Progressive Movement

Question 1

What was the purpose of the Progressive Movement?

Answer 1

To end the social ills of society. This was done by:

1. Expanding the scope of local, state, and federal government.
2. Have authority to elevate the public interest over private greed.

Question 2

What were progressives motivated by?

Answer 2

Religious beliefs - prohibition of alcohol, close businesses on Sunday.

Question 3

What did Progressives target?

Answer 3

Schools, develop a good road system, conservation of resources, public health and welfare, care for the disabled, farm loans.

Question 4

What did people from the 1930’s call this time period?

Answer 4

The Welfare State.

Question 5

What was the new political party that was forming? What did they want?

Answer 5

Socialists - Supported Progressive reform, but will go further.

Question 6

Who were muckrakers? What did they do?

Answer 6

Investigated journalists. Writers who strived on exposing corruption and social injustice.

Question 7

How did the muckrakers gets their name?

Answer 7

Name came from Teddy Roosevelt who go the name from John Bunyan’s Book, Pilgrims’ Progress.

Question 8

Who were the most well known muckrakers?

Answer 8

1. Henry Lloyd - Wealth Against Commonwealth –> Attacked monopolies.
2. Lincoln Steffens - Shame of the Cities –> City Corruption
3. Jacob Riis - How the Other Half Lives –> People who lost their jobs, poor.
4. Uptown Sinclair - The Jungle –> Horrors of the meat packing industry in Chicago.

Question 9

In Democracy, what did the government want to do to help the people?

Answer 9

They wanted to give people political participation. This was through:

1. Direct Primary
2. Initiative and Referendum
3. Voter Registration
4. Corruption Practice Act of 1908
5. Recall of 1910
6. Direct Election of Senators

Question 10

What is initiative and referendum?

Answer 10

The initiative is the voters’ petition, creating a ballot question.
The referendum is the actual vote on the petition question.

Question 11

What is a recall?

Answer 11

A recall is removing a public official from office through a petition.

Question 12

Who was Frederick Taylor?

Answer 12

The leader of scientific management - Promised to reduce waste by a detailed analysis of labor.
This was meant to increase wages to make people work harder.
- This only worked where workers had a well defined job.

Question 13

What was the city manager plan?

Answer 13

Professional administrator would be hired to run the city.

Question 14

Robert “Fighting Bob” Lafollette

Answer 14

“Wisconsin Idea” - Senator

He brought scientific management to the government.

Question 15

What did the child labor laws of 1904 say?

Answer 15

Banned employment of young children 10 and under - Set the minimum age to 12-16 years old with limited hours.

Question 16

Florence Kelly

Answer 16

President of the Natural Consumers’ League - Sought to limit the hounds a woman could work.

Question 17

What was the Triangle Shirtwaist Company issue?

Answer 17

Owners said women were stealing, and they then locked the door so that they could not sneak out. There was then a fire, and no one could get out. Brought new laws and inspections.

Question 18

During the progressive movement, what did religion push for?

Answer 18

1. Minimum wage
2. Shorter work day
3. Prohibition

Question 19

Teddy Roosevelt set a new bar for what presidents would do in the future by:

Answer 19

1. Being very active
2. Expanded the role and visibility of the presidency.
3. Increased president’s authority
4. Willing to work deals.

Question 20

What did the Square Deal say?

Answer 20

1. Enforce existing anti-trust laws and stricter control of big business.
2. He will use his office to prosecute using the Sherman Anti-trust Act

Question 21

What was the result of the Coal Strike of 1902?

Answer 21

Roosevelt threatened that the government was going to take over the mines, forcing the owners and workers to come together.

Question 22

What did the Elkins Act in 1903 say?

Answer 22

Could not give secret rebates or take them from companies in exchange for cheaper rates.

Question 23

Who won the Election of 1904?

Answer 23

Roosevelt beat Alton Parker with 7.6 million votes and 336 electoral votes to 5.1 million votes and 140 electoral votes.

