The Progressive Era vocabulary
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18th amendment A change in the U.S. Constitution that outlawed alcohol
19th amendment A change in the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote
17th amendment A change in the U.S. Constitution allowing for the direct election of senators
21st amendment A change in the U.S. Constitution that overturned the 18th Amendment
American Federation of Labor An organization of workers that focused on helping workers gain higher wages &
better working conditions-one of the first labor unions organized in the U.S.
child labor a situation in which children worked like adults in factories
meat inspection act required all meat to be inspected by the U.S. Gov’t before being sold to the public
Homestead Strike a labor dispute in 1892 when steelworkers lost union help (representation) until the 1930s
urbanization A rapid and massive growth in population in cities
Progressives followers of the movement that called for reform of social problems as a result of urbanization
Prohibition forbidding by law of the making or selling of alcoholic beverages
Jane Addams Progressive reformer who founded the settlement house called Hull House
reform to make something better by change
restriction to limit or not allow something (rules & boundaries)
strike to make or achieve a balance or bargain by refusing to work
suffrage the right to vote
tenement a run-down apartment in the cities around 1900 where many immigrants lived
temperance totally avoiding alcoholic beverages
unions organizations of wage-earners formed for the purpose of helping members with gaining better wages and
working conditions
wages money earned/pay for a job
muckraker an investigative journalist who “raked” the “muck” or dirt underlying society in the late 1800s. They
wanted to expose corruption in order to remove it.
referendum gives voters the opportunity to accept or reject a proposed measure on a state ballot (ex. The VA
Lottery)
initiative allows citizens to place an issue on a state ballot
recall allows voters to remove unsatisfactory elected officials from their jobs
political machine in the late 1800s they controlled the local gov’t (headed by the political boss-Boss Tweed)
kickback an arrangement in which city contractors pad (inflate) their bill for city work and split the extra charge
between themselves and the city boss
laissez-faire French term meaning that the gov’t should interfere as little as possible in the nation’s economy
Upton Sinclair muckraker who wrote The Jungle which led to the meat inspection act of 1906
Ida Tarbell muckraker who exposed Standard Oil and got the gov’t to break up the monopoly
The Progressive Movement :
A movement or era in the late 1800s/early 1900s when reformers were needed to demand massive improvements in the
following areas: the workplace, child labor, run-down tenements, fight corrupt businesses and political machines and bring
about equal rights for groups left behind during the industrial revolution.