CHAPTER 21
The Progressive Era, 1900-1917
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After you read and analyze this chapter, you should be able to:
1.
Understand how progressivism and organized interest groups reflected changing political
expectations of Americans and their new political choices.
2.
Explain the constraints that faced women, moral reformers, African Americans, and radicals who
attempted to enter the political arena, as well as the political choices they made and the outcomes
of these choices.
3.
Describe how city and state reforms reflected new expectations for political parties and
government.
4.
Evaluate the constraints Theodore Roosevelt faced and how he chose to deal with them. Explain
the resulting role of the federal government in the economy and the new power of the presidency.
5.
Describe Theodore Roosevelt’s expectations for the U.S. role in world affairs and discuss the
choices he made to bring about his desires.
6.
Evaluate how choices by Wilson and the Democrats influenced the role of the federal government
in the economy and the power of the presidency.
7.
Evaluate whether progressivism was successful, explain its criteria for judging success, and list
progressive outcomes that affect modern American politics.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I.
Organizing for Change
A. The Changing Face of Politics
1. Organization was indispensable for success among the reformers of this era.
a) Improvements in travel and communication encouraged regional thinking.
b) These new technologies eased the way for citizens to organize, since they were
better able to express common concerns and promote shared interests.
c) Organizations to protect and advance certain economic interests were the most
typical.
d) Some organized interest groups increasingly looked to the government for help,
and others expected to foster the interests of ethnic, racial, and gender groups.
2. Most groups shared the optimism that responsible citizens were capable of accelerating
progress; by 1910, many had started calling themselves progressives.
a) The term progressivism signifies three related developments: the emergence of
new concepts of the purpose and functions of government, changes in
government policies and institutions, and the political agitations that produced
those changes.
b) Progressives were involved in one or more of these activities.
c) Many aspects of progressivism reflected concerns of the urban middle class.
3. Progressivism appeared at every level of government: local, state, and federal.
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Chapter 21: The Progressive Era, 1900-1917
B.
C.
D.
E.
257
Women and Reform
1. Organizations formed or dominated by women burst upon politics during this era.
a) The New Woman stood for self-determination; this fresh attitude was sometimes
called feminism.
2. Women were increasing control over their lives in regard to the birth rate.
a) The birth rate fell steadily throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries.
b) Many women used abortion in the early nineteenth century, but it became illegal.
c) Some women, such as Margaret Sanger, began to challenge such restrictive laws
because they were convinced that too large families created problems.
d) These problems included contributing to poverty and damaging the mental and
physical health of women.
e) The National Birth Control League sought repeal of laws barring contraception.
3. Some states passed laws specifically to protect working women.
a) Muller v. Oregon (1908) upheld a law limiting women’s hours of work.
4. Although prominent in reform causes, most women were not allowed to vote or hold
office.
a) Support for suffrage grew as social reform required political action.
b) By 1896, four western states had given women the right to vote, but suffrage
scored few victories outside the West.
5. The National American Woman Suffrage Association was geared toward lobbying in
Washington.
a) During the 1920s, the cause of woman suffrage ignited a mass movement.
b) Some suffrage advocates turned the domesticity argument in their favor, saying
that women would purify politics and make them morally righteous.
c) Women also argued that they should vote because they deserved full equality
with men.
Moral Reform
1. Alcohol was the primary target of moral reform during the Progressive era.
a) The Anti-Saloon League became the model for successful interest group politics
and endorsed only politicians who opposed Demon Rum.
b) Opposition to prohibition came especially from immigrants who did not regard
the use of alcohol as inherently sinful.
c) The drive against alcohol was ultimately successful at the national level.
2. Prostitution was another target of moral reforms.
a) The Mann Act made it illegal to take a woman across state lines for “immoral
purposes.”
Racial Issues in the Progressive Era
1. Racial issues were usually more remote than other issues.
a) Lynching and violence continued as a fact of life for African Americans.
b) Some, such as W. E. B. Du Bois, posed alternatives to the accommodationist
leadership of Booker T. Washington.
