More importantly, understand the influence they had on the American people and the US government. The History of the Standard Oil Company by Ida Tarbell was an expose of the Standard Oil Company’s harsh treatment of other businesses.įor the test: Make sure you know these “muckrakers” and what their works were about. How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis was a series of shocking photographs that publicized the poor living conditions of immigrants in New York City. This book actually directly led to the Pure Food and Drugs Act and the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair was a novel that revealed the gruesome truths behind Chicago’s meatpacking industry. Taking advantage of this new form of widespread communication were the “muckrakers,” a group of investigative journalists who exposed industrial and political abuse happening across the country.įor the AP® US History exam, it’s important to know about a few key muckrakers and their works: People in California could read about something happening in New York, and vice versa, which was something that hadn’t really been easy to do before. MuckrakingĪt around this time, the mass circulation of magazines and newspapers was just starting. There have been very few questions about Taft on the APUSH exam. He also established the Federal Reserve Act.įor the test: Focus your studying on Roosevelt and Wilson. He wanted to stop big business from dominating the government by encouraging small business. Under his New Freedom platform, Wilson wanted to eradicate trusts and lower tariffs. In the next election, Roosevelt actually ran against Taft under his own Progressive Party, the Bull Moose Party, but lost. Roosevelt had picked Taft to be his successor, but when Taft became president, the two had a falling out due to Taft’s “trust busting” antics. Taft was the real “trust buster.” He wanted to break up any and all trusts, regardless of whether they were good or not. A perfect example of this is the Newlands Reclamation Act, which used money from the sale of lands out west to use towards irrigation projects in other parts of the country. Roosevelt actually sided against the owners of the mine and threatened to seize mines if the owners didn’t cooperate.Ĭonservation of natural resources – Roosevelt also focused on the environment. A good example you should know about is the 1902 Anthracite Coal Strike. He wanted to regulate good trusts, and eliminate the bad ones. The Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act were passed under Roosevelt.Ĭorporate regulation – Roosevelt wanted to control trusts, and actually became known as the “trust buster,” even though he didn’t want to completely get rid of trusts altogether. 1914 US cartoon showing Woodrow Wilson priming the pump, representing prosperity, with buckets representing legislation The Progressive PresidentsĪn easy way to remember Roosevelt’s political program, which he called “the Square Deal,” is to know that it consisted of the “three C’s:” consumer protections, corporate regulation, and conservation of natural resources.Ĭonsumer protections – Heavily influenced by muckraking, and in particular Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, Roosevelt focused on making sure the American people (the consumers) were protected. They believed in cooperation to improve society. The general goals of the Progressives were improving social problems, reforming local governments, improving labor conditions, democratizing the political process, and regulating big business. The Progressive Era was born out of that feeling. By the beginning of the 1900s, people began to feel that these companies were too powerful. In around the 1880s, large companies needed to cut their costs, and in order to do that, they had to lower wages and increase employee hours. (It’s important to note that Progressives were NOT the same as the Populists, who were famers from the West and Midwest). The Progressives who sought such change were women, the middle-class, and people who lived in urban areas. The Progressive Era was a time of change on the national and state levels between 19. But do you know what the Progressives wanted to change? Do you know the impact of those changes? The AP® US History exam has had a lot of questions on the Progressive Era, so this crash course will prepare you for any that come your way! The Progressive Era is exactly what it sounds like – a time of progression and reform in the United States.
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