Progressive Reform Era Flashcards
Spoils system
Practice of rewarding supporters with government jobs.
Problems
Government, sanitation, poverty, crime, jobs, low pays, long hours, and business did not care about workers.
Patronage
Control of appointment to government jobs.
Merit
Based on ability, not politics.
Charles Guiteau
A disappointed office seeker shoots and kills President James Garfield.
Pendleton Act
Created the Civil Service Commission to conduct exams for federal jobs.
Civil Service
Includes all the federal jobs except elected offices and the military.
Megulate
Control
Interstate Commerce
Business that crossed state lines. Which leads too….
Interstate Commerce Act
Forbids practices such as pools and rebates. It also set up a Interstate Commerce Commission (ice) to oversee railroads.
Reforming City Governments
- As cities grew, they needed to expand services such as sewers, garbage, collection and roads.
- Politicians accepted money to give away these jobs.
Political Bosses
- Powerful politicians, gained power in many cities.
* Bosses were popular with the poor especially immigrants.
Boss Tweed
- During the 1860s and 1870s, Tweed cheated the city out of more than $100 million.
- Thomas Nast’s cartoons exposed Tweed.
Wisconsin Idea
Robert La Follete Wisconsin, introduced a series of progressive reforms.
Primary
Election in which voters choose their party’s candidate for the general election.
Initiative
Gave voters the right to put a bill before the state legislature.
Recall
Allowed voters to remove an elected official from office.
Referendum
Voters can vote directly on the bill.
16th Amendment
Gave congress the power to pass an income tax.
17th Amendment
Allowed the direct election of Senators.
Muckraker
Journalist who exposed corruption and other problems.
Upton Sinclair
Wrote a novel The Jungle, exposed details about unsanitary conditions in the meat packing industry.
Jacob Riis
Photographer, provided images of slum life. Exposed inadequate fire and police protection and inadequate sanitation services.
Ida Tarbell
Wrote articles about the Standard Oil Compant, she focused on the unfair practices of big business.
