Deck 22: The Progressive ERA 1890-1920

Question 1

The chapter introduction tells the story of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire to make the point that

A) the time known as the Progressive Era was when modern city services such as police and fire departments spread across America.
B) reformers of the day sought to use government to curb abusive corporations and establish a good society.
C) industrial society increasingly had to face the negative consequences of decades of wrenching economic change.
D) economic depression was not the only harsh reality faced by anxious Americans at the turn of the century.

Answer 1

reformers of the day sought to use government to curb abusive corporations and establish a good society.

Question 2

The New England Kitchen and the response to the Triangle Shirtwaist fire were typical of the pattern of progressive reform, in that

A) scientific expertise was enlisted for social classification.
B) lower- or working-class community standards became the norm.
C) reform-minded women were integral to generational expansion.
D) reformers wished to soften the harsh aspects of industrialization.

Answer 2

reformers wished to soften the harsh aspects of industrialization.

Question 3

The text makes the important point that the goals of progressives were ________, though they were pursued through ________.

A) social; politics
B) political; society
C) limited; radical rhetoric
D) utopian; conservative institutions

Answer 3

social; politics

Question 4

Which one of the following ideas was associated with progressivism?

A) a belief in Christianity as the official faith of America
B) moral overtones that could be expressed as a desire to restore the class structure
C) "will it work" solutions to social issues
D) a skeptical view of human nature and American potential

Question 5

The ideology of progressivism, insofar as it had one, generally

A) mixed a liberal concern for the poor with a conservative wish to control social disorder.
B) called for redistribution of incomes from wealthy to poor, and a socialist approach to government.
C) was rooted in firm and fixed standards of morality and truth.
D) stressed trying to meet the special needs of each identifiable private interest.

Question 6

What is the best statement of the relationship between progressives and business?

A) Business and progressive leaders shared a commitment to progress through efficiency and modern managerial techniques.
B) Businessmen organized and funded political opposition to progressive political leaders.
C) Progressives agreed on the need to control big business by breaking up "the trusts."
D) When progressives gained political power, they eliminated the influence of the businessman and the boss.

Question 7

Which statement would be an apt rule-of-thumb summarizing the progressive approach?

A) that government is best which governs least
B) live and let live
C) vox populi vox dei (the voice of the people should rule like the voice of God)
D) behavior is a function of environment

Question 8

Pragmatism holds that

A) all are created equal.
B) truth is a function of results, not fixed principles.
C) human behavior can be shaped at will.
D) society is a jungle where only the best will survive.

Question 9

All of the following undergirded progressive reform activities EXCEPT

A) faith in the grass-roots wisdom and skill of the poor and victimized.
B) appeals to Christian morality.
C) reliance on planning and scientific management.
D) belief in a general public interest.

Question 10

Who among the following would NOT promote efforts to reshape the environment in order to improve people's lives?

A) John Dewey, educational theorist
B) Madison Grant, eugenicist
C) John B. Watson, psychologist
D) Jane Addams, settlement house worker

Question 11

McClure's magazine pioneered a new style of journalism featuring writers like Ida Tarbell and Lincoln Steffens, who

A) scientifically analyzed social problems and proposed solutions.
B) provided voter information to reveal where candidates stood and whose money they accepted.
C) employed a gritty realism that portrayed life in the slums.
D) presented carefully-researched exposés of corporate and government abuses.

Question 12

The progressive method focused on government, and specifically on

A) the executive branch.
B) the legislative branch.
C) the judicial branch.
D) special interest groups.

Question 13

The settlement house movement led to the new profession of

A) home economics.
B) poverty law.
C) psychotherapy.
D) social work.

Question 14

Which statement about various expressions of progressivism is true?

A) Such intellectual theorists of progressivism as Edward Ross or Thorstein Veblen believed strongly that society should conform to certain abstracted and fixed natural laws of human behavior, regardless of social conditions or environmental influences.
B) The concept of "gas and water socialism" referred to the process by which reform mayors turned to public ownership of city utilities early in the twentieth century.
C) "Sociological jurisprudence" refused to consider the social environment, stressing that legal precedent was more important than experience.
D) The American philosophy that truth is relative and directly related to whether an individual proposal works is called empiricism.

Question 15

Which of the following statements about political progressivism at the local and state levels is most true?

A) Urban reforms strengthened middle-class control and improved efficiency.
B) Big-city mayors, controlled by corrupt political machines, were the main obstacles to progressive reform of municipal government.
C) Municipal reformers sought to replace traditional forms of city government like the commission or city manager.
D) In their quest for efficiency and expert rule, progressives tried to invent alternatives to direct democracy.

Question 16

________ was a progressive effort to provide moral controls on society.

A) Pregnancy testing for prospective women
B) Margaret Sanger's campaign
C) The Anti-Saloon League's campaign
D) The Granger Act

Question 17

Which of these constitutional amendments was NOT from the Progressive Era?

A) authorizing a federal tax on incomes
B) providing for election of U.S. senators by the people, not the state legislatures
C) giving women the right to vote
D) establishing a two-term limit on the U.S. president

Question 18

The Nineteenth Amendment granting women the right to vote was embraced by many progressives because

A) a large majority of American voters now favored it.
B) it could offset growing jingoism and militarism, especially once World War I began.
C) the women agitating for it moderated the radicalism of their campaign.
D) the higher moral character of women would help clean up politics.

Question 19

The Nineteenth Amendment granting women the right to vote was finally passed in 1920 because

A) a large majority of voters favored it.
B) of women's contribution to the war effort in World War I at home and abroad.
C) the women agitating for it moderated their disruptive campaign.
D) almost every state already allowed women to vote in local elections.

