Study Guide: By The People Ch. 19 (Progressive Reforms and Politics 1879-1917)
This is not a list of test questions. This is a list of topics that a student who’s prepared to score well on a
test in an advanced placement class should be able to discuss at length and in a number of different
ways. Any one of the items on this list could be the source of a lot of different multiple choice questions.
Please remember you’ll be tested on textbook and in-class content, not this list. This list exists to help you
but it’s not to be thought of as a guided tour of the test.
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BELIEFS/IDEAS/CULTURE:
o Thesis and historical context for literary contributors to Progressivism (2 and throughout)
o
Social Darwinism (3)
o
New developments in social science (4)
o
Progressive education reformers and proposals (9)
o
Temperance and prohibition (12)
o
Social Gospel (13)
o
Teddy Roosevelt and American popular culture (15)
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Study Guide: By The People Ch. 19 (Progressive Reforms and Politics 1879-1917)
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
AMERICA IN THE WORLD:
GEOGRAPHY & ENVIRONMENT:
o T. Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, and conservationism (17) (Note: don’t mistake “conservationism”
with “conservatism.” Students confuse the two words often because they look similar, have
common roots, and pop up in stories about Republicans.)

PEOPLING:
o Peopling of the U.S. during the Gilded Age (6)
o

Hull House and other aid efforts for immigrants (10)
IDENTITY:
o Theodore Roosevelt and race (16)
o
Woodrow Wilson and race (21)
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Study Guide: By The People Ch. 19 (Progressive Reforms and Politics 1879-1917)
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POLITICS & POWER:
o Muckrakers, their publications, and famous works (5 and throughout) (Note: it’s “MUCK-raykers,” not “MUCK-crackers.”)
o
Political machines: definition (including understanding the metaphor); famous examples;
pros/cons; political and journalistic reaction (7)
o
Examples of local progressive reform in the northeast (8)
o
Progressive legal and political reform at national and state levels (11)
o
Civil Service reform (13)
o
The 1912 Election (19)
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Study Guide: By The People Ch. 19 (Progressive Reforms and Politics 1879-1917)
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ECONOMICS (WORK, EXCHANGE, TECHNOLOGY):
o Progressive reformers and politicians and their attitudes toward corporate America (1)
o
Theodore Roosevelt economic proposals and accomplishments (14)
o
Woodrow Wilson economic proposals and accomplishments (20)
Other people, places, and things from this period that are mentioned in the APUSH Curriculum
Framework:
o The American Protective Association was a nativist (especially anti-Catholic) organization that is
sometimes mentioned when discussing responses to immigrants that were very much not
“Progressive.” It can be thought of as an opposite reaction to immigration as compared to Jane
Addams and Hull House.
o Make sure you don’t confuse “nationalism” (extreme devotion to the health of the nation, even
at the expense of the individual) with “nationalization” (government ownership and control of a
major industry).
o Florence Kelley (socialist and feminist reformer often mentioned with Jane Addams)
o Laissez-faire (libertarian economic view promoting limited government involvement in free
enterprise…don’t assume that “pro-business” always means “laissez-faire”)
o U.S. Fish Commission (example of federal involvement in Progressive Era conservationism)
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