“I shall see to it that every man has a square deal, no less and no more.”
— President Theodore Roosevelt
 Sorely needed period of reform following the Gilded Age
 Rampant big business & frustrated farm sector
 Monstrous urban growth inc. unrestricted immigration
 Corrupt & inefficient gov’t inc. lack of White House leadership
 Unorganized movement
 Circa 1900-1915 (aka 1898-1917; some historians broaden to 1890s-1920)
 Abruptly ended by United States entry into World War I
 Sometimes conflicting interests
 Affected primarily middle-class America (as most reform movements)
 Spanned three presidencies
 Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09)
 William Howard Taft (1909-13)
 Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
 The “men with the muck rakes”
 Exposés addressed every conceivable societal concern
 Historical marriage of Progressivism & pro journalism
 Uncomplimentary term coined by T. Roosevelt
 Ida Tarbell, The History of Standard Oil (1902)
 Lincoln Steffens, The Shame of the Cities (1904)
 Frank Norris, The Octopus (1906)
 Upton Sinclair, The Jungle (1906)
 David Graham Phillips, The Treason of the Senate (1906)
 Ray Stannard Baker, Following the Color Line (1908)
 Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
 America’s greatest Progressive President
 Recognized as the “trust-buster”
 Domestic reform program referred to as the “Square Deal”
 Elkins Act (1903)  outlawed railroad rebates & deviation from published rates
 Hepburn Act (1906)  strengthened & expanded Interstate Commerce Commission
 Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)  required proper labeling
 Department of Commerce & Labor (1903) to control excesses of big business
 Northern Securities v. United States (1904)
 Pioneer in conservation of natural resources
 Newlands Reclamation Act (1902)  irrigation for arid areas in 20 western states
 Antiquities Act of 1906  nat’l monuments (Devils Tower #1 in 1906), parks, forests
 tangled with pal naturalist John Muir (pure conservation vs. economic development)
 Thoroughly enjoyed the presidency
 William Howard Taft (1909-1913)
 Cautious manner led to somewhat successful term
 Disappointed his former mentor
 Richard Ballinger (Sec. of Interior) vs. Gifford Pinchot (U.S. Forest Service)
 Filed 90 anti-trust suits (more than twice that of Roosevelt)
 Only President to later serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
 Election of 1912
 Taft (Republican) vs. Roosevelt (Progressive) vs. Wilson (Democrat)
 Solid win for Wilson
 regulation of trusts vs. restoration of competition (good for small business & farmers)
 contest between Roosevelt & Wilson (half-hearted campaigning by Taft)
 Roosevelt could not attract support of Wisconsin’s Robert La Follette
 Wilson only 42% of popular vote but solid electoral vote result
 Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
 Most scholarly man to occupy the White House
 Lightning-fast rise in politics (governor to presidential candidate in 18 months)
 Immediate success as President
 Some very jagged moments detract heavily from his presidential legacy
 Domestic policies known as the “New Freedom”
 Oversaw four Amendments to the Constitution (16-19)
16 = nat’l graduated income tax (1913)
17 = direct popular election of U.S. senators (1913)
18 = prohibition of intoxicating liquors (1919)
19 = female suffrage (1920)
 Congress passed more laws affecting industry than prior 50 years
 Federal Reserve Act (1913)  est’d country’s national banking system
 Clayton Act (1914)  strengthened the Sherman Act
 Most glaring exclusion under Wilson was issue of racial (black) equality
 Accomplishments of Progressives noteworthy
 Urban leaders persuaded to attack civic problems
 Attempted to root out social privilege & economic monopoly
 Est'd principle that big business must exercise responsibility
 Notable major shortcoming was issue of racial (black) equality
• muckraker
• “Oregon System”
• Elkins Act
• Newlands Reclamation Act
• “Bull Moose” Party
• William E. B. Du Bois
• Robert La Follette
• referendum, recall, initiative
• Hepburn Act
• Muller v. Oregon
• 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th Amendments
• Niagara Falls meeting
• “Wisconsin Idea”
• “Square Deal”
• Pure Food and Drug Act
• Ballinger-Pinchot controversy
• “New Freedom”
• NAACP

The city labeled by Lincoln Steffens in The Shame of the Cities as America’s best-governed was
a. Galveston, Texas.
b. Detroit, Michigan.
c. Portland, Maine.
d. Cleveland, Ohio.

The impact of the Progressives was substantial in all of the following areas except
a. democratization of the political structure.
b. reformation of child labor laws.
c. unremitting racial equality.
d. expansion of women’s rights.

The exposé that attacked the filthy meatpacking industry was
a. The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair.
b. The Octopus, by Frank Norris.
c. How the Other Half Lives, by Jacob Riis.
d. The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane.

The Progressive Era came to an abrupt halt due to
a. the Supreme Court case of Muller v. Oregon.
b. the election of Warren G. Harding to the presidency.
c. American involvement in World War I.
d. the sudden death of President Woodrow Wilson.
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The leading Progressive President was
a. William McKinley.
b. Theodore Roosevelt.
c. William Howard Taft.
d. Woodrow Wilson.