The Progressive Era

Study Guide

 

I.  You should be able to identify and state the historical significance of the following:

  1. Henry Demarest Lloyd

  2. Thorstein Veblem

  3. Jacob Riis

  4. Lincoln Steffens

  5. Ida Tarbell

  6. David G. Phillips

  7. Robert M. LaFollette

  8. Hiram Johnson

  9. Charles Evans Hughes

  10. Upton Sinclair

  11. William Howard Taft

  12. Woodrow Wilson

  13. Herbert Croly

  14. Eugene V. Debs

  15. Arsene Pujo

  16. Louis D. Brandeis

  17. Victoriano Huerta

  18. Venustiano Carranza

  19. Pancho Villa

  20. Frederick W. Taylor

II.  You should be able to define and state the historical significance of the following:

  1. Initiative

  2. Referendum

  3. recall

  4. conservation

  5. rule of reason

  6. child labor

  7. dollar diplomacy

III.  You should be able to describe and state the historical significance of the following:

  1. Muckrakers

  2. Seventeenth Amendment

  3. Eighteenth Amendment

  4. Elkins Act

  5. Hepburn Act

  6. Northern Securities case

  7. Meat Inspectiom Act

  8. Pure Food and Drug Act

  9. Desert Land Act

  10. Forest Reserve Act

  11. Carey Act

  12. Newlands Act

  13. Payne-Aldrich Act

  14. Ballinger-Pinchot Affair

  15. Old Guard

  16. "Stream of Commerce" Doctrine

  17. Federal Reserve System

  18. Federal Trade System

  19. Clayton Antitrust Act

  20. New Freedom

  21. New Nationalism

  22. Anthracite Coal Strike

  23. Underwood Tariff Bill

  24. Federal Farm Loan Act

  25. Seaman's Act

  26. Workingmen's Compensation Act

  27. Adamson Act

  28. Jones Act

III.  Discussion Questions:

  1. What were the antecedents to progressivism and why were they important?

  2. In the view of the progressives, what was wrong with American society?  What solutions did they try to use?

  3. Most active progressives were middle-class Americans.  Why was progressive reform more attractive to them than to other "interest groups" at the time?

  4. What were the various solutions proposed by progressives to deal with giant corporations?

  5. List the five most outstanding achievements of Roosevelt's presidency.  Rank these five according to your assessment of their importance and justify your ranking.

  6. What caused the split between President's Roosevelt and Taft?

  7. In what ways was the Progressive movement paradoxical?

  8. President Roosevelt spoke disparagingly of the muckrakers and their work.  Do you agree or disagree with his view of these journalists?  Why or why not?

  9. Would you label Theodore Roosevelt a radical, liberal, moderate, or conservative?  Justify your choice.

  10. Who were the candidates and what were their positions on the issues in the Presidential election of 1912?

  11. Was Theodore Roosevelt or Woodrow Wilson the more successful progressive president?  Justify your response.

  12. Identify the "three C's" of President Roosevelt's "Square Deal."  Describe what he did to bring progressive reform action in each of the three areas.

  13. Theodore Roosevelt is sometimes called the "first modern president."  Interpret this phrase and explain how it fits Roosevelt's conduct of the office.

  14. Was Roosevelt's claim that Taft had abandoned his policies was entirely fair?  Why or why not?

  15. Describe the ways in which Taft's conduct of diplomacy was both similar to and different from Roosevelt's.  Who was the more effective diplomat?  Why?

  16. It has been said of Theodore Roosevelt that "he stood close to the center and bared his teeth at the conservatives of the right and the liberals of the extreme left."  To what extent is this an accurate judgment of Roosevelt's politics?  Cite specific examples of Roosevelt's actions to justify your response.

  17. Bailey argues that progressives "waged war on social evils -- notably monopoly, corruption, inefficiency, and social injustices."  Identify at least one specific action undertaken by progressives to remedy a specific evil in each of the four categories in the quotation. Elaborate on the causes of each problem, its nature, and what progressives did about it.

  18. Progressives believed that "the cure for the ills of democracy was more democracy."  Apply this observation to progressive action in city and state government reform.  Assess the accuracy of the statement in that regard.

  19. Compare and contrast Roosevelt's New Nationalism and Wilson's New Freedom programs.  Which was the more realistic response to industrialization?  Justify your response.

  20. Compare the issues and candidates in the presidential elections of 1912 and 1916.  To what factors do you attribute Wilson's success in each?

  21. "Despite his intentions and idealistic pronouncements, Woodrow Wilson's Caribbean policy was a mere extension of Roosevelt's "big stick."  Assess the validity of this statement.

  22. Wilson once remarked that he was "going to teach the South American republics to elect good men."  To what extent is this a proper function for the President of the United States? 

 

Bailey's Online Quizzes may help you.

Tindall and Shi's Online Quiz may help also.