2. Some African American leaders organized the Niagara Movement and the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in support of black
rights.
Challenging Capitalism: Socialists and Wobblies
1. The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was the political arm of workers and farmers
who called for a cooperative commonwealth.
a) Workers would share in ownership and control of the means of production.
b) Eugene V. Debs was the best-known Socialist leader.
c) In 1905, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) was organized.
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Chapter 21: The Progressive Era, 1900-1917
II.
The Reform of Politics and the Politics of Reform
A. Exposing Corruption: The Muckrakers
1. Journalists played an important role in preparing the ground for reform, and magazine
publishers discovered sales boomed with dramatic exposés.
a) President Roosevelt called them muckrakers.
b) McClure’s Magazine led the surge in muckraking journalism; eventually,
muckraking extended from periodicals to books.
c) The most famous muckraking book was Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (1906).
2. Pressured by the public, Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, which banned
impure or mislabeled food and drugs.
a) Congress also passed the Meat Inspection Act that required federal inspection of
meatpacking.
B. Reforming City Government
1. Muckrakers helped focus public concern on city government, and municipal reformers
urged honest and efficient government.
a) Most argued that corruption and inefficiency were inevitable without major
changes.
b) They also pointed out that citywide elections would result in council members
with broader perspectives.
c) Some proposed more fundamental changes in the structure of government,
including the commission system and the city-manager plan.
d) Both plans reveal prominent traits of progressivism, including a distrust of
political parties and a desire for expertise and efficiency.
2. City governments also took up city planning.
C. Saving the Future
1. Other professions developed that also had an impact on society, including public
health, mental health, social work, and education.
a) Their objective was to use scientific and social scientific knowledge to control
social forces so that they could define the future.
2. Professionals also sought change in the public schools.
a) They pushed for greater centralization in school administration.
b) They sought to reduce the role of local school boards and superintendents.
c) They began to rely on recently developed intelligence tests for student placement.
3. Standards of medical colleges were raised, and access to the profession began to be
restricted.
D. Reforming State Government
1. Robert M. La Follette pushed the Wisconsin state government to the forefront.
a) It limited both corporations and political parties and adopted a direct primary.
b) Wisconsin also set up a commission to regulate railroad rates and increased taxes
on corporations, including the railroads.
c) It enacted a merit system for hiring and promoting state employees and limited
the activities of lobbyists.
III. Roosevelt, Taft, and Republican Progressivism
A. Roosevelt: Asserting the Power of the Presidency
1. Roosevelt saw political office as a duty he owed the nation rather than an opportunity
for personal advancement.
a) He launched antitrust actions, including the Northern Securities case, and created
a reputation as a trustbuster.
b) Roosevelt initiated more than 40 antitrust actions, although not all of them were
successful.
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Chapter 21: The Progressive Era, 1900-1917
c)
259
He used trustbusting successfully, since he believed it made more sense to
regulate trusts than to break them up.
d) Roosevelt intervened on the side of labor in the coal strike.
2. According to Roosevelt, his Square Deal gave everybody fair treatment.
B. The Square Deal in Action: Creating Economic Federal Regulation
1. Roosevelt’s trustbusting and coal strike settlement brought him great popularity.
a) Congress approved several measures he endorsed, including the Expedition and
Elkins acts, and created the Departments of Commerce and Labor.
2. Roosevelt won reelection by one of the largest margins up to that time—56 percent of
the popular vote.
a) Elected in his own right, Roosevelt set out to implement meaningful legislation,
including the Hepburn Act, the Pure Food and Drug Act, and the Meat Inspection
Act.
C. Regulating Natural Resources
1. Roosevelt took great pride in establishing five national parks and over 50 wildlife
preserves.
a) He strongly supported the National Reclamation Act of 1902, which set aside
proceeds from the sale of western lands to finance irrigation projects.
