GILDED AGE & INDUSTRY
He dominated the steel industry and famously argued in his "Gospel of Wealth" that the rich should give back to society.
ANDREW CARNEGIE
His stomach-turning novel The Jungle led directly to the passage of the Meat Inspection Act.
UPTON SINCLAIR
She refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus, sparking a year-long boycott and a new era of the movement.
ROSA PARKS
His "New Deal" programs like Social Security aimed to provide "Relief, Recovery, and Reform" during the Great Depression.
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT (FDR)
Although famous for the Harlem Renaissance, this author grew up in Eatonville, Florida (the first all-black incorporated town) and wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God.
ZORA NEALE HURSTON
This Standard Oil founder was the master of "horizontal integration," buying out his competitors to create a massive trust.
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER
She was the pioneer of the Settlement House movement, providing social services to immigrants at Chicago’s Hull House.
JANE ADDAMS
He argued the Brown v. Board case before the Supreme Court and later became its first African American Justice.
THURGOOD MARSHALL
He took over at the end of WWII and issued the doctrine that established the U.S. policy of "Containment" against Communism.
HARRY TRUMAN
He was the "Father of Modern Florida" who built the Florida East Coast Railway and the "Overseas Railroad" to Key West.
HENRY FLAGLER
This powerful banker didn't just lend money; he reorganized entire industries and bought out Carnegie to form U.S. Steel.
J. P. MORGAN
This AFL leader focused on "bread and butter" unionism—fighting for better wages and hours rather than radical social change.
SAMUEL GOMPERS
These two leaders disagreed on tactics: one advocated for gradual economic progress, while the other demanded immediate legal equality and co-founded the NAACP.
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON & W.E.B. DUBOIS
This President’s "Fourteen Points" aimed to prevent future wars through the creation of a League of Nations.
WOODROW WILSON
This civil rights leader and educator founded a university in Daytona Beach and served as an advisor to President FDR.
MARY MCCLEOD BETHUNE
Recognized as the first African American female self-made millionaire, she built an empire of specialized hair care products.
MADAM C. J. WALKER
This duo led the fight for the 19th Amendment; one was a radical picketer of the White House, the other a long-time suffrage icon.
ALICE PAUL AND SUSAN B. ANTHONY
While MLK preached non-violence, this leader initially advocated for Black Nationalism and achieving equality "by any means necessary."
MALCOLM X
These two authors were key figures of the Harlem Renaissance; one has deep Florida roots and wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God.
LANGSTON HUGHES & ZORA NEAL HURSTON
This industrialist used his massive fortune to prevent the total collapse of Florida's banking system during the Great Depression.
ALFRED DUPONT
Often called the "Wizard of Menlo Park," his development of the incandescent lightbulb and the power grid transformed American nights.
THOMAS EDISON
This Socialist leader was jailed during WWI for violating the Espionage Act by speaking out against the draft.
EUGENE DEBS
From a Birmingham jail, this SCLC leader wrote a famous letter defending the strategy of non-violent civil disobedience.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
This 1950s Senator led a "witch hunt" for suspected Communists in the U.S. government, giving his name to a period of intense paranoia.
JOSEPH MCCARTHY
This Florida Governor and Progressive reformer is best known for his massive (and controversial) project to drain the Everglades to create more usable farmland for the state.
NAPOLEON B. BROWARD