Chapter 28: Progressivism and the Republican Roosevelt Flashcards
muckrackers
Bright young reporters at the turn of the twentieth century who won this unfavorable moniker from Teddy Roosevelt but boosted the circulations of their magazines by writing exposés of widespread corruption in American society. Their subjects included business manipulation of government, white slaves, child labor, and the illegal deeds of the trusts and helped spur the passage of reform legislation.
initiative
a Progressive reform measure allowing voters to petition to have a law placed on the general ballot. Like the referendum and recall, it brought democracy directly “to the people” and helped foster a shift toward interest group politics and away from old political “machines.”
Recall
a Progressive ballot procedure allowing voters to remove elected officials from office
Australian Ballot
A system that allows voters privacy in marking their ballot choices. Developed in Australia in the 1850s, it was introduced to the US during the progressive era to help counteract boss rule.
Muller vs. Oregon (1908)
A landmark Supreme Court case in which crusading attorney (and later Supreme Court justice) Louis D. Brandeis persuaded the Supreme Court to accept the constitutionality of limiting the hours of women workers. Coming on the heels of Lochner v. New York, it established a different standard for male and female workers.
Lochner v. New York (1905)
A setback for labor reformers, this Supreme Court decision invalidated a state law establishing a ten-hour day for bakers. It held that the “right to free contract” was implicit in the due process clause of the 14th amendment.
Elkins Act (1903)
Law passed by Congress to impose penalties on railroads that offered rebates and customers who accepted them. The law strengthened the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The Hepburn Act of 1906 added free passes to the list of railroad no-no’s.
Hetch Hetchy Valley
The federal government allowed the city of San Francisco to build a dam here in 1913. This was a blow to preservationists, who wished to protect the Yosemite National Park, where the dam was to be located.
dollar diplomacy
Name applied by President Taft’s critics to the policy of supporting US investments and political interests abroad. First applied to the financing of railways in China after 1909, the policy then spread to Haiti, Honduras, and Nicaragua. President Woodrow Wilson disavowed the practice, but his administration undertook comparable acts of intervention in support of US business interests, especially in Latin America.
Payne-Aldrich Bill (1909)
While intended to lower tariff rates, this bill was eventually revised beyond all recognition, retaining high rats on most imports. President Taft angered the progressive wing of his party when he declared it “the best bill that the Republican party ever passed.”
New Freedom (1912)
Platform of reforms advocated by Woodrow Wilson in his first presidential campaign, including stronger antitrust legislation to protect small business enterprises from monopolies, banking reform, and tariff reductions. Wilson’s strategy involved taking action to increase opportunities for capitalist competition rather than increasing government regulation of large trusts.
New Nationalism (1912)
State-interventionist reform program devised by journalist Herbert Croly and advocated by Theodore Roosevelt during his Bull Moose presidential campaign. Roosevelt did not object to continued consolidation of trusts and labor unions. Rather, he sought to create stronger regulatory agencies to ensure that they operated to serve the public interest, not just private gain.
Ida Tarbell
Muckracker journalist who published an exposé on the Standard Oil company.
Lincoln Steffens
muckracker who unmasked the corrupt alliance b/t big musiness and municipal government
Henry Demarest Lloyd
progressive activist and muckracker who also exposed the evils of the Standard Oil Trust