D. Taft’s Troubles
1. William Howard Taft was virtually named Roosevelt’s successor for the Republicans
as the 1904 election approached.
a) William Jennings Bryan was the Democratic nominee for president for the third
time.
b) Taft won just under 52 percent of the vote, and the Republicans kept control of
Congress.
2. Taft’s approach to the presidency was more restrained than Roosevelt’s, and the
Republican Party split over tariff rates, conservation, and other issues.
IV. “Carry a Big Stick”: Roosevelt, Taft, and World Affairs
A. Taking Panama
1. U.S. diplomats had pursued efforts to build, control, and protect a canal and considered
Nicaragua and Panama (part of Colombia) as possible sites.
a) Negotiations with Colombia bogged down, and Roosevelt supported the
Panamanian Revolution against Colombia.
b) The revolution quickly succeeded, Panama declared its independence, and the
United States immediately extended diplomatic recognition.
2. The Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty (1904) granted the United States perpetual control over
a strip of territory 10 miles wide and paid Panama $10 million and an annual rent of
$250,000.
a) Building a canal proved difficult, and it was not completed until 1914.
B. Making the Caribbean an American Lake
1. Roosevelt was determined to establish American dominance in Central America and
issued the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.
a) This corollary warned European nations against any intervention in the Western
Hemisphere.
2. Roosevelt acted forcefully to establish his new policy.
a) U.S. troops were sent to the Dominican Republic in 1905 to oversee the
customhouses and duties collections, making it the third American protectorate.
b) Taft and Wilson continued to expand Roosevelt’s policy.
C. Roosevelt and Eastern Asia
1. Roosevelt built on the Open Door notes and American participation against the Boxers.
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Chapter 21: The Progressive Era, 1900-1917
Roosevelt helped negotiate the Treaty of Portsmouth (1905), which recognized Japan’s
dominance in Korea and gave Japan Russian concession in southern Manchuria.
3. His Gentleman’s Agreement (1907) limited Japanese immigration to the United States.
D. The United States and the World: 1901-1913
1. Before the 1890s, the United States had no clear or consistent foreign policy.
2. By the turn of the century, U.S. commitments were obvious to all.
a) Its modern navy was central to the concept of the United States as a world power
since without it, other commitments lacked anything more than moral force.
b) America’s new vision divided the world into “civilized” and “barbarous” nations.
c) U.S. relations with Britain improved, primarily due to British policy choices.
V. Wilson and Democratic Progressivism
A. Debating the Future: The Election of 1912
1. Republicans were plagued by divisions and an economic downturn so Roosevelt ran as
the Progressive Party’s candidate.
2. Wilson centered his campaign on the issues of big business and depicted monopoly
itself as the most serious problem, not just its behavior.
a) Wilson received 42 percent of the total vote, and the Democrats won in Congress.
B. Wilson and Reform, 1913-1914
1. Wilson believed in an active role for the president in policymaking and focused first on
tariff reform through the Underwood Act.
a) He also pushed for the creation of the Federal Reserve System, the Clayton
Antitrust Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act.
C. Another Round of Reform and the Election of 1916
1. Beyond his support for labor, Wilson did little in the area of social reform.
a) He considered efforts to outlaw child labor unconstitutional.
VI. New Patterns in Cultural Expression
A. Realism, Impressionism, and Ragtime
1. American novelists increasingly turned to a realistic and sometimes quite critical
portrayal of life, rejecting the romantic idealism characteristic of the pre-Civil War
period.
a) Most American painting, however, was moving in the opposite direction.
2. The most influential musician at the turn of the century was Scott Joplin, an African
American composer who contributed significantly to ragtime.
B. Mass Entertainment in the Twentieth Century
1. New forms of entertainment emerged, including traveling shows.
2. Immediately after the Civil War, a quite different form of mass entertainment
appeared: professional baseball.
a) Teams traveled by train from city to city, and urban rivalries built loyalty among
hometown fans.
