Which reform movement in the early 1900s sought to return control of the government to the people and correct injustices?

• A. Reconstruction
• B. Progressive Movement
• C. Civil Rights Movement
• D. Gilded Age

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is a reform effort aimed at giving voters more power and fixing injustices in society. The Progressive Movement of the early 1900s focused on political reforms that would reduce government corruption and increase citizen control—things like direct primaries, initiatives, referendums, and recalls to put decisions more directly in the hands of the people. It also sought to regulate big business, improve working and living conditions, and advance social reforms such as safer food and drug rules and protections for workers and women’s suffrage. This combination of empowering voters and tackling social wrongs best fits the question. By contrast, Reconstruction happened after the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement rose in the mid-20th century, and the Gilded Age refers to late 19th-century tendencies of rapid industrial growth and corruption, not a single movement aimed at returning government power to the people.