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Progressive Era Vocabulary

This is a list of vocab for the Progressive Era for 8th Grade students

Terms

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Recall
The right that enables voters to remove unsatisfactory elected officials from office
Suffragist
A person who campaigned for women's right to vote such as: Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Carrie Chapman Catt, and Alice Paul
Homestead Act
A law passed in 1862 to encourage people to settle in the West by giving people 160 acres of free land if they promised to farm it for 5 years
Prohibition
The nationwide ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor in the United States that went into effect when the 18th Amendment was ratified in 1920
Discrimination
Unfair treatment of a group; unequal treatment because of a person's race, religion, ethnic background, or place of birth
Populist
A political party formed in 1891 mostly by farmers & members of labor unions who demanded government help with falling farm prices, regulation of railroad rates, and free silver (more money to be put in circulation)
Spoils system
Practice of rewarding supporters with government jobs - this practice led to corruption
Old Immigration
Immigrants from Northwest Europe arriving in the EARLY 1800s
Patronage
Another name for the spoils system, in which government jobs or favors are given out to political allies and friends
Primary
an election in which voters choose their party's candidate
Laissez-faire
Policy that the government should NOT interfere in the nations economy (hands off)
New Immigration
Immigrants from Southern and Eastern European countries and Asia arriving in the LATE 1800s
Referendum
The practice of letting voters accept or reject measures proposed by the legislature
Civil service
Refers to all federal jobs (except elected positions and the armed services), one must take an exam, and only those with the highest scores are qualified to get the jobs
Square deal
Theodore Roosevelt's promise of fair and equal treatment for all
Conservation
The protection of natural resources
19th Amendment
In August of 1920 this gave women the right to vote
Corruption
Dishonest or illegal actions
Temperance
Movement founded by the WCTU seeking legislation designed to limit alcohol consumption
Initiative
The right of citizens to place a measure or issue before the voters or the legislature for approval
Political machine
An organization linked to a political party that often controlled local government
Sharecropper
A farmer that works and lives on land owned by someone else. They pay rent by giving a portion of their crop to the landowner
Corporation
A business owned by investors (people who buy stock) and that sells stock in order to raise money
Trustbuster
Someone who breaks up a trust into smaller companies
Muckraker
Reporters and journalists who reported on corrupt politicians and other problems in society, for example, Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle about the gruesome details of the meatpacking industry; Thomas Nast's cartoons ruined Boss Tweed

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