Populists and Progressives: what reformers changed

Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   What reformers changed, from railroads to the right to vote

   Columns Problem | Who pushed for change | Law or result | Date. Row 1: Railroad rates across state lines | Farmers and shippers, after years of public demand | Interstate Commerce Act and the Interstate Commerce Commission | February 4, 1887. Row 2: Trusts that controlled whole industries | Reformers in Congress, with Senator John Sherman | Sherman Antitrust Act | July 2, 1890. Row 3: Standard Oil's secret railroad rebates | Ida Tarbell's series in McClure's Magazine | The Supreme Court ordered the Standard Oil Trust broken up | 1911. Row 4: Drinking blamed for harm to families | Temperance groups, including the Anti-Saloon League | The 18th Amendment, enforced by the Volstead Act of October 28, 1919 | January 16, 1919. Row 5: Women denied the vote on account of sex | The woman suffrage movement | The 19th Amendment | August 18, 1920. Data: National Archives, Yale energy history project, Allegheny College, US House of Representatives history pages. The date for the Standard Oil row is the year of the Court's order. Source card "Tarbell on what the oil men asked, 1904". Who made it: Ida M. Tarbell, journalist. When: 1904. Where: New York. For whom: readers of her book and of McClure's Magazine. Why: to tell how the Standard Oil Trust grew. Excerpt (Tarbell, History of the Standard Oil Company, vol. 1, chapter 3; p. 88; checked word for word against three printed editions): "Time and experience would regulate it. Give the refiners open and regular freights, with no favours to any one, and the stronger and better equipped would live, … but give all a chance." Source card "Ida Tarbell and Standard Oil, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Ida Tarbell's 19-part investigation of the Standard Oil Company ran in McClure's Magazine from November 1902 to October 1904, and the book came out in 1904. A federal report in 1906 also blamed Standard Oil's dominance on secret rebate agreements with railroads. In 1911 the Supreme Court ordered the Standard Oil Trust dissolved, and it was broken into about three dozen companies.

2. 1.

   Jun puts Tarbell's passage beside the card on the 1906 federal report. What do the two sources agree on?

   • Both show Standard Oil asked the railroads for rebates, and refiners agreed to them
   • Both show the Supreme Court broke up Standard Oil in 1911 because of rebates
   • Both treat unequal railroad freight rates, such as rebates, as central to the dispute
   • Both confirm Tarbell's whole account, so a historian needs no other source on the matter

3. A resolution on the ballot, 1892

   Who made it: the People's Party, in its first national convention. When: July 1892. Where: Omaha, Nebraska. For whom: the voters of the country. Why: to say what the delegates favored, apart from the platform. Excerpt (The People's Party platform, Omaha, July 1892, supplementary resolutions; p. 81; checked word for word against two printed editions): "Resolved, That we demand a free ballot and a fair count in all elections, and pledge ourselves to secure it to every legal voter without federal intervention through the adoption by the States of the unperverted Australian … secret ballot system." Source card "The secret ballot, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Before the secret ballot, voters either called out their choice or handed in a ticket that a political party had printed. Voting happened in public, so neighbors and parties could know how each person voted. In the Australian secret ballot, the government prints one official ballot that lists all the candidates, and each voter marks it in private. The first city to use it, for a local election, was Louisville, Kentucky. The first state to adopt it was Massachusetts, which used it in a statewide election in 1889. By 1900 thirty-eight states had adopted it.

4. 2.

   Bo reads the 1892 ballot resolution beside the card on the secret ballot. Which statement do both support?

   • The resolution caused the secret ballot to spread, since the states adopted it afterward
   • By 1892 the secret ballot had begun spreading state by state, the route the resolution endorsed
   • The resolution asked Congress to bring in the secret ballot, as the states were slow to act
   • The secret ballot was already in use in the states, so the resolution asked for nothing new

5. What reformers changed, from Oregon to the Constitution

   Columns Problem | Who pushed for change | Law or result | Date. Row 1: Laws hard for citizens to propose or check | Direct Legislation League and Oregon voters | Initiative and referendum added to Oregon's constitution | 1902. Row 2: Party leaders choosing candidates | Direct Legislation League and Oregon voters | Direct primary law in Oregon | 1904. Row 3: Officials hard to remove between elections | Direct Legislation League and Oregon voters | Recall added to Oregon's constitution | 1908. Row 4: No federal income tax after the Court struck one down | Farm groups, the People's Party and progressives in Congress | The 16th Amendment | February 3, 1913. Row 5: Senators chosen by state legislatures | Oregon System states and reformers in Congress | The 17th Amendment | April 8, 1913. Data: Oregon Secretary of State Blue Book, National Archives, US Senate Historical Office. Source card "The People's Party on income, 1892". Who made it: the People's Party, in its first national convention. When: July 1892. Where: Omaha, Nebraska. For whom: the voters of the country. Why: to state one of the party's demands. Excerpt (The People's Party platform, Omaha, July 1892, Finance; p. 169; checked word for word against two printed editions): "We demand a graduated income tax." Source card "The 16th Amendment". Who made it: Congress, then the states. When: ratified February 3, 1913. Where: Washington. For whom: the nation. Why: to change the Constitution. Excerpt (The 16th Amendment to the Constitution; Article XVI; checked word for word against three printed editions): "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration." Source card "A resolution on electing senators, 1892". Who made it: the People's Party, in its first national convention. When: July 1892. Where: Omaha, Nebraska. For whom: the voters of the country. Why: to say what the delegates favored, apart from the platform. Excerpt (The People's Party platform, Omaha, July 1892, supplementary resolutions; p. 82; checked word for word against two printed editions): "Resolved, That we favor a Constitutional provision limiting the office of President and Vice-President to one term, and providing for the election of … Senators … by a direct vote of the people."

