The Statement “Between 1870 and 1990, the United States underwent a great deal of political change, but most Americans experienced very little social change” is not entirely correct. The United States did encounter a lot of political change between 1870 and 1990, but the United States also encountered a lot of social change. Some examples of social change throughout American History are industrialization and urbanization, Progressive Era Reforms, and the Civil Rights movements. From 1870 to 1990 the United States experienced a great deal of political change but also experienced a great deal of social change. Between 1870 and 1900 the United States made great advancements in industrialization. “Industrial capitalism realized the greatest advances in efficiency and productivity that the world had ever seen. Massive new companies marshaled capital on an unprecedented scale and provided enormous profits that created unheard-of fortunes. But it also created millions of low-paid, unskilled, unreliable jobs with long hours and dangerous working conditions.” This period was known as the Gilded Age. The Gilded …show more content…
It took place from 1890 to 1920. This Era was a time of reform movements aimed at addressing the problems in American society. This includes problems with the food industries, working conditions, and women’s rights. Before the Progressive Era reforms, the food quality, specifically in the meatpacking industry, was very unhealthy. Upton Sinclair wrote in The Jungle, “There would be meat stored in great piles in rooms; and the water from leaky roofs would drip over it, and thousands of rats would race about it.” The conditions in the meatpacking industry were unsanitary and needed to be changed. “Sinclair’s expose led to the passage of the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906.” This is also known as the FDA. The FDA is in place to make sure that food is safe to
Sinclair sheds light on how unsanitary the meat processing industry was, using words to paint a mental picture in the minds of the reader leaving them with a bad taste in their mouths. This story eventually led to the creation of the Pure Food and Drug Act after people went crazy reading what was described in the book. Although no specific facts were provided other than the contents in the book itself, it held true accounts of what the industry was like. Sinclair would speak of the rat poison being left close to the meat, or the use of the rotting meat to be sold. With this story people began to see the gruesome conditions by which their food was being handled.
At the time, the conditions of the meat packing industry included toxic chemicals in all the meats, how they were kept, and how they were packed. But, progressives such as Teddy Roosevelt made efforts to help it. One instance was when he pushed Congress to pass the Pure Food and Drug Act, which would significantly improve the industry. Document 1 explains how unsanitary and
This awareness motivated the actions of reformers and civilians, which therefore fueled Progressivism. In The Jungle by Sinclair, he wrote, “These rats were nuisances, and the packers would put poisoned bread out for them; they would die, and then rats, bread, and meat would go into the hoppers together, (79). Sinclair also described the contamination of meat by factory workers, the rotting of meat, and the generally unsanitary conditions of a meatpacking plant (79). While The Jungle’s main purpose was to highlight and raise awareness of the terrible working conditions of employees, public outrage was mainly focused on passages like these. Sinclair said, "I aimed at the public's heart and by accident I hit it in the stomach,” in reference to the misunderstanding.
Some of the things that change America politically involved social events, social changes and or social movement such as the women's right movement. Some of these social things are what caused to change America politically. An example is when Elizabeth Cady Stanton who spoke at Seneca Falls Declaration at August 2, 1848 said “But we are assembled to protest against a form of government, existing without the consent of the governed--to declare our right to be free as man is free, to be represented in the government which we are taxed to support, to have such disgraceful laws as give man the power to chastise and imprison his wife” and “ we now demand our right to vote according to the declaration of the government under which we live.” was an women who was fighting for women's rights and their right to vote, just like any white man in America that can vote freely. (Document I) She was not the only woman who was fight for their rights.
Industrialization played a big part in the shaping of American society. This time period was considered the "Gilded era " from 1869-1901. There were both cultural and economic changes during this time, such as the transcontinental railroad, businessmen, the depression , and the living conditions of the lower class. The transcontinental railroad produced an increased demand in manufacturing since the businesses would now grow and trade in larger amounts.
The Progressive movement fostered political change in the United States from 1890 to 1920 by addressing human rights, political, and social issues. Americans in past years had
During the Progressive Era, various social reform movements emerged in response to the economic, social, and political challenges of the time. Some of the major social reform movements of the Progressive Era were: Women's suffrage movement: The women's suffrage movement aimed to secure voting rights for women. Women were denied the right to vote in most states and at the national level. The movement achieved success with the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which granted women the right to vote. Temperance movement:
Huy Nguyen 08 March, 2023 Social Changes The major cultural and societal changes in the 1920s that paved the way to the Great Depression were the consumer economy, the prohibition of alcohol, and tariffs. These changes were the leading cause of the beginning of the Great Depression time period in America.
(Rouse). By passing this Act, Roosevelt put the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in charge of inspecting “all cattle, swine, sheep, goats, and horses both before and after they were slaughtered and processed for human consumption.” (Rouse). This was important because it is very common for a person to contract a foodborne illness from contaminated meat. One main thing that led to the Meat Inspection Act was the publication of The Jungle, a novel by Upton Sinclair, that highlighted the details and conditions of the meatpacking industry (federal.laws.com).
The United States experienced significant social transformation and economic expansion throughout the Gilded Age and the early years of the 20th century. The Gilded Age, which roughly corresponds to the period from Reconstruction to the start of the twentieth century, was characterized by rapid industrialization, urbanization, the building of massive transcontinental railroads, advances in science and technology, and the emergence of large businesses. Then after, progressivism, a progressive political movement that sought to address some of the faults that had developed during the Gilded Age, dominated the first years of the new century that followed. However, this new era of economic prosperity would not last as the United States stock value
Although it may seem that the meat packing industry is still in turmoil because of their unwillingness to make known what foods have Genetically Modified organisms present, the meat packing industry was much worse during the 1900’s because of the unsafe working conditions, and uncleanliness of the food. Body 1: The meat packing industry’s working conditions were much worse in the 1900’s than they are today. In the novel The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, working conditions were horrible for immigrants who were employed in these factories. People in these factories were worked very hard and used up till they could not work anymore. In the novel Jurgis broke his ankle because of the unsafe
One book, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, comprehensively exposed the horrors of meat packing plants. What he wrote was so startling, it caught the attention of President Theodore Roosevelt. Sinclair detailed how diseased animal carcasses were mishandled in filthy factories, and the meat was often left lying around for days in vats contaminated with rat feces and poison. When they finally got around to packing the meat, it was treated with a plethora of chemicals, canned, and often mislabeled.
The time period from when the Second Industrial Revolution was beginning, up until President McKinley’s assassination in 1901, is known as the Gilded Age. After the Civil War, many people headed out West to pursue agriculture, and many immigrants moved to urban areas to acquire jobs in industrial factories. It is in this context that farmers and industrial workers had to respond to industrialization. Two significant ways farmers and industrial workers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age, were creating the Populist Party and the American Federation of Labor (AFL).
There was advancement in household items and more products started to receive more recognition by advertisement. Moreover, there were many social developments during the 1920s of America. After the war, men and women wanted to establish new ways of life. They left old traditions from past generations behind and questioned the customs of their parents and grandparents. For women, a change in clothing
In comparison, over the past century, numerous large scale social changes in the United States have hardly caused a stir. This is not to say that