Vocabulary List #2: Progressive Era
Vocabulary for the Progressive Era
Reform
Make changes in something (usual social or political) in order to make it better
Progressive
A person advocating or encouraging social reform or new ideas
Muckraker
A reporter who's goal was to expose corruption or the bad of a particular institution or business
Political Machine
A political business in which one boss commands the support of multiple smaller operatives who receive rewards for their efforts
Prohibition
Early 1900's movement that pushed for the banning of alcohol
Disenfranchisement
Removing the right of suffrage of a person or group of people
De facto segregation
Racial segregation that happens "by fact" rather than law
De jure segregation
Segregation that occurs and is enforced by the law
Graft
Practices used to secure illegal gains in politics or business, such as bribery
Initiative
An act to improve a certain situation
Referendum
A general vote by the electorate on a single political question that has been referred to them for a direct decision
Recall
Officially order someone to return to a certain place
Mugwumps
A person who remains completely independent from political parties
Niagra Movement
A black Civil Rights movement organization founded in 1905 by W. E. B. DuBois and William Monroe Trotter
Poll tax
Payment required to register for voting in some states in the US
NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; African-American civil rights organization started in 1909 by Moorfield Storey, Mary White Orvington, and W. E. B. DuBois
Pendleton Act
A federal law established in 1883 that decided government jobs shouldn't be awarded based on political affiliation, but merit and qualification instead
Sherman Antitrust Act
A landmark federal statute passed in 1890 that prohibited trusts
Clayton Antitrust Act
An act passed by Congress in 1914 that provides further clarification and substance to the Sherman Antitrust Act
16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th Amendments
16th Amendment: Allows Congress to levy income tax without basing it on the Census or apportioning it among the states
17th Amendment: US Senate will be composed of two Senators from each state elected for six years, and each Senator has one vote
18th Amendment: The law passed that prohibited alcohol in the US
19th Amendment: Granted women the right to vote
Great Migration
The movement of 6 million blacks out of the Southern US to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West that occurred between 1910 and 1970
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Supreme Court ruling that declared "separate but equal" in public facilities was constitutional
US vs Ec Knight & Co (1895)
Also known as the "Sugar Trust Case", this was a US Supreme Court case that limited the government's power to control monopolies
American Tobacco vs US (1911)
A Supreme Court decision that found multiple companies responsible of attempting to monopolize all sectors of the tobacco industry