Chapter 22 - The Progressive Era (1900-1920) Flashcards
Explain why historians have a difficult time describing the Progressives.
They were a diverse group of people that were not clearly definable. Moreover, there were a plethora of different reform agendas that all become incorporated into the concept of progressivism.
Which political party expressed progressivism’s ideals.
The Republican, Democratic, and Bull Moose Party all embraced many progressive initiatives.
Define the three different historical interpretations of the Progressive Era and the years they were popular.
1) The “Status Revolt” Thesis - Americans who thought they were losing power attempted to hold it through reform initiatives - 1940-1950
2) The “Search for Order” Thesis - An Attempt to Impose Order into what seemed to be an unstable society - 1960-1970
3) The Intervention Thesis - Someone had to intervene to make sense of the brand new political, social, and economic landscape. - Modern Era.
What brought about the Progressive Era?
Response to changes wrought by industrialization, immigration, and urbanization.
What three dynamics radically reshaped America?
1) Urbanization
2) Immigration
3) Industrialization
What class primarily supported the Progressive movement?
The Middle Class
Why did businessmen support the Progressive movement?
They believed small amounts of strategically-placed government action would help the Business environment.
What key actor helped push reform efforts?
Shifting Coalitions.
Define shifting coalitions.
When a group with a reform agenda would partner with other groups to pass a single reform agenda and pattern with different groups to pass other pieces of that agenda.
List five key elements of the progressive worldview.
1) Christian Presuppositions and a desire to do what is morally right. (Thus Moral Crusades)
2) A faith in science and its methods to promote efficiency and organization. (Gospel of Efficiency.)
3) The conviction that rational orderly, and structured management was superior to person management.
4) Optimism that humans can solve all their socio-economic problems via regulation, policing, and management.
5) A belief in democratic methods, especially if it meant taking power away from big business and urban machines.
Define the four categories of Progressive Era reforms.
1) Business Regulations - Moving Away From Unbridled Capitalism to Some Regulation on Some Business Activity.
2) Good Government Reforms - Wanted to Give Power to the People and dismantle to corrupt political practices that occurred during the Gilded Age.
3) Social Justice Measures - Addressing unjust conditions such as child labor, prostitution, starvation wages, and false advertising.
4) Social Control Measures - Reestablish traditional morals and cultural standards. (Temperance and Blue Laws.)
In what region was Progressivism the weakest?
The South.
Describe Western Progressivism.
Target railroad companies to reduce their influence and regulating the industry. Large amounts of democratization occurred and they took the lead in granting women the right to vote.
What characteristics made Progressivism strong in the Midwest and Northeast?
1) Urban Growth
2) Industrial Growth
3) Numerous Immigrants
4) A Sizable Middle Class That Included Professionals and Business Men.
In what two regions was Progressivism the strongest?
1) The Northeast.
2) The Midwest.
Who launched the Progressive movement?
Early 1900s investigative journalists.
What was the ancestor movement to the Progressives?
The Populist Movement.
Why was populism defeated in the election of 1896?
1) William Jennings Bryan was defeated.
2) Populist Ideas were carried forward by the minority Democratic Party.
3) fusion with the Democrats stripped populists of their energy and repeal.
What were the most important acts of protocol-Progressive legislation in the 1800s?
1) The Pendleton Act - Launched Widespread Civil Service Reform (Ended the Spoils System)
2) The Sherman Anti-Trust Act
3) The Creation of the Interstate Commerce Commission.
What were the three main pre-Progressive private sector. reform movements?
1) Ida Wells’ Anti-Lynching Campaign
2) Jane Addams Settlement House Movement
3) Francis Willard’s Women’s Christian Temperance Movement (WCTU)
What form of business integration did private reform groups follow?
Horizontal Integration.
What notable organizations followed this horizontal integration strategy?
1) The American Bar Association
2) The American Medical Association
3) The American Association of University Professors
What were magazine journalists who helped trigger the Progressive movement nicknamed?
Muckrakers.
Where does the term Muckraker originate?
John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress.
Which President popularized the term Muckraker?
Theodore Roosevelt.
List some notable instances of investigative journalists’ muckraking.
1) Ida Tarbell’s exposure of Standard Oil Company’s business practices.
2) Upton Sinclair’s disclosure of life inside a Chicago meat-packing plant in The Jungle.
3) Lincoln Stephens exposed political corruption and rampant undemocratic practices in his series “The Shame of the Cities.”
4) Ray Stannard Baker investigated ways that black Americans were deprived of their full citizenship rights.
5) Jacob Riis was a photojournalist who published his photos of terrible living conditions in NYC in “How the Other Half Lives”
6) Henry Lloyd and Frank Norris.
What was the Progressive Era able to do in regards to government that was the first of its kind?
Far-reaching government intervention.
What is the term used to categorize Progressives who advocated private sector reforms and programs?
Voluntarism.
List a few examples of Voluntarism.
1) Voluntary Business Led Trade Associations.
2) Jane Addams Hull Houses
3) The setting of professional standards by the ABA, AMA, and other professional organizations.
4) Christian Ministries - Such as the Salvation Army and the YMCA.
When did the Social Gospel Movement occur?
From about 1880-1929.
