Social Reform: The Progressive Movement

The Progressive Era lasted from the 1890’s to the early 1920’s. It was centralized around socialism and political reform. One of the major changes that took place during this era, was the labor legislation. Many workers were working long shifts, for several days straight, making their work life just about unbearable, and unworkable conditions. The job environment had become to where it was unsafe, unsanitary, and unregulated conditions for very low wages. (America, pg. 847) Children were working underage as well, legislation was pushing or justice. It was then that children were banned from working under the age of 14 working outside the home. It was the democrats that pushed to pass the child-labor law. However, Congress passed the Keating-Owen

During the time of the Progressive Era in 1900s-1920s, the majority of the American believed that the industrialization, immigration, and the urbanization had produced critical social disorders and believes that reforms were needed to reshaped America. They also believed that it was time to eliminate the problem caused by the corruption in the government and promote the improvement in order to address the social and economic problems. People like Theodore Roosevelt and W.E.B.Du Bois also accepted that change was needed to improve and grow.The major changes were made in social, economic and political reforms. But, was the Progressive Era a success? Progressive Era was both failure and success in economic, political and social reforms.

The 1900s was a time period filled with political corruption, social inequality and injustice, discrimination, poor working and living conditions. The progressive movement resulted in response to these issues. Members and advocates of this movement were usually white (some blacks too), middle-class, Christian, college educated women (and men). They sought to achieve social justice through equality and enhance life in America for everyone. To further the nation’s democratic ideals, they hoped to incorporate reforms based on the expectations of the majority public. The Progressive Movement was a success because even though they lasted only for a short period of time, they achieved many things that today we are benefitting from, like for example

The Progressive Era was a time period where people known as Muckrakers exposed the problems of everyday people like the poor living conditions while the progressives tried different ways to fix those problems. During this time, there were also six goals that they focused on protecting social welfare, promoting moral improvement, improving efficiency and labor, creating economic and government reforms. One of the major reforms of this time was the Social Welfare reform which helped to improve some of the problems that people faced such as poor housing, lack of education, and social welfare for women.

During the Progressive Era, America society experienced immense changes in regards to business, politics, ethnic. Taking on the huge responsibilities, the presidents of that period, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, actively worked toward equality and social justice.

Beginning in England, the settlement house movement, then moved towards the United States around 1886, opening up the University Settlement House, New York City.

The popularity of the Progressive movement in the early 1900's was due to several social and cultural changes in the United States. In the wake of chaotic reorganizations of the country after industrialization and urbanization, as well as the influences of earlier ideological movements such as Populism and Pragmatism, the Progressives sought to bring order and progress to society through central planning, social reform, and even social control. The intellectuals were understood to have the best interests of the people in mind, and therefore had the responsibility to intervene in society through the means of the state. These areas of intervention included sanitation, inculcation of certain moral and behavioral habits, environmental conservation,

The country was improving public health, health care, as well as increasing labor protection and environment protection. Due to industrialization, factories became a very big part of the US economy. Factories created so many jobs, even children joined the workforce. This was a time like no other, entire families would have jobs. Workers, upset with big business owners began to try and improve their working conditions and created labor unions. The labor unions helped so the owners could not take advantage of the workers. The discontent between the working class and big business owners was very important for the entire country, so President Theodore Roosevelt used his power as the President to pass laws fitting to the progressive era. He proposed a number of legislative measure to protect the health and welfare of the public and the environment. He helped to pass the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. Roosevelt also intervened in coal strikes on the side of the workers to help force the owner to negotiate. This ere some of the policies and events that happened during the progressive era. This is the environment in which baseball was born and became our national

In the twelve years Eleanor Roosevelt spent as First Lady of the United States, she witnessed many hardships on the American people. The Great Depression, a time when American banks went bankrupt and American people lost everything, had already began when they took office. As this takes place, she cultivates a sympathetic ear to minorities and poverty stricken citizens. Then as World War II began she would see a time of cruelty of minorities in Poland. Eleanor Roosevelt was not a lady who sat back and watched when action could be taken to right a wrong (Freedman

During the years 1890 to 1920, there was a group of people called the Progressives they identified many problems that they saw in the city at the time. The Progressives were a diverse group of people from every work of life for example: journalists, Democratic politicians, Republican politicians, industry leaders, and many more. They agreed to use scientific principles in order to identify problems, offer solutions, and then in a rational ways solve these problems. For example, a group of journalists who utilized the Progressive ideals were called, “ the Muckrakers,” which helped spread knowledge about political and social problems. The Progressive’s believed society had these problems because of industrialization and organization, however, that is not completely correct. They also believed that they needed an enormous amount of effort in order to solve these social problems, because these issues were too gigantic for the little effort they were able to

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the United States was experiencing a time of widespread reform. This movement brought great changes to multiple fields and areas in the United States. These reforms were ideas that improved the quality of life for working and normal citizens in the United States. Two such examples of these movements are found in reforms made within the working and living conditions across America.

The U.S. was a time of Industrialization which meant it led to the rise of big businesses at the expense of the workers. Factory laborers faced long hours as, low wages, and unsanitary conditions. Capitalist were so busy trying to create profits for their own selfish needs that they did not care for the well-being of their workers. The large corporations only cared about protecting themselves by allying with political parties. Many people felt that all power rested with the politicians and businessmen, but the Progressives attempted to undo these problems caused by industrialization. The Progressive movement sought to end the influence of large corporations, provide more rights and benefits to workers, and end the control possessed by party leaders. The Progressive Era was a period in American history in which improving working conditions, exposing corruption, improving the way of life, expanding democracy, and making reforms were the objectives at hand. Woodrow Wilson was the ideal leader to help bring new reforms that could really help the working class, he believed that leaders should make decisions that is at its best interest for the public and during his time as president he really took the time to

The progressives had a big role in reforming the the US socially, politically, and industrially.

The goals of progressive reforms were limiting the power of large companies, political reform, reducing poverty and reducing the social inequality. Progressive reforms rejected the idea of Social Darwinism and appealed for compulsory education, better housing, higher wages, works laws protecting childhood from exploitation. Reforms were not only coping against the urban machines, the spoil system and trusts like the standard oil, but were also claiming for more government intervention to solve social and economic

After the Civil War, our country was battered and beaten, but it rebuilt itself over time and spread its policies, as well as manufacturing practices, throughout our country. Early in the 20th century, members of our nation started to look at some of these practices and policies and began to question their merit and whether they assisted our population or not. Many people were involved in the progressive movement in America from the presidents to a slew of popular authors and photographers. The one thing that they had in common was that they saw problems with how various industries in our nation performed that they knew needed to be fixed. They did not always agree on everything, such as immigration, but they always had the nation’s best interest at heart.