Chapter 16: The Progressive Era and Expansionism

Expansionism

A policy that calls for expanding a nation's boundaries.

Income tax

A tax on people's earnings

Lincoln Steffens

Early muckraker who exposed the political corruption in many American cities

Square Deal

Economic policy by Roosevelt that favored fair relationships between companies and workers

Direct Primary

Election in which voters choose party nominees.

Prohibition

the period from 1920 to 1933 when the sale of alcoholic beverages was prohibited in the United States by a constitutional amendment

Enfranchisement

the right to vote

Alfred T. Mahan

us navy captain who encouraged the us to look outward for military bases, raw materials, markets

Carrie Chapman Catt

(1859-1947) A suffragette who was president of the National Women's Suffrage Association, and founder of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance. Instrumental in obtaining passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.

Treaty of Paris

(1898) treaty that ended the Spanish American war. Provided that Cuba be free from Spain.

Panama Canal

Ship canal cut across the isthmus of Panama by United States, it opened in 1915.

Interstate Commerce Act

1887 law passed to regulate railroad and other interstate businesses

Sherman Antitrust Act

1890 law banning any trust that restrained interstate trade or commerce

Theodore Roosevelt

26th president, known for: conservationism, trust-busting, Hepburn Act, safe food regulations, "Square Deal," Panama Canal, Great White Fleet, Nobel Peace Prize for negotiation of peace in Russo-Japanese War

William Howard Taft

27th president of the U.S.; he angered progressives by moving cautiously toward reforms and by supporting the Payne-Aldrich Tariff; he lost Roosevelt's support and was defeated for a second term.

Boxer Rebellion

A 1900 Uprising in China aimed at ending foreign influence in the country.

George Dewey

A United States naval officer remembered for his victory at Manila Bay in the Spanish-American War, U.S. naval commander who led the American attack on the Philippines

Sphere of Influence

A foreign region in which a nation has control over trade and other economic activities (China).

Commission Government

A government formed by commissioners, heads of different departments of city government, who are popularly elected to form the city council and thus center both legislative and executive powers in one body.

Social Gospel

A movement in the late 1800s / early 1900s which emphasized charity and social responsibility as a means of salvation.

Isolationism

A national policy of avoiding involvement in world affairs

Expose

A piece of writing that reveals weaknesses, faults, frailties, or other shortcomings

Imperialism

A policy in which a strong nation seeks to dominate other countries politically, socially, and economically.

Open Door Policy

American statement that the government did not want colonies in China, but favored free trade there

Children's Bureau

An agency created during Taft's administration to protect the rights of children

American Anti-Imperialist League

An organization of prominent Americans including Mark Twain, Samuel Gompers and Andrew Carnegie, founded to oppose the occupation of the Philippines after the Spanish American War. The group remained `active until 1921 opposing most American intervention outside the U.S. 1898

Protectorate

Country with its own government but under the control of an outside power

Emilio Aguinaldo

Filipino General - helped US take Philipines during Spanish-American war - helped Philippines gain freedom from US

Syndicate

Group of criminals who control organized criminal activities

Pure Food and Drug Act

Halted the sale of contaminated foods and medicines and called for truth in labeling

Yellow Journalism

Journalism that exploits, distorts, or exaggerates the news to create sensations and attract readers

Queen Liliuokalani

Last Hawaiian ruler of Hawaii

Reperations

Payment for war damages

Woodrow Wilson

President of the United States (1913-1921) and the leading figure at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. He was unable to persuade the U.S. Congress to ratify the Treaty of Versailles or join the League of Nations.

Initiative

Process through which voters may propose new laws.

Conservation

Protecting and preserving natural resources and the environment

Jacob Riis

Reporter who pointed out the terrible conditions of the tenement houses of the big cities where immigrants lived during the late 1800s. He wrote How The Other Half Lives in 1890.

Roosevelt Corollary

Roosevelt's 1904 extension of the Monroe Doctrine, stating that the United States has the right to protect its economic interests in South And Central America by using military force

Trustbuster

Someone who breaks up a trust into smaller companies

Federal Reserve System

The country's central banking system, which is responsible for the nation's monetary policy by regulating the supply of money and interest rates

Big Stick Diplomacy

The policy held by Teddy Roosevelt in foreign affairs. The "big stick" symbolizes his power and readiness to use military force if necessary. It is a way of intimidating countries without actually harming them.

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

a factory fire that killed 146 workers trapped in the building; led to new safety standard laws

Social Security

federal program of disability and retirement benefits that covers most working people

Alice Paul

leader of the National Woman's party, campaigned for an Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution

Progressive Era

period of political and social reform that lasted roughly from the 1890s to the 1920s

Recall

procedure whereby voters can remove an elected official from office

Florence Kelley

reformer who worked to prohibit child labor and to improve conditions for female workers