The Progressive Era
A period of time in which people called for reforms in business, politics, and society as a whole...fix the problems caused by the Gilded Age.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
Definition: This fire broke out in a factory in New York City and desperate employees were trapped inside due to a lack of safety precautions
Significance: This event increased the demand for safer working conditions throughout the city
Muckrakers
Writers/cartoonists of the Progressive Era who exposed abuses in government and industry.
Jacob Riis
This muckraker took pictures of tenements and overcrowded cities to expose the poor living and working conditions of immigrants. He published these pictures in his book, "How the Other Half Lives
Ida Tarbell
This muckraker exposed the abuses of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust in her book "The History of the Standard Oil Company
Upton Sinclair
This muckraker wrote "The Jungle," which exposed the truth about the US meat packing industry.
Significance: This horrified the nation and led to the creation of the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act
The Square Deal
This program, created by President Roosevelt, focused on Progressive reforms designed to protect the common people. This reforms included Trust Busting, Railroad Regulation, Public Health, Conservation, and
Business Regulation
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act
This law made monopolies and trusts illegal, but was difficult to enforce
Significance: Teddy Roosevelt will be the first president to use this law to "bust up" illegal trusts
The Pure Food and Drug Act
This law, passed in response to Sinclair's "The Jungle", was passed to stop the sale of contaminated foods and drugs. It also ensured truth in labeling.
The Bull-Moose Party
Teddy Roosevelt's political party (aka the Progressive Party) to run against Taft and Wilson.
Federal Reserve Act
Law that created the Federal Reserve and gave the government the power to regulate banking and money.
Significance: This allowed the government to control the amount of money in circulation and also helped to prevent bank failures
18th Amendment
This prohibited the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages
19th Amendment
This gave women the right to vote
Booker T. Washington
African- American leader who believed that blacks could achieve equality over time through vocation education; He was also the founder of the Tuskegee Institute
W.E.B. DuBois
An African-American activist who demanded full equal rights; He also helped create NAACP
NAACP
This is an African-American civil rights organization that devotes itself to the progress of the African American Community. It was founded by W.E.B. Du Bois
Susan B. Anthony
She became a leading figure in the women's suffrage movement
16th Amendment
Income tax for all Americans
17th Amendment
Direct election of Senators (before this, they were elected by state governments)
Political Machine
Organization that does favors for new immigrants in exchange for their votes. EX. Boss Tweed
Conservation
Protecting America's natural resources. Teddy Roosevelt.
Labor Union
Organization of workers to gain better working conditions and pay.
The Jungle
Book written by Upton Sinclair exposing the horrors of the meat packing industry
Women's Christian Temperance Union
Promoted the temperance movement which will lead to Prohibition (the banning of alcohol).