Progressives

were interested in establishing a more transparent and accountable government that would work to improve U.S. society.

Progressivism

a way of thinking that it is possible through political action for human societies to improve over time.

Muckrakers

any of a group of American writers identified with pre-World War I reform and exposé writing

Upton Sinclair

an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California. Wrote "The Jungle".

Jacob Riis

a Danish-American social reformer, "muckraking" journalist and social documentary photographer. He contributed significantly to the cause of urban reform.

Ida Tarbell

an American writer, investigative journalist, biographer and lecturer. She was one of the leading muckrakers of the Progressive Era.

Thomas Nast

a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist often considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was a critic of Democratic Representative "Boss" Tweed and the Tammany Hall Democratic party political machine.

Boss Tweed

an American politician most notable for being the political boss of Tammany Hall.

Tammany Hall

a Democratic political organization in New York City, founded in 1789 as a fraternal benevolent society, in the late 1800s and early 1900s with corruption and abuse of power.

Suffragist

a person advocating that the right to vote be extended to more people, especially to women.

Susan B. Anthony

an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement.

Theodore Roosevelt

served as the 26th president of the United States. Republican. prioritized conservation and established national parks, forests, and monuments to preserve the nation's natural resources.

William Taft

the 27th president of the United States and the tenth chief justice of the United States. Republican. Was more committed to the expansion of U.S. foreign trade.

Woodrow Wilson

the 28th president of the United States. Democratic. believed in the power of the federal government to expose corruption, regulate the economy, eliminate unethical business practices, and improve the general condition of society.

Sherman and Clayton Anti Trust Acts

a bid to curb the power of trusts and monopolies and maintain market competition.

Federal Reserve Act

passed by the 63rd United States Congress and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on December 23, 1913. The law created the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States.

What specific social problems needed reform in the late 19th century?

labor rights, women's suffrage, child labor

What specific economic problems needed reform in the late 19th century?

Crop failures, drops in cotton prices, reckless railroad speculation, and sudden plunges in the stock market

Corruption/Patronage

a type of corruption or favoritism in which a party in power rewards groups, families, or ethnicities for their electoral support using illegal gifts or fraudulently awarded appointments or government contracts.

Political Machines

a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives—money, political jobs—and that is characterized by a high degree of leadership control over member activity.

16th Amendment

It gave the federal government the power to collect income tax.

17th Amendment

established the direct election of United States senators in each state.

19th Amendment

Granted women the right to vote

The Jungle

novel by the American journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair. The novel portrays the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the United States in Chicago and similar industrialized cities.

Pure Food and Drug Act

The new law brought cosmetics and medical devices under control, and it required that drugs be labeled with adequate directions for safe use.

Meat Inspection Act

signed by President Theodore Roosevelt on June 30, 1906, that prohibited the sale of adulterated or misbranded livestock and derived products as food and ensured sanitary slaughtering and processing of livestock.