AP U.S. History: Period 7 (1890-1945)

Progressive Era:

Progressivism:

Began in 1890s as movement that attacked the political, social, and political inequalities of the age. Many Progressives blamed capitalism for the evils of society. However, unlike the Socialists, who wanted to destroy the capitalist system, the Progressives wanted to fix that system.

Social Gospel movement - Late 19th century Protestant movement preaching that all true Christians should be concerned with the plight of immigrants and other poor residents of American cities and should financially support efforts to improve the lives of these poor urban dwellers. Progressive-era settlement houses were often financed

Progressivism in emerging mass media, reports on political corruption and iniquities of business monopolies

Roosevelt thought the writers went to far in their criticisms, called them muckrakers

Initiative process - enabled citizen to propose a law and get it on the ballot during the next election
Referendum process - allowed citizens to vote for the adoption of a proposed law during an election
Recall process - made it possible for voters to remove an elected official from office
Direct primary - allowed rank and file party members to pick a nominee through a public vote
Seventh Amendment - adopted 1913, changed the method of electing U.S. senators from election by state legislatures→direct election by the voters

Florence Kelley founded National Consumers League - promoted legislation protecting women and children in both workplace and home
Women were leaders in starting settlement houses

Anti-Saloon League - argued that alcoholism was a major contributor to poverty as working men spent their paychecks in bars
1890 - 2 women's suffrage organizations merged to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association

1916 - Alice Paul founded the National Woman's Party - more aggressive organization
Margaret Sanger - birth control
Muller v. Oregon - it was constitutional for states to limit the number of hours women could work - working too long would overtax women's limited strength

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire - 146 workers were killed when fire swept through badly maintained factory→better safety regulations
Unions don't like immigrants and endorsed restricted immigration because they

Theodore Roosevelt became president because of the assassination of William McKinley in 1901
"Square Deal" - The philosophy of President Theodore Roosevelt; included in this was the desire to treat both sides fairly in any dispute. In the coal miner's strike of 1902 he treated the United Mine Workers representatives and company bosses as equals. This approach continued during his efforts to regulate the railroads and other businesses during his second term
Hepburn Act strengthened the Interstate Commerce Act, giving the Interstate Commerce Commission more authority to regulate railroads
Pure Food and Drug Act and Meat Inspection Act gave the government power to regulate food products and medicine
President Roosevelt reinvigorated the Sherman Antitrust Act (had been ineffective before) to break up trusts and monopolies
Roosevelt was a "trustbuster" (but he was not anti-big-business, he just wanted to get rid of corporations that exploited consumers)

Taft was a more aggressive turstbuster than Roosevelt (in 4 years busted 95 corporations in comparison to Roosevelt's 45)
Ballinger-Pinchot Affair - Taft fired Pinchot (head of Forest Service) after he accused Ballinger (secretary of interior) for being corrupt in letting big businesses to purchase a million acres of public land in Alaska→angered Roosevelt
Roosevelt campaigned for some of the Progressives that Taft opposed

Roosevelt's New Nationalism - Series of Progressive reforms supported by Roosevelt as he ran for president on the Progressive or Bull Moose ticket in 1912. Roosevelt said that more had to be done to regulate big business and that neither of his opponents were committed to conservation
Sixteenth Amendment - gave the federal government the power to collect income taxes

Roosevelt's Bull Moose party - called for New Nationalism, 8-hr. day, women's suffrage, end of child labor
Taft's Republican party

Woodrow Wilson proposed New Freedom policy - an approach favored by Southern and Midwestern Democrats, this policy stated that economic and political preparation for World War I should be done in a decentralized manner; this would prevent too much power falling into the hands of the federal government. President Wilson first favored this approach, but then established federal agencies to organize mobilization
Instead of government regulations like Roosevelt, Wilson called for the dismantling of monopolistic corporations

Underwood Tariff Act of 1913 imposed greatest tariff reductions since Civil War
Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 - extended prohibitions of the Sherman Antitrust Act by outlawing price discrimination and a list of other corporate abuses (legalized strikes)
Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914, which created the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - was a bipartisan agency that regulated business activity by working with companies to help them avoid illegal activities
Federal Reserve Ace of 1913 created Federal Reserve System - set up a system of 12 regional banks that could lend money to commercial banks in their districts (new form of paper money, Federal Reserve notes we use today)

American intervention in World War I marked the beginning of the end of the Progressive Era

World War I:

National Security League - launched an information campaign to convince Americans that war was necessary
By 1915, Congress began to take steps to strengthen the army and navy
German submarine warfare