The fundamental values upon which the United States was established, are embodied in the preamble to the Constitution. It outlines the goals and aspirations that the American people's founding fathers were hoping to achieve. Further, it states that the purpose of the Constitution is to establish laws that promote welfare, liberty, prosperity, and a "more perfect" nation for Americans. Throughout history, America has made significant progress in upholding some ideals outlined in the preamble, such as providing for the common defense and promoting the general welfare. However, when addressing justice, it becomes evident that these ideals have not been fully realized. America has demonstrated a strong commitment to protecting its citizens and …show more content…
From the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, the Progressive Era implemented several reforms to improve economic and social issues. In 1920, the Sheppard-Towner Act was the first substantial government healthcare effort. It educated the public on the importance of enhancing the social and healthcare conditions for women and infants. Also, during this era, President Franklin D. Roosevelt put forward a series of laws and programs, called the New Deal, to combat the Great Depression. For example, the enactment of the Social Security Act of 1935 was a crucial step toward providing Americans with economic security. This legislation created a system of financial assistance to retirees, physically disabled workers, dependent mothers, children, and the unemployed insurance systems’. The Works Progress Administration (WPA), launched in 1935 as a component of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, was created to reduce unemployment and boost the economy during the Great Depression. Numerous infrastructure projects, such as the development of roads, bridges, public buildings, and parks, allowed unemployed workers to obtain paid jobs. Specifically, the series of social and government-funded programs took action to assist its citizens economically and as a result, had the beneficial effect of hiring approximately 8.5 million Americans to work on hundreds of public projects across the country. The WPA not only offered financial assistance, but it also helped create important public assets and enhanced the general welfare of the population. Although debates persist regarding the effectiveness of these programs, the nation has made efforts to improve the general welfare of its people as the preamble
According to Taylor (2009) the Works Progress Administration nurseries was renamed in 1939 and became the largest and most influential agency whose contributions and impact made it possible to employ millions of people to carry out public works projects. Most projects were initiated, planned and sponsored by states, counties or cities.(Taylor,2009) Nationwide projects were sponsored until 1939.The WPA was a national program that operated its own projects in cooperation with state and local governments, which provided 10–30% of the
He and other progressives felt they needed to do this because there were around eight million Americans without jobs at this time. Because Roosevelt believed that government handouts did not help the U.S., the Works Process Administration (WPA) was created to “employ Americans with government funded jobs on public works projects” (649 Roark). Within one year, the WPA had provided almost one-tenth of America’s labor force with careers. To the conservatives delight, WPA officials drew upon their discriminatory ideals. The newly created jobs were mostly given to white men while rarely being given to women, Africans, Asians, Native Americans, Mexicans, or other minorities.
Roosevelt discusses his belief that new jobs should be created to resolve the economic problem. When the Depression hit, over 13 million people lost their jobs, and income was reduced by 40%. To help resolve this problem, Roosevelt created the New Deal. The New Deal was an economic plan to help improve infrastructure and create jobs at the same time (Source C). The WPA, the Works Progress Administration, was the largest New Deal agency that employed millions of people to carry out public works projects such as building highways, sewers, and reservoirs.
The Works Progress Administration “Employed 8 million on public works projects,” (Chart 1, Line 12). Explanation- To keep people from losing all of their money, FDR and his administration created this so people have some money to live off of. Concluding sentence- Thus, FDR and his administration made many efforts to help America during its time of instability, including putting many New Deal programs into
Johnson, worked to tackle social inequalities and expand welfare. The Great Society was a collective of many wide range initiatives, such as civil rights legislation, healthcare reform and educational funding, but the most ambitious and controversial part of the Great Society was its initiative to end poverty through a legislation called the War on Poverty. The Great Society sought to address issues like racial discrimination, poverty, and inadequate access to healthcare and education. The core goal was to create a more equitable and just nation that provided opportunities for all Americans.
The problems of the Progressive Era, each were addressed and solution were found. The difficulties of the Progressive Era like Women Suffrage, Slums, and Unregulated Railroads were discovered and found solutions to. The Progressive Era had difficulties with Women Suffrage, Slums, and even Unregulated railroads. Slums lived in poverty with disease and crime in there life and had now other way to live. There were a few solutions to this problem, Jacob Riis photographed pictures and putt them in a book called How The Other Half Lives, about the poverty, crime, and disease in there lives, Tenement houses were set up, and the government regulated landlord practices.
