Progressive Era Vocabulary – Chapter 10
1. Alonzo Herndon -This advocate began his business career as a barber and by 1904 his barbershops were
known as the best in America. He established the Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association which today is
worth over $200 million. He supported many local institutions and charities that were devoted to
advancing African American life in Atlanta.
2. Archduke Franz Ferdinand - In June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated
by Serbian nationalists. As a result, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and WWI began.
3. Booker T. Washington This famous educator and civil rights advocate gave the significant Atlanta
Compromise Speech at the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition. This speech emphasized the
idea of shared responsibility and the importance of education over equality. He was also: an outstanding
civil rights leader of the era, President of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, strong supporter of good relations
between blacks and whites, worked to improve the lives of African Americans through economic
independence, & believed social and political equality would come with improved economic conditions
and education.
4. County Unit System - The county unit system was established in 1917 when the Georgia legislature,
overwhelmingly dominated by the Democratic Party, passed the Neill Primary Act. In effect, the system of
allotting votes by county, with little regard for population differences, allowed rural counties to control
Georgia elections by minimizing the impact of the growing urban centers, particularly Atlanta. All 159
counties were classified according to population into one of three categories: urban, town, and rural. Urban
counties were the 8 most populous; town counties were the next 30 in population size; and rural counties
constituted the remaining 121. Based upon this classification, each county received unit votes in statewide
primaries. The urban counties received six unit votes each, the town counties received four unit votes each,
and the rural counties received two unit votes each.
5. GA’s contributions to WWI
a. Over 100,000 Georgian men & women contributed to the war effort
b. Many military training facilities were in Georgia
c. Many military bases were located in GA
6. Henry Grady – known as the “Spokesman of the South”. He promoted industry and crop diversification,
northern investment in Georgia, and unity and trust between the North and South
7. International Cotton Exposition A fair held in Atlanta in 1881, in the current location of Piedmont Park, to
bring money to Atlanta’s cotton textile industry. This was meant to promote the growth of Atlanta after
the Civil War.
a. Four positive results of this exposition were:
b. Millions of dollars were invested in Georgia
c. New jobs were created
d. Similar expositions were held later
e. Atlanta became known as the center of the New South
8. Jim Crow Laws -Laws created in the South to mandate the segregation of blacks and whites.
9. John & Lugenia Burns Hope - These educators devoted their time and efforts to educating African
American people. They also supported public education, healthcare, job opportunities, and recreational
facilities for African Americans. Civil rights leader from Augusta, GA. John Hope was President of Atlanta
University, and like DuBois, believed that African Americans should actively work for equality. He was also
part of the group that organized NAACP. Hope’s wife, Lugenia, worked to improve sanitation, roads,
healthcare and education for African American neighborhoods in Atlanta.
Progressive Era Vocabulary – Chapter 10
10. Joseph Brown, Alfred Colquitt, & John Gordon – Bourbon Triumvirate – 3 influential Democrats in
Georgia. Wanted economy to be based on industry, rather than agriculture. While in power, production of
cottonseed oil, cattle feed, and fertilizer began; cotton textile industry grew, and Atlanta became
prosperous again.
11. Juliette Gordon Low – founder of Girl Scouts. From Savannah.
12. Leo Frank - A Jewish man, originally from New York, who was lynched by a mob because of anti-Semitism.
In 1913, accused of murdering 13-year old Mary Phagan, one of his employees at the National Pencil
Factory in Atlanta. There was little evidence against Mr. Frank, but he was convicted and sentenced to
death. Governor Slaton changed death sentence to life imprisonment, however armed men took Frank
from the prison, and he was lynched (at the current site of the Big Chicken in Marietta). As a result, white
supremacists Ku Klux Klan reborn.
13. Plessy v. Ferguson Court case which ruled that segregation was not against the Constitution. This idea
became known as “Separate but equal”. As long as equal facilities were available, it was legal for states to
keep races separated. Most public facilities for whites and African Americans were NOT of the same
quality.
14. Reasons for WWI – Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
15. Rebecca Latimer Felton – social reformer who promoted prohibition (no alcohol sold or distributed),
women’s suffrage (women’s right to vote) and end of the Convict Lease System
16. Tom Watson – leader of the Populists in Georgia
17. W.E.B. Dubois - This advocate thought that African Americans should fight for total racial equality. He
founded the Niagara Movement which assembled a list of demands, which included the end of segregation
and discrimination. This eventually led to the formation of the NAACP. Professor at Atlanta University;
believed in “action” if African Americans and whites were to understand and accept each other. Thought
Booker T. Washington was too accepting of social injustice.
18. The Populists the Populists were concerned with the issues of small farmers; prices of farm products were
dropping and farmers were having difficulty repaying loans. Populists were led by Tom Watson.
19. 1906 Atlanta Race Riot - Race Riots occurred between blacks and whites in which dozens of African
Americans were killed. Various leaders and newspapers created a climate of anger and fear. Two-day riot
began with over 5,000 people. Martial law: military forces used to control civilians. 21 people killed;
hundreds wounded. Lots of property damage. As a result, African Americans became more aggressive in
the tactics to gain racial equality