C. Celebrating the New Age
1. The World’s Columbian Exposition opened in Chicago in 1892.
a) The exhibits nearly always expressed the conviction that technology and industry
would inevitably improve the lives of all.
VII. Progressivism in Perspective
A. The Transformation of American Politics and Government
1. Roosevelt and Wilson asserted presidential authority, and Franklin Roosevelt followed
their example.
a) Americans came to expect domestic policy to flow from the White House.
2. Reforms rarely fulfilled all the expectations of their proponents.
2.
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Chapter 21: The Progressive Era, 1900-1917
261
IDENTIFICATIONS
Identify the following items and explain the significance of each. While you should include any
relevant historical terms, using your own words to write these definitions will help you better remember
these items for your next exam.
1.
Theodore Roosevelt
2.
George F. Baer
3.
Progressive era
4.
interest groups
5.
Progressive Party
6.
feminism
7.
Margaret Sanger
8.
Muller v. Oregon
9.
Jeannette Rankin
10. National American Woman Suffrage Association
11. old-stock
12. narcotic
13. depressive
14. moral reform
15. Anti-Saloon League
16. local option law
17. Mann Act
18. W. E. B. Du Bois
19. NAACP
20. Ida B. Wells
21. Socialist Party of America
22. Marxist
23. sweatshop
24. migrant
25. muckrakers
26. Lincoln Steffens
27. Ida Tarbell
28. Upton Sinclair
29. Pure Food and Drug Act
30. Meat Inspection Act
31. municipal reform
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Chapter 21: The Progressive Era, 1900-1917
32. city council
33. ward
34. commission system
35. city-manager plan
36. Golden Rule
37. city planning
38. school board
39. hookworm
40. tuberculosis
41. insane asylum
42. Robert M. La Follette
43. direct primary
44. Wisconsin Idea
45. Hiram W. Johnson
46. workers’ compensation
47. initiative
48. referendum
49. Oregon System
50. recall
51. direct democracy
52. term limit
53. lobbyist
54. constituents
55. trustbusting
56. Square Deal
57. Elkins Act
58. Hepburn Act
59. Gifford Pinchot
60. Sixteenth Amendment
61. Seventeenth Amendment
62. Payne-Aldrich Tariff
63. Hay-Pauncefote Treaties
64. Philippe Bunau-Varilla
65. Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty
66. Caribbean
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Chapter 21: The Progressive Era, 1900-1917
263
67. Roosevelt Corollary
68. dollar diplomacy
69. customs receivership
70. Manchuria
71. Treaty of Portsmouth
72. gentleman’s agreement
73. Hague Court
74. New Nationalism
75. credentials committee
76. Woodrow Wilson
77. Bull Moose Party
78. New Freedom
79. Louis Brandeis
80. Underwood Act
81. money supply
82. Federal Reserve Act
83. Clayton Antitrust Act
84. interlocking directorates
85. Federal Trade Commission Act
86. Mark Twain
87. impressionism
88. Ash Can School
89. ragtime
90. slapstick
91. melodrama
92. Chautauqua
93. executive power
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
1.
2.
The purpose of the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine was to
a.
justify the seizure of Panama in order to build a canal across it.
b. extend the Monroe Doctrine to America’s new holdings in the Pacific.
c.
set up arbitration panels to settle disputes involving advanced nations.
d. prevent European nations from intervening in countries in the Western Hemisphere even if
they had just cause.
Women reformers during the Progressive era
a.
concentrated exclusively upon winning the vote for women.
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Chapter 21: The Progressive Era, 1900-1917
b. rejected the concept of separate spheres for men and women.
c.
rejected the idea of a constitutional amendment for women’s suffrage.
d. approved of the cult of domesticity.
3. The prohibition movement attracted support from all of the following groups EXCEPT
a.
Methodists and other old-line Protestants.
b. scientists and sociologists.
c.
the Anti-Saloon League.
d. Roman Catholic immigrants.