If I could choose any historical time period to live in, I would choose to live in the time period of the Progressive Era. The Progressive Era strikes me as particularly interesting as it was a time when creativity and inventing was flourishing. Many new inventions were developed between the years of 1890 and 1920. Some of these iconic inventions include the stop sign and smoke detector, both of which were invented in invented in 1890, the semi-automatic shotgun and vertical filing cabinet, both invented in 1898, as well as grocery bag and hydraulic brake, invented in 1918. If I could go back in time and live in the Progressive Era, I would like to be a writer or inventor.
The progressive era improved the lives of all Americans and a majority of them benefited in different ways. President Woodrow Wilson focused on conservation issues where millions of acres of land was preserved by the National Park Service founded in 1916 to prevent the destruction of nature before it began, in turn affecting every American and more specifically ones directly associated with the push for conservation. Governments were reformed ending the corruption by local officials in places such as New York where immigrants whom had just stepped their foot onto America were bombarded with promises of housing or a job if they voted for certain politicians, an over no poor immigrant could refuse, thus further fueling the political machines. The issue of monopolies over government weren’t the only monopolies seen as an issue, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 was passed to prevent businesses that monopolized a whole market and hiked the price of it immensely, railroad companies were major offenders of this. Further movements such as temperance, the banning of alcohol consumption and sales throughout the entire united states affected the lives of every
During the progressive era our country faced many problems. The rise of substantial businesses caused industrial problems. Women suffrage, alcohol, child labor, and safety issues caused social problems. The necessitation of citizens in government decisions also caused political problems. Progressives were people who wanted to solve all of these quandaries.
The United States has been influenced by many conflicts, movements, and people. Every single movement or conflict has developed the nation in one way or another. From Westward Expansion to World War One the United States has developed immensely but one prominent time period that influenced the United States greatly was the progressive era. The progressive era was the most influential time period between 1870 and 1935 because it increased conservation in the United States, encouraged more rights for women, and attacked child labor. Overall progressivism had a great role to play in constructing a fair and just society.
The Progressive Era The Progressive Era, which began in the late 19th century and ended in the early 20th century, was the period of time when the United States (U.S.) was becoming more stable after all of the immigration, industrialization, and urbanization it was going through. Progressives aimed to address those aspects of society in order for all Americans to benefit from social justice, which is the belief that everyone deserves equal political, economic, and social opportunities (The Progressive Era). This was the most influential time period in developing the U.S. because it promoted social welfare, encouraged necessary political reform, and helped to restore the economy. Social Welfare refers to the assistance of people in need, and
The Progressive Era in history of the United States is considered to be during the years of 1890 and 1920 (Byron, 2017). There were four amendments added to the Constitution of the United States during this time. On February 3, 1913, the 16th amendment was adopted by congress which levied a federal income tax. The 17th amendment was adopted in November of 1914 during a nationwide election. The 17th amendment established the way senators were elected and the rules of special appointments.
The Gilded age was a period in the late 1800s (1865-1900) that showed tremendous increase of wealth caused by the industrial age. The lifestyle of the rich during this period hid the many problems of the time that eventually brought about the progressive era movement. This was a movement for reform between 1900-1920s. Progressives typically held that the irresponsible actions of the rich were corrupting both public and private life. Forces such as immigration, the Populist Party and industrialization that led to the progressive era also impacted the American government both in its activeness and its democracy.
WPA Stands for The Work Progress Administration. It was founded on April 8, 1935. · Created by the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt · WPA employees worked on public projects, including: bridges, roads, public buildings, public parks and airports. The purpose of the WPA was to give employ millions of unemployed people during the Great Depression
The Progressive Reform Movement The Progressive Era is often looked as an age of reformation from the economic boom in the Gilded Age. From around 1890 to 1920s, citizens of the progressive reform movement had plans to amplify our American government and economy. The different outlooks and biases have created many interpretations of this era, along with many others. Historians have many different interpretations of the reform movement during the Progressive Era.