Question 20

What group tended to be disproportionately prominent in the crusade against alcohol?

A) women
B) white ethnic communities
C) those who sought national prohibition
D) those who manufactured soft drinks

Question 21

How did the new amusement parks differ from earlier public entertainments?

A) Earlier parks and fairs provided no opportunities for shows or rides.
B) Amusement parks were located in urban rather than rural settings.
C) No longer was there an obligation to instruct as well as to amuse.
D) No longer was commercial success enough; now progressive reform values had to be advanced.

Question 22

Which of the following statements accurately compares Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson?

A) Both ran for president in 1914.
B) Both used presidential power to promote pragmatic change.
C) Both took significant symbolic steps to break down barriers of racial segregation.
D) Both used "New Nationalism" as a political slogan.

Question 23

The "Square Deal"meant

A) that, standing astride a balance of big labor and big capital, big government could ensure evenhanded treatment for all.
B) negotiating labor contracts on behalf of workers, while interceding for bankers and manufacturers in foreign markets.
C) cooperating with the four key Republican senators.
D) trust-busting.

Question 24

On consumer protection matters such as regulating the food processing industry, Roosevelt ________; in conservation he ________.

A) refused to support legislative action; sought protection for natural resources
B) came slowly to support moderate regulatory reform; showed aggressive leadership
C) proposed the creation of a federal regulatory agency; opposed any action that would lock up the nation's resources
D) asserted presidential power; deferred to congressional action

Question 25

Which of the following occurred during the Wilson administration?

A) creation of the Federal Trade Commission
B) creation of the Federal Draft System
C) passage of the Mann Act
D) passage of the Pure Food and Drug and Meat-Packing Acts

Question 26

Theodore Roosevelt's approach to handling antitrust issues was to

A) "speak softly and carry a big stick" by prosecuting all offenders.
B) follow Supreme Court distinctions between commerce and manufacturing.
C) regulate rather than prosecute whenever possible.
D) encourage private, rather than public, lawsuits-filed under existing laws.

Question 27

The Ballinger-Pinchot controversy concerned

A) whether government lands should be protected under federal regulation.
B) how low tariffs should be dropped during a recession.
C) how strictly railroads should be regulated.
D) whether child labor laws should be strictly enforced.

Question 28

Many historians consider ________ the most important reform of the early twentieth century because it established the means for expanded federal action.

A) the Sixteenth Amendment permitting income taxes on individuals and corporations
B) the Seventeenth Amendment providing for direct popular election of senators
C) the Eighteenth Amendment authorizing prohibition
D) the Nineteenth Amendment granting women's suffrage

Question 29

What is an accurate comparison of the two competing brands of political progressivism in the 1912 presidential campaign (Theodore Roosevelt's "New Nationalism"and Woodrow Wilson's "New Freedom")?

A) The New Nationalism accepted concentrations of capital, labor, and government, but the New Freedom stressed competitiveness among small business and reduced government power.
B) The New Nationalism supported business and ignored social justice concerns, while the New Freedom held to the reverse emphasis.
C) Both welcomed assertive federal power and encouraged business growth.
D) Neither was truly progressive.

Question 30

In the presidential election of 1912, progressive politicians

A) were given a resounding endorsement.
B) were given an ambivalent acceptance.
C) lost ground to pro-business interests.
D) lost ground to pro-war interests.

Question 31

Roosevelt applied the label ________ to investigative journalists.

Question 32

The system of thought that prizes "Does it work?"more than "Is it true?"is known as ________.

Question 33

By 1917, three-fourths of Americans lived in dry counties, thanks to the grass-roots activism of the ________.

Question 34

The ________ of 1910 prohibited the interstate transport of women for immoral purposes, as an effort to end prostitution.

Question 35

The Reclamation Act of 1902 provided for federal funding and orderly development of ________ projects in the West.

Question 36

The African American boxer who flouted the racial barriers of the day was ________.

Question 37

In what ways was the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and its aftermath a case study of progressivism in action?

Question 38

What were the three main beliefs on which progressivism rested, where did they come from, and how did the "Brandeis Brief"reflect them?

Question 39

What was the progressive method?

Question 40

Who were the "muckrakers,"and what role did they play in promoting progressive reform?

Question 41

What were the commission and city-manager plans? How did they illustrate progressive approaches to reforming city government?

Question 42

What was the "Wisconsin idea"and how did it work? Discuss two ways in which it was progressive.

Question 43

How was Theodore Roosevelt a conservative? In what ways a reformer?

Question 44

In what ways did Woodrow Wilson bring progressivism to high tide?

Question 45

Why did progressivism flower in the first two decades of the twentieth century?

Question 46

How did progressives redefine poverty? Why was that important? Where and why did progressive solutions for the problems of poverty fall short?

Question 47

What role did women play in progressive reform, and how did their participation shape the movement?

Question 48

In what ways were immigration restriction, prohibition, and attacks on vice "progressive"reforms?

Question 49

Theodore Roosevelt has been called the "conservative reformer."How accurate is that description?

Question 50

Compare and contrast the New Nationalism and the New Freedom. In your view, which was a more realistic approach to the concentration of corporate and industrial power?

Question 51

Compare and contrast progressives and populists. Why were progressives more successful reformers?

Question 52

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of progressivism.

Question 53

Outline the progressive apgenda with specific detail on the New Nationalism ideals.

Question 54

Compare the policies of Wilson to Roosevelt.