, from whatever source derived, without apportionment in 1913

17th Amendment: Senate of the US is composed of 2 senators from each state, elected by the people for 6 years & Senator shall  have 1 vote in 1913

18th Amendment: Restrictions on consuming, buying, selling alcoholic beverages in 1919

19th Amendment: Women gained the right to vote in 1920

Homestead Strike: A violent steelworker strike in 1892 against Carnegie Steel over pay cuts.

Coal Strike: In 1902, coal miners went on strike for better wages and hours; President Roosevelt helped settle it.

Pullman Strike: A nationwide railroad strike in 1894 after workers' wages were cut but rent stayed high.

Meat Inspection Act: Law requiring meat to be clean and inspected before being sold (after Upton Sinclair’s book).

Pure Food & Drug Act (1906): Banned selling unsafe food and fake medicine; required truthful labels.

U.S. Forest Service (1905) & Antiquities Act: Protected forests and allowed the President to save natural areas as parks or monuments.

Direct Primary: a preliminary election in which voters choose the party candidates to run in a late election for public office

Recall & Referendum:

• Recall: citizens can vote to remove an elected public official from office

• Referendum: election where the people vote directly on specific measures

NAACP: Civil rights group (started in 1909) fighting for African American rights.

Muckraker: Investigative journalists of the early 1900s who exposed misconduct by powerful organizations or people

Eugenics: Belief that some races were superior to others & breeding should be controlled so that populations of superior races increase.

Election of 1912: A four-way race; Woodrow Wilson (Democrat) won after Roosevelt split the Republican vote.

Eugene V. Debs: A socialist leader who ran for president and led labor movements.

Upton Sinclair: Author of The Jungle, which exposed the horrors of the meatpacking industry.

Jacob Riis & How the Other Half Lives: A photographer and writer who showed the terrible living conditions in city slums.

John Muir: John Muir is widely recognized as the "Father of the National Parks" for his instrumental role in establishing the National Park System. He was a naturalist, writer, and conservationist deeply passionate about protecting the wilderness.

Jane Addams:  Jane Addams is best known for co-founding Hull House in Chicago, one of the first settlement houses in the United States, and for her work as a social reformer, pacifist, and humanitarian. She was also a co-winner of the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize.

Booker T. Washington: African American leader who promoted education and economic progress to fight racism.

Ida B. Wells:  Significance: African-American journalist and activist who led an anti-lynching crusade in the United States in the 1890s. She also fought for woman suffrage.

Florence Kelley:  Florence Kelley was a prominent social reformer best known for her work in child labor reform, her advocacy for women's rights, and her efforts to improve working conditions for all workers. She also played a key role in the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Carrie Nation:  "The Carrie Nations" refers to both a fictional all-girl rock band from the 1970s cult classic film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and the real-life temperance crusader, Carrie Nation, who famously used a hatchet to smash bars. The band's name was inspired by the real Carrie Nation, a prominent figure in the prohibition movement.