4. During the Progressive era, African Americans
a.
lost their voting rights in northern states.
b. formed their own political party.
c.
found in W. E. B. Du Bois a leader very different from Booker T. Washington.
d. turned to armed resistance in the South.
5. The Wobblies encountered fierce opposition because they
a.
were responsible for the assassination of William McKinley.
b. conspired with urban politicians to steal elections.
c.
advocated the coinage of silver like the Populists.
d. opposed capitalism.
6. An example of reform legislation directly encouraged by muckraking efforts was the
a.
Sherman Antitrust Act.
b. Interstate Commerce Act.
c.
Meat Inspection Act.
d. Mann Act.
7. To make city government more honest and efficient, reformers
a.
advocated such new forms of city government as the commission system and the citymanager plan.
b. sought to extend the time required for new immigrants to become citizens.
c.
founded the Urban Party in order to run their own candidates for office.
d. tried to give state governments the power to intervene in and assume control of corrupt city
councils.
8. The Wisconsin Idea emphasized the progressive emphasis on
a.
expertise and professionalization.
b. temperance.
c.
a graduated income tax.
d. women’s suffrage.
9. Such reforms as the initiative and recall
a.
quickly fell under the control of corrupt political bosses.
b. were proposed by the Socialist Party of America.
c.
tended to reduce the power of political parties.
d. were opposed by the muckrakers.
10. Voting began to decline in the Progressive era because
a.
the public became completely disgusted with politics and politicians.
b. political parties were in decline and could no longer get out the vote to the degree formerly
possible.
c.
reformers advocated boycotts on Election Day as a way to force politicians to change their
ways.
d. successful reforms at all levels of government made it unnecessary to vote.
11. Theodore Roosevelt’s reputation as a trustbuster rests primarily on his handling of
a.
United States v. E. C. Knight.
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Chapter 21: The Progressive Era, 1900-1917
12.
13.
14.
15.
265
b. Plessy v. Ferguson.
c.
Muller v. Oregon.
d. the Northern Securities case.
The New Nationalism and the Square Deal were both
a.
associated with Theodore Roosevelt’s brand of progressive reform.
b. opposed to any regulation of corporations.
c.
against labor unions.
d. plans for reform of the federal government drawn up by William Howard Taft.
The election of 1912 provided evidence that
a.
weak candidates can sometimes win.
b. Democrats need black votes to win.
c.
parties that split their vote are very likely to lose.
d. candidates who change parties will likely be successful.
The Federal Reserve Act
a.
established a system of reserve lands called national parks.
b. created a system for regulating the nation’s banks.
c.
reduced the deficit through the first income tax ever.
d. was declared unconstitutional because it violated the right of private property.
In foreign policy, President Theodore Roosevelt is best described as someone who
a.
encouraged a more aggressive American presence in world affairs.
b. encouraged anti-imperialism, especially in the Western Hemisphere.
c.
advocated world disarmament and a United Nations organization.
d. always pursued a belligerent solution to any diplomatic problem.
ESSAY QUESTIONS
1.
Hoping for better government and an improved political system, many reformers during the
Progressive era called for changes to the institutions of government. Did American government
and political practices change as a result of their efforts?
DEVELOPING YOUR ANSWER: It is easy to argue that they did. For the institutions and
structure of American government, you can cite new kinds of city government, the city-planning
movement, the direct primary, the initiative, the referendum, the recall, and the direct election of
senators under the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution.
Under the pressure of reform, American political practices also changed. In evidence of this, you
should cite and discuss the diminishing power of political parties; the resulting reduction in the
number of people who voted; the growing impact and importance of organized interest groups,
replacing the political parties as the engines driving policy; and the growing importance of
advertising in political campaigns.
2.
Controlling the growth and power of big business was one of the great issues of the Progressive
era. Compare and contrast the policies and initiatives of the period’s three presidents concerning
the country’s great corporations.
