1880-1920 Essay

During the years 1880-1920 there were many issues because of urbanization and industrialization. The industrial revolution brought many new job opportunities with low wages making companies focus on women and children. These opportunities were available but at a cost, they were paid less and they were forced to work up to ten hours. The industrial giants made labor a tough and unfair lifestyle. They wanted more riches, but they were making people suffer in order to obtain the money. The progressives wanted to help relieve all these problems through a philosophy called progressivism. They managed to achieve some of their aims but not all of them. Since the industrial revolution brought many new job opportunities, communities wanted to get to

Rockefeller, who controlled the oil industry at the time, Cornelius Vanderbilt and George Pullman, they controlled the railroad industry, Andrew Carnegie, who controlled the steel industry and J.P Morgan a figure in the United States economy. Their industries later created monopolies, which is the complete possession or control of supply or trade in a raw material or service. John D. Rockefeller was the first monopoly. They created trusts in order to eliminate any competition. Workers noticed that they weren’t being treated equally. People had low wages, especially women and children also, not only were they getting hurt, most of them were facing life-risking jobs. Eventually, Theodore Roosevelt took action with a campaign slogan, square deal, that pledged to balance the interests of business, consumers, and labor. Progressives made sure that women and children had higher pay, better working conditions and and less hours in a work day. Elections and voting rights were changed up. Now that elections were without fraud since political machines were put to an end, the progressives introduced many new election reforms. For example direct primary where voters chose candidates to run in an election, a secret ballot where candidates are selected from a single ballot and recall which allows voters to remove an elected official from office. The 19th Amendment was put to place, it gave women the right to vote. The 17th Amendment was also introduced, it gave voters the right to elect their senators