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National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)
The National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association groups united to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), reinvigorating the Suffrage Movement -
How the Other Half Lives, Jacob Riis
In 1890, early muckraker Jacob Riis publishes his book How the Other Half Lives, exposing the terrible tenement housing conditions of the New York poor. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
The Sherman Antitrust Act was the first measure passed by Congress that limited the power and size of large monopolies, giving the government the power to regulate large trusts and corporations. -
National Consumers League
The National Consumers League was chartered in 1899 by progressive reformers Jane Addams and Josephine Lowell. The league sought to reform worker conditions in sweatshops, including ending child labor, shorter workdays, and other protections against exploitation. -
President Roosevelt sues the Northern Securities Company
In 1902, President Roosevelt, on the grounds of the Sherman Antitrust Act, sued the Northern Securities Company, a large railroad trust formed by robber baron J.P. Morgan., In 1904, the Supreme Court voted in favor of Roosevelt, breaking up the trust. -
Department of Commerce and Labor
The Department of Commerce and Labor was established in 1903 to ease tensions between management and workers. The department included a Bureau of Corporations, which regulated corporations. -
Square Deal Policy
The Squre Deal Policy, established by President Roosevelt, was based on conservation of natural resources, control of corporations, and consumer protection. Roosevelt believed in the use of government to fix social problems and continued to extend his application of the Square Deal throughout his time in office. -
Ida Tarbell, The History of The Standard Oil Company
Muckraker Ida Tarbell publishes The History of the Standard Oil Company in McClure's Magazine, exposing the corrupt practices of the giant trust. -
The National Child Labor Committee
The National Child Labor Committee was established to eradicate child labor in factories and sweatshops in the US. -
The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
In 1906, muckraker Upton Sinclair published The Jungle, a piece of investigative journalism in the form of a novel, exposing the mistreatment and unsafe production practices of meat factories in Chicago. -
The Hepburn Act
The Hepburn Act was passed to challenge the economic power of the railroads. The Act was passed under the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which was formed in 1887. The Hepburn Act greatly expanded the power and jurisdiction of the ICC. -
Pure Food and Drug Act and Federal Meat Inspection Act
In response to Sinclair's reporting in The Jungle, President Roosevelt immediately passed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Federal Meat Inspection Act to insure safer production and quality of American meat. -
John Spargo, "The Bitter Cry of the Children"
Muckraker John Spargo published "The Bitter Cry of Children," exposing child labor conditions in the coal mines. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
The deadly fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory killed 145 workers, raising awareness of the terrible working conditions in urban factories. -
Antitrust Lawsuits against Standard Oil and US Steel
The US government sued Standard Oil and US Steel in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. On May 15, 1911, the Supreme Court broke up the large trusts. -
The 17th Amendment: Direct Election of Senators
In response to Populist movement reform efforts, the 17th Amendment was passed in 1912 and ratified in 1913, hoping to limit political corruption in the Senate. -
Congressional Union
Suffrage leader Alice Paul forms the Congressional Union, a more radical faction of the Suffrage Movement. -
The Underwood Tariff Act
Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Underwood Tariff Act. The act lowered the tariff (tax) on imported goods. In addition, the Act established a graduated income tax. -
The Federal Reserve Act
President Woodrow Wilson signs into law the Federal Reserve Act in 1913, establishing the Federal Reserve, the central banking system, and Federal Reserve notes (the paper dollar). -
The Federal Trade Commission Act
The Federal Trade Commission Act established the Federal Trade Commission, which further regulated fair competition in big business. -
The Clayton Antitrust Act
The Clayton Antitrust Act furthered the power of the Sherman Antitrust Act. This act made monopolies and unfair business practices illegal and affirmed the right to go on strike. -
The Keating-Owen Child Labor Act
The Keating-Owen Child Labor Act was an attempt to regulate child labor, limiting the number of hours children could work and prohibiting interstate commerce of goods produced by children under a certain age. -
The Adamson Act
The Adamson Act established an eight-hour workday for railroad workers. -
The Federal Farm Loan Act
The Federal Farm Loan Act created 12 Federal Land Banks to provide loans at low interest rates to small farms. -
The 19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote, was passed by Congress.