DEVELOPING YOUR ANSWER: Theodore Roosevelt was prepared to accept the growth of big
business. He saw it as a natural development, but he believed that the government should regulate
companies that acted contrary to the general public good. Beginning with the Northern Securities
Company, he started more than 40 suits against monopoly companies that he thought did not
“behave” in that manner. Similarly, he faced down big business in the coal strike of 1902 and
supported the United Mine Workers’ union. During his second term, he worked for legislation to
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Chapter 21: The Progressive Era, 1900-1917
regulate the railroads. On the other hand, Roosevelt was prepared to accept big business when he
thought that it acted in the public’s interest.
Taft did even more than Roosevelt against monopoly. He initiated more than twice as many
lawsuits against large companies, in approximately half the time.
Woodrow Wilson was even more opposed to big business than Roosevelt; you should emphasize
their contrasting views in your discussion. If Roosevelt accepted the existence of huge
corporations (as long as they acted in the public interest), Wilson thought that all large companies
were undesirable. They must all be broken up, he argued, in order to restore competition.
Once he became president, Wilson acted differently. Under the Federal Reserve Act, he appointed
friends of the banking industry. Going further, he changed his mind about big business; he
adopted Roosevelt’s views. In the Clayton Antitrust Act, he accepted a bill against monopoly—
but it was one without much power to it.
3.
The years of the Progressive era were ones filled with the spirit of reform. What can account for
this surge of interest in reforming American society?
DEVELOPING YOUR ANSWER: Because progressivism was such a diverse movement, it is
possible to offer many reasons. They include the following:
Many reform movements were not new; they can be seen instead as continuing efforts to take care
of “unfinished business.” The women’s suffrage movement is an example, as is the prohibition
movement.
There were, without doubt, many severe problems in American society in the early twentieth
century that required solution. Big business often did not pay heed to many of its own
shortcomings. The meat-packing industry is a good example; the Meat Inspection Act (along with
the Pure Food and Drug Act) at last provided a check on it, as well as on other businesses that
marketed unhealthy merchandise. The railroads engaged in unfair practices, which the Elkins and
Hepburn acts sought to curtail.
Much could be improved in the name of efficiency and expertise, an important aspect of
progressive reformers’ thinking. City planning, the administration of cities by experts, and wiser
planning for the use of natural resources (the conservation movement) are all examples of reform
that fall under this heading.
The United States had changed dramatically since the Civil War: the new immigration, rapid
industrialization, the growth of the cities, and the growth of big business had all made the nation
quite different from what it once had been. New institutions and laws were accordingly necessary
to address changing circumstances. A public health movement, for example, was a reform that
made great sense in meeting the needs of rapidly expanding cities that had many poverty-stricken
inhabitants.
MAP EXERCISE
1.
Examine the chapter’s opening map. Does the progressive movement appear to have derived
greater support from rural areas, or from those with the nation’s major urban centers? Can
regional patterns in support for progressive reform be discerned? Or, was progressivism a national
phenomenon?
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Chapter 21: The Progressive Era, 1900-1917
267
INDIVIDUAL CHOICES
Theodore Roosevelt
To answer the following questions, consult the Individual Choices section at the beginning of the
chapter.
1.
Under what circumstances did Theodore Roosevelt become president?
2.
Of what significance was his age when he assumed the presidency?
3.
Describe some of Roosevelt’s pre-presidential activities. What impact might some of these
activities have had on his views regarding presidential power?
4.
Evaluate Roosevelt’s role in the 1902 anthracite coal strike.
5.
What offer did Roosevelt finally make to the striking miners? Did they accept? Why or why not?
6.
Do you agree with Roosevelt that he acted as a “steward of the people” in this case? Justify your
answer.
INDIVIDUAL VOICES
Examining a Primary Source: Theodore Roosevelt Asserts
Presidential Powers
To answer the following questions, consult the Individual Voices section at the end of the chapter.
1.
Why was Roosevelt considered to be one of the nation’s most-informed presidents?
2.
Which of Roosevelt’s actions were “things not previously done by a President”?
