1. Progressive Reforms
Unit 5

2. Muckrakers
Journalists who wrote about the corrupt side of business and public life during the early 20th century
Ida B. Tarbell wrote about the corruption of John D. Rockefeller and his Standard Oil Company

3. Upton Sinclair Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle in 1906
The Jungle described the sickening conditions of the meatpacking industry

4. President Roosevelt read The Jungle and responded to public demand for action
Roosevelt’s skill for compromise and his enthusiasm led to laws and policies that benefited both public health and the environment
Teddy Roosevelt

5. Meat Inspection Act (1906) In 1906, the Meat Inspection Act was passed
The Act required strict cleanliness and set up a program of federal meat inspection

6. Women and Reform
By the late 19th century, more and more women entered the work force or sought higher education
Many of these women began to apply their skills to needed social reforms
Women still could not vote, so they worked as reformers to improve conditions at work and at home

7. Settlement Houses
Community centers in slum neighborhoods that provided assistance to people in the area, especially immigrants
Ran largely by middle-class, college educated women
Provided educational, social, and cultural services

8. Jane Addams
Jane Addams co-founded the Hull House in Chicago in 1889

9. Jim Crow
Jim Crow laws: racial segregation laws passed by Southern states to separate white and black people in public and private facilities

10. Voting Restrictions Literacy Tests
Poll Tax: an annual tax that you had to pay to qualify to vote
Grandfather Clause: if a man could not pay poll tax or failed the literacy test, he could still vote if he, his father, or grandfather voted before 1867 (when black men won the right to vote)

11. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Supreme Court ruled that segregation did not violate the 14th amendment
Established “separate but equal” as constitutional
Homer Plessy

13. NAACP
Organization formed in 1909 that aimed for full equality of the races
African Americans joined together with white reformers
6,000 members by 1914
Led the fight to overturn Plessy v. Ferguson

14. Government Reforms
Government reforms during this era gave Americans more of a voice in electing their legislators and making laws

15. Government reforms
Initiative: a bill originated by the people rather than law makers
Referendum: when voters, instead of legislators, accept or reject an initiative
Recall: enabled voters to remove public officials from elected positions by forcing them to face another election before the end of their term

16. Direct Election of Senators
17th Amendment
Before 1913, each state legislature chose its own senators  this gave even more power to party bosses and wealthy corporations
1912 Congress approved the 17th amendment, and in 1913 it was ratified

17. Roosevelt and Conservation
Roosevelt at Yosemite National park

18. Roosevelt and Conservation
By late 19th century, Americans had exploited its natural resources
Pioneers leveled forests and plowed prairies
Ranchers allowed cattle to overgraze the Great Plains
Coal companies ruined land with waste from mines
Logging companies didn’t replant trees
Cities dumped sewage and industrial waste into rivers

19. Roosevelt and Conservation
Roosevelt condemned the view that America’s resources were endless and made conservation a primary concern
Conservation: preserving some wilderness areas and allowing the development of others for public good
Roosevelt had millions of acres of land set aside as natural reserves and forests

20. Teddy wasn’t exactly a Tree Hugger

21. Chinese Exclusion Act
In 1882, the U.S. closed the door on Chinese immigrants for 10 years.
In 1892, it was extended another 10 years and in 1902, extended indefinitely
Finally overturned in 1943

22. Why? Nativism and racism
laborers in the West feared losing their jobs to the Chinese immigrants who would accept lower wages