America Comes of Age

Lesson 1 Progressives Drive Reform

Key Terms
Progressivism
muckraker
Lincoln Steffens
Jacob Riis
Upton Sinclair
Social Gospel
settlement house
Jane Addams
direct primary
initiative
referendum
recall
Seventeenth Amendment

Academic Vocabulary
calamity: an event that creates great harm and suffering
dynamic: energetic; relating to change or productive activity
intensify: to become stronger or more extreme
perceive: to notice or become aware of something

Lesson Objectives
1. Identify the causes of Progressivism and compare it to Populism.
2. Analyze the role that journalists and novelists played in the Progressive
Movement.
3. Evaluate some of the social reforms that Progressives tackled.
4. Explain what Progressives hoped to achieve through political reforms.

The Progressive Era Begins: Text

1. Summarize What problems did the Progressives see with life in the 1890s?
How did they approach these problems?

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 2. Compare and Contrast Progressivism stemmed from the Populist
movement in the late 1800s. Complete a Venn diagram that shows how the
two movements were similar and different. Include information about the
people who participated in each movement and the ideals driving each
movement.

The Impact of Muckrakers: Text

3. Draw Inferences Which of the following do you think was more effective in
informing the public of the bad conditions in the inner cities and factories:
the muckraker essays by Lincoln Steffens or the photographs by Jacob Riis?
Explain.

4. Analyze Style and Rhetoric Based on the excerpt from McClure’s Magazine,
“Corruption and Reform in St. Louis,” how would you describe Lincoln
Steffens’s writing style? What language seems especially provocative?

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Reformers Impact Society: Text

5. Draw Conclusions Why do you think that many social workers in the late
1880s were college-educated, middle-class women?

6. Cite Evidence What role did Christianity play in the Progressive movement?
Cite evidence for your answer.

7. Assess an Argument The Progressive Era brought changes in how people

thought about children’s education. Do you think children should go to
school to prepare them to be good workers or to learn how to think
creatively? Explain your argument, and then compare your views to John
Dewey’s.

8. Draw Inferences What issues with factories did the Triangle Shirtwaist
Factory Fire bring to light? Explain.

Progressive Reforms Impact Government: Text

9. Identify Cause and Effect Why did Galveston, Texas replace its city
government with a commission? What were the effects of the commission
government?

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10.Paraphrase Explain in your own words why some people opposed direct
election of senators, a reform that was passed in the Seventeenth
Amendment.

Interactive Reading Notepad • Lesson 1

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