Reforming the Nation: Progressives of the Early Twentieth
Century
You have been assigned to assume the character of a leading Progressive reformer. Your task is to
research your reformer and answer the following six questions, creating a biography sheet for your
assigned person that includes a picture, date of birth/death, and information that includes the six questions
below. You may earn extra credit for bringing a prop, dressing as your person, etc. (Be creative).
During the speed dating, you will have about 2 minutes to share your story and to listen to the story of the
person with whom you are paired. At the signal, both people seated at the desks will move.
Use your notes from the textbook and online credible resources to research these things to share on your
“date”:
Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What criticism of American society did the individual have?
What methods did the person use to improve American life?
What success did the individual have in promoting reform?
What detail(s) of the person’s work made them an interesting historical figure?
To what extent was the reformer obsessed with achieving an impractical goal through fanatical or
impractical means?
6. What lasting impact did the person’s reforms have on American society?
1. Theodore Roosevelt—
2. Jane Addams—
3. Hiram Johnson—
4. Robert Lansing—
5. Roger Baldwin 6. Upton Sinclair—
7. Louis Brandeis 8. Hazen Pingree—
9. William Allen White—
10. Charlotte P. Gilman—
11. Eugene V. Debs 12. Frederick Jackson Turner—
13. Frances Perkins –
14. A. J. Muste 15. David Graham Phillips—
16. William Howard Taft17. John L. Lewis 18. Ray Stannard Baker—
19. Frederick Howe—
20. Florence Kelley 21. Albert Beveridge—
22. John Dewel 23. William E. Borah—
24. Jacob Riis 25. W.E.B. DuBois—
26. Margaret Sanger –
27. Norman Thomas 28. Ida Tarbell—
29. Sidney Hillman 30. Charles Evans Hughes—
31. Herbert Croly—
32. Lincoln Steffens—
33. Judge Ben B. Lindsey—
34. Robert LaFollette—
35. John Spargo—
36. Walter Hines Page—
37. Woodrow Wilson—
When we are finished, please answer the following questions to help put the Progressive reformers
in historical perspective:
1. List several evils that the Progressive reformers tried to eliminate.
2. What factors created a climate favorable for reform in the early twentieth century?
3. What common vision of a better world did these individuals have?
4. What motives drove some of the reforms of this era?
5. To what extent did these reformers achieve success in the period 1890-1920?
NOTES Page
As you “date” reformers, take notes about them in the space provided (They are alphabetized by FIRST
name)
Albert J. Beveridge
Charles Evan Hughes
Charlotte P. Gilman
David Graham Phillips
Frederick Howe
Frederick Jackson Turner
Herbert Croly
Hiram Johnson
Ida Tarbell
Jane Addams
John Spargo
Judge Ben B. Lindsey
Lincoln Steffens
Ray Stannard Baker
Robert LaFollette
Robert Lansing
Theodore Roosevelt
Upton Sinclair
Walter Hines Page
Walter Rauschenbusch
W.E.B. DuBois
William Allen White
William E. Borah
Woodrow Wilson