6. 3.

   Milo hears a classmate say no idea in the Omaha platform ever reached the Constitution. Which evidence on the cards best answers the claim?

   • The convention's resolution on electing senators, then the 17th Amendment
   • The platform's income-tax demand, then the 16th Amendment letting Congress tax incomes
   • Weaver's 22 electoral votes, which show that voters accepted the platform's program
   • The plank on railroads, then the Interstate Commerce Act, which put them under a commission

7. The 19th Amendment

   Who made it: Congress, then the states. When: ratified August 18, 1920. Where: Washington. For whom: the nation. Why: to change the Constitution. Excerpt (The 19th Amendment to the Constitution; Article XIX; checked word for word against two printed editions): "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." Source card "What the 19th Amendment left unsettled, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The National Archives says ratification of the 19th Amendment did not ensure full enfranchisement. Discriminatory state voting laws kept many African American women and other minority women from voting long into the twentieth century.

8. 4.

   A state in 1925 gives men and women the same literacy test. Kira reads the 19th Amendment and the card. Is the test barred by the amendment's text?

   • Not by its text, which bars denial on account of sex; the test applies to both sexes
   • No: the amendment settled voting for women, so no woman was kept from the polls afterward
   • Yes: the text bars any rule that keeps citizens from voting, which includes a literacy test
   • Yes: the amendment ended state voting tests in 1920, since Congress could enforce it

9. What reformers changed, from the farm to the ballot box

   Columns Problem | Who pushed for change | Law or result | Date. Row 1: Railroad rates farmers paid | National Grange, with state legislatures | Granger laws, upheld in Munn v. Illinois (1877) | 1870s. Row 2: Falling crop prices and costly credit | Farmers' Alliances, then the People's Party | The Omaha Platform | July 4, 1892. Row 3: Impure food and drugs | Muckraking writers and President Roosevelt | Pure Food and Drug Act and Meat Inspection Act | June 30, 1906. Row 4: Public voting with party tickets | Reformers in cities and states | The Australian (secret) ballot | 1889 to 1900. Data: Minnesota Historical Society, National Archives, Texas State Historical Association, FSIS and House of Representatives history pages, UVA First Vote project. Source card "The Interstate Commerce Act, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The Interstate Commerce Act of February 4, 1887, put railroads under federal rules, the first industry treated this way. It created the Interstate Commerce Commission, a board of five members. Railroads had given rebates to large shippers and charged farmers more, because farmers did not ship enough to get a better rate. In the Wabash case of 1886 the Court overturned an Illinois law about long-and-short haul rates, ruling that rules for trade between the states belong to Congress alone. Source card "The Grange, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: On December 4, 1867, Oliver Hudson Kelley and six co-workers from the federal Bureau of Agriculture started the Grange, formally the Order of Patrons of Husbandry. It was both a social group for farm families and a group that argued for change. Kelley's articles criticized railroads for high freight rates and monopolies for fixing prices unfairly. By the end of 1873 the Grange had about 9,000 chapters and almost 700,000 members across the country. In the 1870s state legislatures in the West and South controlled by Grangers acted against railroad monopolies, and the Supreme Court upheld state controls in Munn v. Illinois (1877).

10. 5.

    Ren reads the cards on the Grange and the Act of 1887. Which statement about the Wabash case is best supported?

    • Wabash upheld the Illinois law, and Congress then copied the Illinois approach nationally in 1887
    • Wabash left rules for trade between states to Congress, which created a commission in 1887
    • Wabash followed Munn v. Illinois, so the Court first allowed state rules and then reversed itself
    • Wabash alone explains the Act, so protests by farmers and shippers played little part

11. The 18th Amendment, in brief

    Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Congress passed the 18th Amendment on December 18, 1917, and the states ratified it on January 16, 1919, about 13 months later. Prohibition took effect one year after ratification. The amendment banned making, selling and moving intoxicating liquors, but it did not define the term or say how to enforce the ban. Congress passed the Volstead Act on October 28, 1919, over President Wilson's veto, to supply the details. The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th when it was ratified on December 5, 1933.

