Progressive Era Vocab Flashcards
muckraker
A group of journalists and other writers brought many of society’s ills to public attention.
Seventeenth Amendment
expanded democracy in 1912, by taking from state legislatures the power to select each state’s U.S. senators and giving it to the voters.
progressives
Broad-based reform movement, 1900-1917, that sought governmental action in solving problems in many areas such as, education, public health, the economy, the environment, labor, transportation, and politics.
recall
One means by which Progressives hoped to clean up the government was the recall. This empowered voters to remove elected officials from office before the end of their terms.
referendum
Empowered voters to approve or reject new laws passed by a legislative body, was part of Progressive Era efforts to expand democracy.
initiative
Progressive reformers lobbied state legislatures to grant citizens the initiative, which allowed them to put proposed new laws on the ballot for voter approval.
The Temperance movement
organized campaigns by various groups in the US, Britain, and other countries in the 19th century to persuade people to drink little or no alcohol.
Populism
In 1892, they advocated for a variety of reform issues, including free coinage of silver, income tax, postal savings, regulation of railroads, and direct elections of U.S. senators.
Federal Reserve Act
In 1913, Progressive reformers’ efforts to regulate and stabilize the nation’s banking system resulted in the passage of the act.
Food and Drug Act
Public outcry over unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry caused Congress to pass this act in 1906.
Progressive Party
Formed by former president Theodore Roosevelt who broke away from the Republican Party to run for President again in 1912.
Socialist Party
demanding public ownership of major economic enterprises in the U.S. as well as reforms like recognition of labor unions and women’s suffrage. Reached peak in 1912.