3.
What do you know about the presidencies of Jackson, Lincoln, and Buchanan that would support
Roosevelt’s views?
4.
Can you find examples of such behavior in U.S. foreign affairs? In domestic affairs? Can you find
contrary examples? How successful was Roosevelt in meeting his own standard?
5.
What dangers might result from Roosevelt’s views of sweeping presidential powers?
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Chapter 21: The Progressive Era, 1900-1917
RUBRIC: Theodore Roosevelt greatly expanded the power of the presidency. Think about the
distinctions and overlap between the powers of the three branches of government as you complete the
following rubric.
ROOSEVELT’S
ACTIONS AS
PRESIDENT
OTHER BRANCHES OF
GOVERNMENT WITH
POWER REGARDING THIS
ISSUE
CHALLENGES
TO TR
OUTCOME
RESULTS
ANSWERS TO MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
1.
d.
Roosevelt asserted that the United States would exercise police power in the Western
Hemisphere, thereby eliminating the need for European nations to intervene there even when they
had just cause. See pages 660-661.
a.
There was no need to seize Panama; it had rebelled against Colombia and declared its
independence. That is what cleared the way for construction of the canal. See page 660.
b.
It applied to the Western Hemisphere. See pages 660-661.
c.
The Corollary did not deal with arbitration (something Roosevelt believed in for settling
international problems). Instead, it asserted the right of the United States to act as a “policeman”
in the Western Hemisphere. See pages 660-661.
2.
b.
Rejecting it was central to their drive for the vote, which, until obtained by women, was
defined as belonging to the male sphere. See pages 642-643.
a.
Although they fought for suffrage, it was far from their exclusive cause; they fought also for
birth control, for improvements in the conditions in which working women labored, and for moral
reforms like temperance. See pages 642-643.
c.
The National American Woman Suffrage Association lobbied extensively for such a
constitutional amendment. See pages 642-643.
d. They rejected the idea of separate spheres for men and women, with women relegated to the
home. See pages 642-643.
3.
d.
This is the correct choice. Catholic immigrants (e.g., Irish and German) opposed
prohibition as an attempt by Protestants to impose their values on them. See page 644.
a.
Because old-stock Protestants, especially Methodists, taught that alcohol impeded society’s
improvement, this is not the correct choice. See page 644.
b. Because scientists linked alcohol to diseases and sociologists tied it to social problems, this
is not the correct choice. See page 644.
c.
This group lobbied for temperance. See page 644.
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Chapter 21: The Progressive Era, 1900-1917
4.
269
c.
Du Bois rejected Washington’s counsel that African Americans in the South accept
segregation and prohibitions on voting. See pages 645-646.
a.
See pages 645-646.
b. African Americans established the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People, but this organization was not a political party. See pages 645-646.
d. It was certainly far too dangerous: violence against African Americans in the form of
lynching was rife during the Progressive era. See pages 645-646.
5.
d.
They blamed capitalism for oppressing workers and looked forward to a general strike that
would destroy it. See pages 646-647.
a.
McKinley had been assassinated in 1901; the Wobblies dated to 1905. See pages 646-647.
b. There is no evidence that they were interested in winning elections. They sought, instead, to
win strikes. See pages 646-647.
c.
They did not believe in reforming the system through such means; they sought to bring
about its collapse. See pages 646-647.
6.
7.
c.
Muckraker Upton Sinclair’s novel, The Jungle, led to passage of this act. See page 648649.
a.
Both of these acts predate this chapter and, thus, were not progressive reforms.
b.
Both of these acts predate this chapter and, thus, were not progressive reforms.
d.
Moral reformers (often women) supported this law against prostitution. See pages 642-643.
a.
They did so because they sought to end control by corrupt political parties and because they
believed in expertise and efficiency. See pages 649-651.
b. They did not propose this; they relied, instead, on structural reform as the way to improve
city government. See pages 649-651.
c.
