Muckraking Through the Progressives!
The Task
We will study the Progressive era by becoming Muckrakers, journalists who exposed corruption in
business and public life in order to promote change for the better. You will be researching many topics
of the Progressive era and then creating a newspaper to expose the results of your research to the
public, just like a muckraker!
The Process
You will need to make good use of time in class, in the tech lab, and outside of class in order to complete
this project. Class periods will be split into mini lessons where we will discuss the big ideas of the
Progressives. Then, you will have time in class to research the details for each topic.
Lab time will be utilized to type up “mini-articles” and “exposes” about the topics, and to find primary
source pictures/political cartoons for your articles. As you complete your articles, you will create a
“Front Page” of a newspaper that will contain all of your mini-articles.
Keep in mind: we will continue to have vocab quizzes throughout the unit. Keeping up with class notes
online will be very important (and could possibly be helpful for your research)!
The Grade
Your newspapers will be worth 400 points (equal to 4 quiz grades). Your grade will reflect the accuracy
of your research as presented in your mini-articles.
The Topics
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Define and identify examples of the Four Goals of Progressives (p. 306-309)
o Protecting Social Welfare
o Promoting moral improvement
o Creating economic reform
o Fostering efficiency
Examples of new approaches to government (p. 309-310; 312)
o Commission system, council-manager, reform mayors and what events brought these
changes
o Reform governors- Robert La Follette
o Initiative, referendum & recall; The 17th Amendment
Efforts to protect working children and limit working hours (p. 310-311)
o Efforts to limit working hours
o Muller v. Oregon
o Bunting v. Oregon
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The women’s suffrage movement (p. 315-316; 334-335)
o Why the movement split after the 14th and 15th Amendments
o NACW, NWSA, and NAWSA- suffrage associations
o The three-part strategy for suffrage
o Carrie Chapman Catt and NAWSA; Alice Paul, Lucy Burns & the National Women’s Party;
and the 19th Amendment
Teddy Roosevelt’s “Square Deal” (p. 317-324)
o TR’s trustbusting
o Negotiating an end to the 1902 coal strike
o Response to Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle- Meat Inspection Act, Pure Food & Drug Act
o TR’s conservation efforts- The Newlands Act
Progressivism under Taft (p. 328-329)
o The Payne-Aldrich Tariff
o Conservation: Ballinger-Pinchot controversy
The Republican Party split and Democrats win in 1912 (p. 329-331)
o Reasons for the split
o The Progressive Party (Bull-Moose Party)
o Woodrow Wilson’s (D) “New Freedom”
Woodrow Wilson’s “New Freedom” (p. 332-334)
o Antitrust measures: Clayton Antitrust Act & the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
o Tariffs and Taxes: The Underwood Tariff and the 16th Amendment
o Banking: The Federal Reserve System
Progressives and Civil Rights (p. 324-325; 335-337)
o Teddy Roosevelt and civil rights
o Woodrow Wilson and civil rights
Helpful Hints
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Each article should have a catchy headline- that was the goal of the muckrakers: to get the
peoples’ attention!!!
Articles should be concise, to the point. There will be some very short articles and others that
will require more detail.
Your newspaper should have a name. For example: the Progressive Leader, or Bull-Moose
Tribune
Use primary source material for visual aids: pictures or relevant political cartoons
Have fun!!! This is your chance to be a muckraking journalist