Chapter 20 : The Progressive Era, 1890–1920
CORE OBJECTIVES
1. Explain the varied motives of progressive reformers.
2. Explain the various sources of thought and activism that contributed to the progressive
TRUE/FALSE
1. Progressives generally believed government should not interfere with big business.
2. Socialism was a radical wing of progressivism.
3. The groups behind the YWCA and YMCA created their programs because they believed
that Christianity had gotten too far from the lower economic classes.
4. The belief that religious institutions and individual Christians had an obligation to bring
about the “Kingdom of God” on earth is known as socialism.
5. The popular election of senators required a constitutional amendment.
6. Lincoln Steffens was a leading muckraker and sought to make democracy more democratic.
7. Industrial management, also known as Taylorism, was applied to the operations of the
government.
8. Middle-class women reformers were a driving force behind the temperance movement.
9. William H. Taft achieved the most significant tariff reduction of any progressive president.
10. Many of the most prominent progressives endorsed Roosevelt’s bid to be the first president
representing a third party, the “Bull Moose” Progressive party.
11. Woodrow Wilson earned one of the nation’s first doctoral degrees and tried to use his
intellect to help make up for lack of experience.
12. Whereas Theodore Roosevelt’s New Nationalism plan wanted to eliminate trusts, Woodrow
Wilson’s New Freedom plan wanted to regulate them.
13. Wilson was a weak president who trusted Congress to adopt the proper policies.
14. The Underwood-Simmons bill created the first regular federal income tax.
15. Federal money for farm demonstration agents was approved in the Adamson Act.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following would have been considered the average, most common progressive
activists during the Progressive period?
a. Christian moralists
b. Bankers
c. Rural Southern farmers
d. Agnostics
e. Blacks
2. How was the foundation of the progressive movement different than that of the Populist
movement?
a. The progressive movement was based on addressing rural issues.
b. The Populist movement was based on addressing issues that farmers had with Congress.
c. The progressive’s goal was to reform the political system so that minorities would be
represented.
d. The progressive movement was based on addressing issues that occurred in urban areas.
e. The Populist movement desired to replace capitalism with socialism.
3. According to the textbook, what, more than any other factor, ignited the progressive
movement?
a. The collapse of the B & O Railroad
b. The worst economic downturn in U.S. history
c. The gap between rich and poor growing wider
d. The lack of opportunities for unskilled laborers
e. The lack of representation in Congress for minorities
4. Which of the following statements about the state of the American economy in 1900 is
accurate?
a. Compared with other industrialized nations, the United States had some of the highest
concentrations of poverty.
b. Compared with the rest of the world, the United States had a low per capita income.
c. Employment levels in the United States were at an all-time high.
d. Corporate barons took the lead in improving living conditions for the poor and growing
the economy.
e. The economy was booming because of industrialization efforts and the growth of rural
areas.
5. Which of the following was a goal shared by most Populists?
a. The end of “direct elections” and a return to the election of U.S. senators by state
legislatures alone
b. The destruction of capitalism as an economic system in America rather than the reform
of it
c. Political reforms meant to give the “people” more power and that were often
implemented by progressives
d. The promotion of “special interests” and the passing of legislation that favored business
leaders
e. The end of government support for farms and a shift in focus away from the agricultural
sector of the economy
6. Individuals labeled Mugwumps were best associated with which concept?
a. Honest government
b. Social Darwinism
c. Laissez-faire capitalism
d. Communism
e. Yellow journalism
7. One way that American socialists differed from European socialists was that
a. European socialists tended to incite riots.
b. American socialists tended not to advocate for government ownership of businesses.
c. European socialists published their beliefs in the form of paperback books.
d. American socialists created political parties aimed at overthrowing the government.
e. European socialists were strongly against the ideas of Karl Marx.
8. The group of journalists who drew attention to the abuses in society and published them in
stories were known collectively as
a. Mugwumps.
b. Locofocos.
c. Muckrakers.
d. Shivercrats.
e. Dixiecrats.
9. This belief during the Progressive Era persuaded followers to pursue their ideals to bring
about the coming of the “Kingdom of God.”
a. Social Darwinism
b. Social capitalism
c. Social gospel
d. Social security
e. Social engineering
10. Who is best associated with the Hull House?
a. Jane Addams
b. Ida Tarbell
c. Upton Sinclair
d. Frances Willard
e. Angela Sims
11. The leaders of the Settlement House movement
a. directed their attention to the problems of living in cities for the working poor and
immigrant communities.
b. often expressed moral disapproval of the behavior of immigrants and favored well-off
families when choosing tenants.
c. spoke against the social gospel movement and initially focused only on political rather
than social reform.
d. tended to consist of second-generation lower class immigrants helping first generation
lower class immigrants.
e. encouraged people in the cities to move to the rural areas by providing lodging there.
12. The area of the country that first gave full voting rights to women was in the
a. East.
b. West.
c. South.
d. North.
e. Southeast.
13. The initiative and the referendum were reforms designed to weaken the power of the
a. the federal government.
b. unions.
c. state governors.
d. political elites.
e. labor laws.
14. Frederick Winslow Taylor and the gospel of efficiency are best associated with which
concept?
a. Scientific management
b. Social Darwinism
c. Tariff reform
d. Temperance
e. Social gospel
15. After a hurricane destroyed Galveston, Texas, a new method of government was
implemented there. It gave a small board both executive and legislative powers in governing
the city. What was this new method called?
a. The commission system
b. The spoils system
c. The viceroy plan
d. The city-manager plan
e. The Ohio system
16. A system of governance in which a trained administrator was appointed to run a city was
called the
a. mayoral plan.
b. viceroy plan.
c. city-manager plan.
d. Wisconsin idea.
e. commission system.
17. The biggest problem progressivism faced during the Progressive Era was the
a. stance of Congress.
b. stance of the state legislatures.
c. regulation of big business.
d. reluctance of the president.
e. disapproval of the Supreme Court.
18. Which of the following statements correctly describes the women’s club movement during
the Progressive Era?
a. It concentrated on cultural activities.
b. It excluded black women.
c. It was reserved for upper class women.
d. It often engaged in progressive reform activities.
e. It actively sought full legal equality with men.
19. Need for reforming the workplace was brought to national attention in 1911 when a fire
broke out at
a. the Union Carbide refinery.
b. the Triangle Shirtwaist factory.
c. McCall’s magazine publisher.
d. the U.S. Capitol.
e. U.S. Steel manufacturing.
20. The Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution provided for
a. direct election of senators.
b. universal suffrage for women.
c. an income tax.
d. prohibition.
e. abolishment of slavery.
21. The first “progressive” president was
a. William McKinley.
b. Theodore Roosevelt.
c. William Howard Taft.
d. Woodrow Wilson.
e. Warren G. Harding.
22. President Theodore Roosevelt accomplished the majority of his progressive agenda by
a. convincing Congress to pass legislation.
b. working with Congress to compromise on legislation.
c. taking executive actions.
d. organizing state initiatives.
e. leading a popular speaking tour.