12. 6.

    The Volstead Act (October 1919) came before the ban took effect. Luz reads the card. What explains that order?

    • The ban began a year after ratification, so Congress passed the details in 1919 first
    • The ban began on ratification in 1919, and the Act then filled gaps that appeared in enforcement
    • The 21st Amendment, ratified in 1933, delayed the ban until the Act was passed
    • The Act was passed over Wilson's veto, so the ban had to wait until the veto was overridden

13. Arizona and the recall of judges, 1911 to 1912

    Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Arizona's draft state constitution let voters recall judges. On August 15, 1911, President Taft vetoed the resolution admitting Arizona and New Mexico because he objected to that provision. Congress then passed another resolution, which Taft approved on August 21, 1911, admitting both territories on the condition that Arizona voters adopt an amendment removing the judicial recall provision. The voters of the territory did so in December 1911. New Mexico became the 47th state on January 6, 1912, and Arizona the 48th on February 14, 1912. After admission, Arizona voters reinstated the provision.

14. 7.

    Tala reads the card on Arizona's statehood. Which statement about the recall of judges is best supported?

    • Congress admitted Arizona in August 1911 once its voters had removed the recall of judges
    • Arizona's voters refused the condition, but Congress admitted the state in February 1912
    • Arizona's voters dropped it in December 1911 to be admitted, then restored it afterward
    • Taft's veto of August 1911 ended any recall of judges in Arizona from then on

15. The election of 1892

    Columns: Candidate; Party; Electoral votes; Popular votes. Grover Cleveland: Democratic: 277: 5,554,617. Benjamin Harrison: Republican: 145: 5,186,793. James B. Weaver: People's: 22: 1,029,357. Data: National Archives, 1892 Electoral College results (444 electoral votes in all, 223 needed to win); American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara, popular votes Source card "How electoral votes were won in 1892". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: In most states in 1892 the candidate who came first in the state won all of that state's electoral votes. A candidate who came second in a state won none of them.

16. 8.

    Weaver won about 9 percent of the three-way vote but about 5 percent of the electoral votes. Esme reads both cards. What explains the gap?

    • The popular vote totals for third parties were less reliable in 1892, so the gap is partly a counting error
    • Third parties were barred from winning electors in states with fusion tickets, which cut his total
    • In most states only the first-place candidate won electors, so votes spread thinly earned few
    • Electors were divided by each candidate's share of a state's votes, but Weaver's share was small

17. Why the 17th Amendment passed, in brief

    Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Before 1913 state legislatures chose senators. In some states the legislatures deadlocked and left Senate seats empty for months or years, and in some places powerful interests or party machines dominated the legislature. Oregon developed a method in which a state primary showed the voters' choice and candidates for the legislature promised to honor it. In 1910 and 1911 the House passed versions of the amendment with a race rider meant to bar federal action against racial discrimination among voters. Supporters said the rider protected state sovereignty; opponents said it was a way around the 15th Amendment's protection of Black voters. Senator Joseph L. Bristow of Kansas offered a version without the rider. When Connecticut approved on April 8, 1913, three-fourths of the states had ratified the amendment. The next year, 1914, was the first time all Senate elections were held by popular vote. Data card "Choosing senators before 1913". Columns: What was counted; Count. Deadlocks in state legislatures, 1891 to 1905: 45 deadlocks in 20 states. Bribery cases brought before the Senate, 1866 to 1906: 9. States electing senators by party primary or general election, by 1912: as many as 29. Data: US Senate Historical Office, the Seventeenth Amendment. Arizona became the 48th state on February 14, 1912.

18. 9.

    Noah reads the cards. Why can Noah not say 29 states already had their voters choose senators before 1913?

    • Legislatures still made the formal choice; Oregon candidates merely promised to honor the primary
    • The 29 states are the ones that had already ratified the 17th Amendment by the end of 1912
    • The count was taken in 1905, so it cannot describe what the states were doing by 1912
    • The count covers general elections, so it leaves out the states that held primaries instead

19. Choosing senators before 1913

    Columns: What was counted; Count. Deadlocks in state legislatures, 1891 to 1905: 45 deadlocks in 20 states. Bribery cases brought before the Senate, 1866 to 1906: 9. States electing senators by party primary or general election, by 1912: as many as 29. Data: US Senate Historical Office, the Seventeenth Amendment. Arizona became the 48th state on February 14, 1912.

20. 10.

    Ari says deadlocks were a bigger problem than bribery, because 45 is more than 9. What is wrong with that comparison?

    • Spread over 20 states, 45 deadlocks is about 2 per state, fewer than the 9 bribery cases
    • The counts are rough, so they can show that both problems existed but not their relative size
    • Nine bribery cases are rarer events than 45 deadlocks, but each case did more harm
    • They count different events over different spans of years, so 45 and 9 cannot be ranked