Justin Lotenberg

Ms. Menden
9/26/14
Chapter 15 Definitions
1 Muckraker- A group that investigated social conditions and political corruption. Theodore Roosevelt
called them the muckrakers after a John Bunyan book called Pilgrims Progress. The journalists were
obsessed with scandal and corruption. Cheap magazines and newspapers helped spread the
muckrakers ideas.
2 Jacob Riis- novelist. Published photographs and descriptions of poverty, disease, and crime. These
three things afflicted many in immigrant neighborhoods in New York City. One of his books was How the
Other Half Lives.
3 Robert M. La Follette-republican governor of Wisconsin. Wisconsin became a model for progressive
reform. He attacked the way political parties ran their conventions. La Follette pressured the state
legislature to pass a new law.
4 Direct Primary- All party members could vote for a candidate. This law was pressured by Robert La
Follette. This law spread to other states. But in order for the legislatures to listen to the voters
progressive pushed for three more reforms.
5 Initiative- permitted a group of citizens to introduce legislation. This required the legislature to vote on
a law. This is saying that you dont need to ask the government to put a law in place.
6 Referendum-allowed citizens to vote on proposed laws directly. This gave voters the ability to vote on
a law and not have to go to the legislature. So if citizens wanted to vote on a law they can and they dont
have to go to the legislature.
7 Recall-provided voters the option to demand a special election to remove an elected official. This
means that if we want to we can make a recall if we dont like a mayor or governor or anyone else like
that. This also means that they will be taken out of office before their term is up. This comes after a
election for mayor or any other elected official.
8 Suffrage-the right to vote. Women did not have this during the 1920s. Elizabeth Cady Stanton
convinced delegates that the first thing to do was to get the right to vote. This happened right after the
first womens rights convention. Getting the right to vote was a major goal for progressive era women.
9 Carrie Chapman Catt-became the NAWSAs leader. NAWSA stands for National American Women
Suffrage Association. She tried to mobilize the suffrage movement. She also threw NAWSAs support
behind Wilsons reelection campaign.
10 Prohibition-laws banning the manufacturing, sale, and consumption of alcohol. Hard earned money
was being spent on alcohol. Also drunkenness lead to physical abuse and sickness. Employers believed
that drinking hurt workers efficiency. These are some of the reasons why the prohibition happened.
11 Square Deal-Roosevelts reform programs. Roosevelt put in these reform programs which he called
the square deal. Roosevelt believed the government should balance the needs of competing groups in
American society.
12 Social Darwinism-states that humans have developed through competition and natural selection with
only the strongest surviving. Roosevelt believed that you could believe in social Darwinism and
progressivism at the same time.
13 United Mine Workers-launched a strike by the anthracite miners of eastern Pennsylvania. Nearly
150,000 workers walked out demanding pay increase, reduced work hours, and union recognition.
Roosevelt viewed this incident as another example of groups pursuing their private interests at the
nations expense.
14 Arbitration-settlement negotiated by an outside party. The UMW wanted union representation and
they got it. But the mine owners stubbornness caused them to not agree to the arbitration. This
infuriated Roosevelt.
15 Hepburn Act- this act was intended to strengthen the ICC by giving it the power to set railroad rates.
This act at first led railroad companies to be suspicious of the ICC and tied up its decision by challenging
them in court. Eventually the railroads realized that they could trust the ICC to set rates and regulations.
16 Upton Sinclair-publisher of the novel The Jungle. The book is based on Sinclairs close observations of
the slaughterhouses of Chicago. The book revealed appalling descriptions of conditions in the
meatpacking industry.
17 Meat Inspection Act- This act was put into place after Sinclairs book. It required federal inspection of
meat sold through interstate commerce. Also it required the Agriculture Department to set standards of
cleanliness in meatpacking plants.
18 Pure Food and Drug Act-this act was passed on the same day as the Meat Inspection Act. This act
prohibited the manufacture, sale, or shipment of impure or falsely labeled food and drugs.
These acts were all thanks to Upton Sinclair and his book.
19 Gifford Pinchot-the head of the United States Forest Service established in 1905. Both Pinchot and
Roosevelt are progressives and believed that trained experts in forestry and resource management
should apply the same standards that they did when managing cities. Pinchot and Roosevelt are close
friends.
20 Richard A. Ballinger-a conservative lawyer. He tried to make nearly a million acres of public forests
and mineral reserves available for private development. Replaced James R. Garfield as secretary.
21 Insubordination-disobedience of authority. Taft fired Pinchot after he leaked the story to the press
and asked congress to investigate. The congress investigation cleared Ballinger.
22 Childrens Bureau-an agency that investigated and publicized the problems of child labor. The agency
exists today, and deals with issues such as child abuse prevention, adoption, and foster care. This bureau
was established in 1912.
23 Progressive Party-a new political party. Roosevelt declared himself the presidential candidate for the
progressive party. Called the Bull Moose Party.
24 New Nationalism-favoring legislation to protect women and children in the labor force and supported
workers compensation for those injured on the job. Workers compensation is money that you get from
being injured while working. This was huge for women and children because if they got hurt they might
not have gotten money.
25 New Freedom-Wilsons counter claim for Roosevelts New Nationalism. Wilson said that Roosevelt
supported regulated monopoly. In Wilsons opinion freedom was more important than efficiency.
26 Income tax-a direct tax on the earning of individuals. The constitution originally prohibited direct
taxes on individuals. This changed when the 16
th
amendment was ratified in 1913.
27 Federal Reserve Act-created 12 regional banks to be supervised by a board of governors, appointed
by the president. This allowed national supervision of the banking system. The board could set the
interest rates the reserve banks charged other banks.
28 Federal Trade Commission-created to monitor American businesses. Was created at Wilsons
request. The FTC had the power to investigate companies and issue cease and desist orders against
companies.
29 Unfair trade practices-trading practices that derive a gain at the expense of the competition. This
hurts the competition of the company.
30 Clayton Antitrust Act-passed in 1914 because progressives in congress was unsatisfied with Wilsons
approach. The act outlawed certain practices that restricted competition. It forbade agreements that
required retailers who bought from one company to stop selling a competitors products.
31 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People-an organization that believed voting
rights would end lynching and racial discrimination. The organizations founders met in Niagara Falls and
demanded full rights to African Americans. One of the 29 founders was W.E.B. Du Bois.