Question 24

What was the Hepburn Act?

Answer 24

It gave Interstate Commerce Commission power to regulate maximum railroad prices and rates.

Question 25

What did Roosevelt do after reading The Jungle?

Answer 25

He wanted to fix the industry by putting together a commission to inspect the plants.

Question 26

What was the meat inspection act of 1906?

Answer 26

A result of Roosevelt reading The Jungle, meat would begin to be graded.

Question 27

What was the Pure Food and Drug Act?

Answer 27

Put restrictions on prepared food and medicine.

Question 28

What was conservation?

Answer 28

Protect land and wildlife by setting aside land to become natural parks and regulate hunting/fishing.

Question 29

What happened in the Election of 1908?

Answer 29

Roosevelt didn’t run for office again, but selected Taft to run. Taft was a lawyer, not a politician. He beat William J. Bryan, the Democrat and Eugene Debs, the Socialist.

Question 30

What did Taft promise when he won the election?

Answer 30

He promised tariff reduction, going against Roosevelt. This ended up hurting Taft’s presidency.

Question 31

Ballinger Pinchot Controversy

Answer 31

Ballinger, the Secretary of the Interior, will lease lands to his friends, who will then sell the land they don’t own. Pinchot, the Chief of Forestry, caught this, and reported the scandal. Taft fired Pinchot, calling him insubordinate, while Ballinger was cleared.

Question 32

Who won the 1910 congressional elections?

Answer 32

Democrats won the House and the Senate.

Question 33

What does Teddy Roosevelt do in 1912?

Answer 33

He joins the presidential race.

Question 34

What was Taft’s positive after his horrible 1st year in office?

Answer 34

1. 3 solid years - Attempted tariff reform.
2. Set aside more land in 4 years than Roosevelt did in 8 years.
3. Brought up more antitrust suits.
4. Established the Bureau of Mines and the Federal Children’s’ Bureau.
5. Supported the 16th Amendment - Income tax; and the 17th Amendment - Popular election of senators.

Question 35

What did Taft do at the convention?

Answer 35

He controlled it as the president, and did not allow Roosevelt to win by controlling who was in attendance to vote.

Question 36

What party does Roosevelt form?

Answer 36

The Bull Moose Party because he said, “I am as fit as a bull moose.”

Question 37

What happened ion the Election of 1912?

Answer 37

Taft (Rep), Wilson (Dem), Roosevelt(BM), and Debs (Soc) ran.
Wilson, the governor of NJ and the president of Princeton University, blew everyone out with 6.3 million votes and 435 electoral votes.

Question 38

What was the Underwood-Simmons Tariff?

Answer 38

Lowered the average duty from 37% to 29%.

Question 39

What was the 16th Amendment?

Answer 39

allowed income tax to be taken out of people’s pay.

Question 40

What was the Federal Reserve Act?

Answer 40

Set up a new national banking system of 12 regional banks, giving the country a sound, but flexible currency system.

Question 41

Federal Trade Commission

Answer 41

Anti-trust program

Question 42

Clayton Anti-trust Act

Answer 42

Becomes weak because of changes, but was meant to strengthen the Sherman Anti-trust Act.

Question 43

What Social Justices did Wilson not support?

Answer 43

1. Federal Suffrage Amendment - Women’s vote
2. Child labor legislation - Up to the state
3. Federal loans to poor farmers - can’t help one class of people.
4. Reforms for African Americans - Never associated with them.

Question 44

What will Wilson do on his campaign in 1914?

Answer 44

Promote Progressive Reforms

Question 45

Who did Wilson choose to become a Supreme Court Justice?

Answer 45

Louis Brandeis - 1st Jewish Supreme Court Justice who was a Republican, but was also a Progressive.

Question 46

When reelection time came, what did Wilson support?

Answer 46

1. Farm and labor reform - Federal Farm Loan Act - 12 banks created low interest loans for farmers.
2. Federal Highway Act - Supported matching funds for roads - $75 million over 5 years
3. Keaton’s-Owen Act - Interstate Commerce would be excluded from having goods made by children under 14 years old. - Ruled Unconstitutional
4. Adamstown Act - Gave railroad workers and 8 hour day - ruled Constitutional.

