APUSH Period 7- Progressive Era Key Documents #apush

Three types of documents you need to know about Progressivism.

#1. Documents from the Muckrakers- These journalists exposed problems in society like the rise of big business, urbanization, and corruption in politics. College Board could give you muckraking documents from Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, Lincoln Steffen’s The Shame of Cities, or Ida Tarbell. But the question will likely be the same…How did they impact society? Because middle class Americans had disposable income to buy magazines and newspapers, muckrakers had a captive, reform minded audience who began to demand government action to solve these problems.

#2. Temperance Documents, likely from the Anti-Saloon League. If you see a 20th century temperance document - you definitely want to think about continuity and change - connect it to the early temperance movement of the antebellum reform era for continuity, specifically the American Temperance Society. And for change, remember the passage of the 18th Amendment was a huge victory for this movement.

#3. The Clayton AntiTrust Act- Excerpts from key legislation appear all over the exam. The Clayton Antitrust Act, passed under Woodrow Wilson to break up monopolies and fight price manipulation, is a likely pick. You’ll want to compare this to the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. Even though this early legislation was supposed to curb the power of big business, it was often used against labor unions, which would also be great historical context for a Progressive Era essay.

Notice all 3 of these have the same underlying theme - exposing problems in America and developing solutions - the whole purpose of the Progressive Era!

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