They did not establish any such political organization. See pages 649-651.
d. They proposed citywide (as opposed to ward) elections as the way to assure the election of
less corrupt city councils. See pages 649-651.
8.
a.
Governor Robert M. La Follette made reliance on experts, who were often university
faculty members, a feature of progressive reform in Wisconsin. See pages 651- 652.
b.
This was not one of the reforms associated with the Wisconsin Idea. See pages 651- 652.
c.
This was not associated with the list of reforms that were part of the Wisconsin Idea. See
pages 651- 652.
d.
9.
This was not among the Wisconsin Idea reforms. See pages 651- 652.
c.
These reforms made direct democracy possible; they reduced the importance of the
political party as a factor in the electoral process. See pages 653-654.
a.
These reforms enabled reformers and voters to neutralize the strength of traditional political
leaders. See pages 653-654.
b. They were introduced by progressive reformers. In contrast, socialists did not believe that
progressive reforms could change American society for the better. See pages 646-647.
d. Because they were progressive reformers, muckrakers would have approved of them as
reforms that could break the hold of corrupt political leaders. See pages 647-648.
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Chapter 21: The Progressive Era, 1900-1917
10. b.
As the party organizations became less powerful because of such reforms as the direct
primary and the direct election of senators, they were less capable of mobilizing voters on
Election Day. See pages 653-654.
a.
The decline of traditional political party organizations is what contributed to less voting. See
pages 653-654.
c.
On the contrary, such reforms as the direct primary, the recall, and the initiative show that
reformers relied on voters to vote on Election Day. See pages 653-654.
d. The declining power of traditional political parties led to a decline in voting. See pages 653654.
11. d.
Roosevelt forced the dissolution of a railroad monopoly.
a.
This case occurred in 1895, well before Roosevelt’s presidency. See page 654.
b.
This case predates this chapter.
c.
This decision upheld the constitutionality of a law limiting the hours that women could
work. See page 641.
12. a.
b.
See pages 655-658 and 665-666.
The New Nationalism allowed for regulation of corporations. See pages 665-666.
c.
Roosevelt’s support for labor in the 1902 coal strike was an example of the Square Deal in
action. See pages 655-657.
d.
Both were associated with Theodore Roosevelt. See pages 655-658 and 665-666.
13. c.
Republican voters split between Taft and Roosevelt. Wilson was therefore able to win with
only 42 percent of the popular vote. See pages 664-666.
a.
There is no reason to view any of the three major candidates as weaker than the other two.
Taft and Roosevelt were both weak in the sense that they had to share the traditional Republican
vote. Wilson was weak in the sense that the Democrats were the minority party. See pages 664666.
b. Their strength was greatest in the South, where African Americans had been disenfranchised
since the 1890s. See page 666 (Map 21.3).
d. The only candidate to do so was Roosevelt, by leaving the Republican Party to run as a
third-party candidate; and he lost the election. See pages 664-666.
14. b.
See page 667.
a.
It established a system of twelve Federal Reserve banks. See page 667.
c.
See page 667.
d. The system it created to regulate the nation’s banks has remained in operation until the
present. See page 667.
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Chapter 21: The Progressive Era, 1900-1917
271
15. a.
For example, his foreign policy led to a U.S. role in resolving the Russo-Japanese War and
to establishing hegemony in the Caribbean and Central America. See pages 658-663.
b. For example, Roosevelt moved decisively to establish the presence of the United States in
Panama, sending warships to support the rebellion against Colombia. He was squarely in the proimperialist camp. See pages 658-663.
c.
Far from advocating disarmament, Roosevelt made much of American naval power. He
made a point of demonstrating it to the world when he sent 16 battleships on a voyage around the
world. He did not advocate a world organization. See pages 658-663.
d. He advocated negotiation and arbitration to settle international disputes. He helped Japan
and Russia end their war, sought to negotiate arbitration treaties with foreign nations, and settled
outstanding problems with Britain through arbitration. See pages 658-663.
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