Question 47

What were the themes of the Progressive Reform?

Answer 47

1. Greater Democracy with an effective government - This had to do with giving more power to the people and getting them to participate more. To do this, the government incorporated direct primary to decide who would run for each part; initiative and referendum, which was a petition program for ballot questions; voter registration; corrupt practice act; recall; and the direct election of senators. These aimed to show the people that the government was honest and was there to help the people.
2. regulate business - Many laws were put in place to combat monopolies to get fair competition in markets. These laws included the Clayton Antitrust Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act, and the Hepburn Act. All these acts allowed the government to limit prices, shut down big businesses, and do many other things.
3. Provide Social Justice for working people - At this point, people were working 12-14 hour work days for low pay in harsh conditions. Through Progressive reforms, work days began to become shorter, starting with the railroad industry and the Adamson Act. Then, child labor laws were put in so that children would be encouraged to stay in school. OIn top of that, businesses would be penalized for hiring young children because of new federal regulations. Finally, the government was trying to help families raise children by trying to make the work day for women shorter so that they could raise the children.
4. Conservation of natural resources - Both Theodore Roosevelt and Taft put aside federal lands and millions of acres for preservation for national parks. They also sought to limit the hunting and fishing so that species wouldn’t go extinct. They did this by passing regulations that. Allowed certain animals to be hunted only in certain parts of the year.

Question 48

Who were the muckrakers of this time? What impact did they have on the United States and on society?

Answer 48

1. Henry Lloyd - He sought to expose monopolies for what they really were so that the government would begin to regulate commerce and make competition in markets better, overall helping the consumer. Because of his efforts, the anti trust laws were stiffened and monopolies were shut down.
2. Lincoln Steffens - He tried to expose city corruption, like with Boss Tweed. By doing this, he showed the American public how politics really were, and tried to get the government to be more open and honest. Because of him, there are public records on all elected officials At this time, the Corruption Act of 1908 was passed that arrested and charged people for corruption in the government.
3. Jacob Riis - He wrote about people who lost their jobs and were poor. He showed how people were forced to live when they lost their jobs. He showed how kids were starving and families were being forced out of their homes and into the cold. Because of his writing, there is now unemployment pay for those who were laid off.
4. Uptown Sinclair - Sinclair wrote about the horrors of the meat packing industry in Chicago. He told of how rats and mice would get into unpackaged meat and contaminate it, but no workers would clean it out. He also told of how meat would grow fungus and. Bacteria on it, and they would just cut it off and grind up the meat. After Roosevelt read this book, he made a commission to inspect meat factories in the United States. Also, the Meat Inspection Act was passed that would grade all meat that was processed.

Question 49

Describe Roosevelt and Taft’s relationship with each other and why the men became enemies.

Answer 49

Roosevelt and Taft were God friends. When Roosevelt decided not to run for reelection in 1908, he chose Taft to run instead. Taft was a lawyer, and didn’t know much about politics. When Taft won, he went against Roosevelt and promised to lower the tariff, which he failed miserably at. Then, Taft removed an innocent man from his position before hearing the whole story in the Ballinger Pinchot Controversy. Then, when Roosevelt returned from his excursion throughout the world, he held a press conference and said that Taft betrayed him. Taft felt it was the government’s job to help the people more, and he passed new federal regulatory laws to do so, which went against Roosevelt who still believed the government should worry about just running the country. Then, Roosevelt decided to run for president in 1912, but Taft wouldn’t allow it, barring his supporters from attending the convention. This angered Roosevelt who formed his own party. It didn’t matter, however, because both men were blown out by Wilson who became the next president. In the end, this was all a misunderstanding because Taft did a lot of the same things as Roosevelt, including going after trusts, preserving land, and supporting amendments that Roosevelt set up for.