United States History
EOC Review Packet
The Progressive Era
Progressive Era (Late 1800s to 1917)
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Progressive Movement: a movement to correct the economic and social abuses of industrial society. Supported
consumer protection, women’s suffrage, secret ballot, income tax, direct election of Senators, Prohibition.
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Progressives: believed the government needs to regulate big business to protect consumers and workers.
Opposed laissez-faire attitude of the late 19th century. The progressive movement was a response to the
industrialization and urbanization of the United States because these factors led to poor, unsafe living conditions and
abusive big businesses.
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Jane Addams: established settlement houses that provided assistance to the poor.
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Robert M LaFollette: progressive reformer who wanted to start a civil rights movement for African Americans (was
unsuccessful).
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WEB Du Bois: formed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in order to end
segregation and win equal rights.
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Booker T Washington: believed that African Americans should pursue education as the key to improving social status.
Founded a vocational training institution in the late 1800s to improve economic opportunities for African Americans.
Differed from WEB Du Bois on the best way that African Americans could effectively achieve equality.
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During this era, states established public schools and passed compulsory education laws. Reformers argued that an
educated, literate population was necessary for a successful democracy.
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Progressive Era Economic Reform
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Interstate Commerce Act: created the Interstate Commerce Commission. Marked the first time that a
Federal regulatory agency (a branch of government that watches the economy) was established. Was passed
in response to demands of farmers and small business owners.
o
Sherman Antitrust Act: law passed by congress in an attempt to limit the power of monopolies
o
Clayton Antitrust Act: declared that unions were not conspiracies in restraint of trade (made Unions legal).
In response to business combinations limiting competition.
o
Gibbons v. Ogden: Supreme Court case that allowed the Federal Government to regulate interstate
commerce (business and trading between different states)
o
Wabash v. Illinois: limited the power of big business
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Federal Reserve System: established by the Federal Reserve Act (1913) which was intended to provide a
stable supply of money and credit. Supported by President Woodrow Wilson. The Federal Reserve can
reduce a recession by lowering interest rates.
o
Graduated/Progressive Income Tax: authorized by the 16th amendment (1913). Based on the idea that
people with higher incomes should pay a greater percentage of their income in taxes (taxes are based on the
ability to pay)
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Progressive Era Political Reform
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Through laws such as initiative, referendum, recall, direct primary, and secret ballot progressives
attempted to increase participation in government by citizens and involve voters more directly.
o
Direct Election of Senators: established by the 17th amendment. Citizens directly voted on who would
represent them in the Senate in order to make the Senate more responsive to the people.
o
Civil Service Exams: laws were passed requiring individuals to pass tests before obtaining government jobs in
order to eliminate patronage and corruption in government hiring (prevent the people in the government from
hiring their friends or accepting bribes). This was a reaction to the Spoils System (officials rewarding their
supporters with government jobs).
Progressive Labor Movement/Unions
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Labor Union: an organization of employees formed to bargain with the employer in order to get certain things
such as better working conditions, benefits, and pay. Business leaders opposed the efforts of labor unions to
organize and improve conditions. Clayton Antitrust Act made unions legal.
o
Collective Bargaining: discussions between labor union leaders and management (owners/bosses) to agree
on a contract for workers.
o
Wagner Act: legalized collective bargaining
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Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire: tragedy in which many women workers were killed in a factory fire. Drew
national attention to the need to protect the safety of workers.
o
Samuel Gompers: organized workers into unions in order to strive for better conditions and better pay.
o
American Federation of Labor: the first long-lasting, successful labor union in the US, because it fought for
the rights of skilled workers, focused on gains in wages and working conditions, and was organized on a
nationwide basis
o
Pure Food and Drug Act: law that provided federal inspection of meat products and forbade the manufacture,
sale, or transportation of unsafe food products and poisonous medicines. Resulted from demands for direct
consumer protection. Federal government was able to pass it because of the elastic clause.
o
Meat Inspection Act: created sanitary standards established for slaughterhouses and meat processing
plants. Passed as a result of writings of muckrakers. The publication of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair led
congress to pass the law.
o
Muckraker: writers during the progressive era that exposed social ills of inner cities, factory conditions, and
political corruption. Focused on issues including the monopoly of Standard Oil, cattle processing, meat
packing, child labor, and wages. Examples: Upton Sinclair, Ida M Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, Jacob Riis
o
Populist Party: a political coalition of farming interests directed against banking and railroads
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a third party that eventually disappeared but proposed ideas that later became law
expressed the discontent of many farmers with their ongoing economic problems
proposed the national income tax, free and unlimited coinage of silver, direct election of senators,
government ownership of railroads. Supported antitrust laws
similar to the Progressive Party because both opposed the strict laissez-faire attitudes of the
federal government, and both wanted the use of Federal power to correct social and economic
problems
o
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Granger Movement: wanted to force railroads to lower freight fates. Wanted to pass laws increasing Federal
regulation of monopolies. Supported by farmers in the west.
Theodore Roosevelt
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New Nationalism: policy designed to help the US solve problems caused by industrialization
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Square Deal: increased the role of the Federal Government in dealing with social and economic problems
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Trust Busting: had policies that encouraged competition in business by attacking monopolies, trusts, pools,
etc. Became known as the Trustbuster. Believed the government should regulate big business.
