The Progressive Era Review Chapter 13 – 8th Grade

Define Progressivism Collection of different ideas & activities aimed to solve the problems of American society in the first two decades of the 20th cent.

Define Muckraker First to express Progressive ideas. Crusading journalists who investigated social problems, large corporations and government. Examples: Ida Tarbell, Jacob Riis.

Analyze Commission Plan Council manager system for city governments. Advantage? Managers with expertise could be put in charge of city gov’t departments.

Define Direct Primary All party members vote for a candidate to run in the general election.

Define Initiative A group of citizens can introduce legislation for the legislature to vote on it.

Define Referendum Allowed proposed legislation to be submitted to the voters for approval.

Define Recall Allows voters to demand a special election to remove an elected official from office before his/her term is over.

Define Suffrage The right to vote.

Define Temperance A movement that supported the moderation or elimination of alcohol. Why? Poverty, abuse, illness.

Define Prohibition Laws banning the manufacture, sale and consumption of alcohol.

Define Socialism Believe in the gov’t ownership of business. Wanted the gov’t to buy up large corporations, such as RRs. E.g. Eugene Debs.

Identify Robert La Follette Republican governor of Wisconsin. Introduced direct primaries to expand democracy in state elections.

Identify Alice Paul Quaker social worker who wanted to use protests to bring women’s suffrage to the attention of President Wilson. Her actions alarmed many as she campaigned outside the White House.

Identify 17th Amendment Direct election of senators by the electorate.

Identify 19th Amendment Gave women the right to vote in 1920.

Identify Workers’ Compensation Insurance fund financed by employers.

Identify Zoning Laws Laws that divided a town or city into zones for commercial or residential areas. How would this improve city life?

Identify Bureau of Corporations Division within the Dept of Commerce and Labor. Had authority to investigate corporations. What company did the Bureau investigate? U.S. Steel.

Analyze Muckrakers’ focus Large corporations Government Social Problems

Analyze Northern Securities vs. United States – Supreme Court Case. Roosevelt believed that the railroad holding company had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act 1904 the SC of the US ruled that Northern Securities had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Analyze Purpose of the Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission was created in 1887 as an agency that aimed to regulate big business, and to stop them from abusing their power, e.g. RR. BUT, by 1920 the ICC had drifted from its purpose and raised RR rates to increase company profits.

Analyze Tragedy at the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. In 1911 the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in NYC demonstrated the lack of safety for workers and led to the introduction of building codes requiring fire escapes.

Analyze Characteristics of the Progressive Era & beliefs of Progressive reformers? Progressive had a strong faith in science and the expertise of people. Wanted to reform society and government. Jacob Riis exposed poverty in NYC. Ida Tarbell exposed corruption in the Standard Oil Co. President Roosevelt was a “progressive president”: conservation, trust-busting, reform of food and drug regulation.

Analyze Who warned Taft to avoid tariff reform? Teddy Roosevelt. Why? He said it would split the Republican Party. Did Taft take Roosevelt’s advice? N0, he compromised with the conservative senators over tariff and the result was the Payne-Aldrich Tariff.

Analyze Why did Roosevelt want to run for reelection in 1912? He believed that Taft had not lived up to the progressive ideals.

Analyze How did President Wilson reform tariffs? Wilson wanted a bill to reduce tariffs. Why? - low tariffs = companies would improve products and lower prices. Congress passed the Underwood Tariff in 1913 – reduced the average tariff by 30%.