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Big Stick Policy: “Walk softly but carry a big stick.” Policy that was used by the US to police the Western
Hemisphere and intervene in Latin American affairs. Wanted to prevent the extension of European control over
Latin America.
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Expanded the Monroe Doctrine: claimed the Monroe Doctrine permits the US to intervene actively in the
affairs of Latin American nations
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US influence in the Caribbean Sea region is significantly increased as a result of Roosevelt’s policies
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Helped negotiated the end of the Russo-Japanese War (war between Russia and Japan)
Progressive Era Review Questions
1. Which progressive reform allows citizens of a state to propose and pass a law without involving their state legislature?
a. initiative
b. recall election
c. referendum
d. secret ballot
2. Which of these progressive reforms was designed to give voters more power to choose candidates for public office?
a. direct primary
b. political convention
c. recall election
d. caucus
3. Upton Sinclair, author of The Jungle, exposed which of the following
a. poor living conditions of the Japanese in the internment camps
b. pollution in the rivers of the western United States
c. graft collected by politicians at the turn of the century
d. unsanitary conditions of Chicago meat-packing plants
4. What was the purpose of the Pendleton Act?
a. to require the use of secret ballots
b. to institute the federal income tax
c. to reform the civil service system
d. to allow the direct election of senators
5. Which of the following progressive reforms was enacted by a constitutional amendment?
a. women’s suffrage
b. consumer protection
c. regulation of monopolies
d. conservation of the environment
6. Why did President Wilson establish the Federal Reserve System?
a. to help the federal government keep the budget balanced
b. to give trusts more opportunities to expand their businesses
c. to create banks that could collect the new federal income tax
d. to regulate the money supply and prevent future economic panics
7. The Progressive movement of 1890-1920 is BEST described as
a. a broad-based reform movement that tried to reduce the abuses that had come with modernization and
industrialization
b. a loose coalition of groups primarily dedicated to passing a constitutional amendment prohibiting the
consumption of alcohol
c. an anti-tariff movement led by a federation of business owners and manufacturers who wanted to promote trade
abroad
d. a grass-roots movement that attempted to gather support for the establishment of an international organization
such as the League of Nations
8. Lincoln Steffens and Jane Addams are best known for
a. promoting the interests of organized labor
b. leading political movements on behalf of the Populist Party
c. fighting for temperance and Prohibition
d. attempting to ease the problems of the urban poor
9. A primary function of the Federal Reserve System is to
a. prevent abuses in stock market trading
b. insure savings account deposits in member banks
c. preserve a competition in business
d. provide a stable supply of money and credit
10. Which action was taken by President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration?
a. setting aside land for national forests and water projects
b. using Federal troops to break illegal strikes
c. refusing to intervene in Latin American affairs
d. forcing Southern States to eliminate Jim Crow laws
11. The reforms advocated by the Progressive movement were intended mainly to
a. expand the civil rights of African Americans and Native American Indians
b. promote political and economic change through government intervention
c. reduce restrictions on immigration
d. increase the spirit of patriotism throughout the nation
12. Jacob Riis, in How the Other Half Lives, and Lincoln Steffens, in The Shame of the Cities, contributed to reform
movements in the United States by
a. exposing poverty and corruption
b. opposing westward expansion
c. criticizing racial injustice
d. supporting organized labor
13. The Populist and the Progressive movements were similar in their approaches to reform in that BOTH
a. promoted the use of violent strikes and protests against big business organizations
b. opposed the strict laissez-faire attitudes of the federal government
c. lobbied for immediate social and economic equality for African Americans
d. supported the return of powers to the state government
14. Passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act illustrated the federal government’s commitment to
a. workers’ rights
b. consumer protection
c. business competition
d. environmental conservation
15. Congress created the Federal Reserve System in 1913 mainly to
a. control the amount of money in circulation
b. make consumer loans
c. create national mints to coin money
d. regulate increases and decreases in Federal income taxes
16. What was a significant impact of the Progressive movement on American life?
a. reduced government spending for social programs
b. increased restrictions on presidential powers
c. increased government regulation of business
d. decreased influence of the media on public policy
17. The Interstate Commerce Act and the Sherman Antitrust Act were passed by Congress to
a. increase safety in the workplace
b. promote fair hiring practices
c. protect the interests of small businesses
d. improve working conditions
18. How did muckrakers contribute to the rise of Progressivism in the early years of the 20th century?
a. by aligning themselves with the women’s suffrage movement
b. by exposing widespread corruption in business and government
c. by writing favorable biographies about wealthy Americans
d. by challenging big government and urging a return to past conditions
19. During the Progressive Era, Jane Addams responded to urban conditions by working to establish
a. laws that restricted certain immigrant groups
b. free public schools located in inner-city neighborhoods
c. settlement houses that provided assistance to the poor
d. newspapers that helped to inform Americans about slum conditions
20. Which president was known as a trustbuster?
a. Dwight Eisenhower
b. Theodore Roosevelt
c. Calvin Coolidge
d. George Washington
21. Which of the following laws were passed as a result of muckraking literature?
a. Federal Reserve Act
b. Interstate Commerce Act
c. Sherman Antitrust Act
d. Meat Inspection Act
22. Reforms such as initiatives, referendum, and recall were designed to
a. speed up the Presidential election process
b. strengthened the power of the National Government
c. involve voters more directly in the political process
d. improve economic opportunities for minority groups