The Pros And Cons Of Progressivism

The progressive era which lasted from 1890-1920 in American society was the institution of radical reforms brought about by the millions of Americans involved in volunteer organizations across the country. During this time Americans worked to create solutions to the problems caused by the rapid industrialization and urbanization of the country. The progressive era was not a single movement, but rather a collection of movements all of which were intended to improve the lives of Americans. This was a truly remarkable time for women and the end of the era would see almost universal women’s suffrage with the passing of the nineteenth amendment in 1920.

She leased a home called the Hull House, which was in the less fortunate areas of Chicago. It housed two thousand people a week, and contained many activities. One of the classes it offered was a cooperative boarding house for girls. This helped many people have a home in the less fortunate areas of Chicago. Jane Addams also was elected to Chicago’s board of education in 1905.

A Fierce Discontent McGerr, Michael E. A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America, 1870­1920. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2005. Print. In “A fierce Discontent”, the main thesis of the book is to give insight to the progressive movement during the 19th century.

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s reformers in the United States were trying different methods to advance the country. The reformers had different goals such as earning women suffrage and assisting the poor. The reformers had their methods to help bring about change in society. Reformers had different goals and methods to help change the society.

A mass body of people pointed out what they liked and disliked. Throughout history, one can clearly see change is made through citizen’s inputs that eventually makes an impact on the quality of life. During the Progressive Era, America was portrayed as the “best country” in the world. However, no one bothered to bring up the fact that one out of three people were starving to death or only six out of ten children were attending school due to financial instability in American households. The government was well aware of the poverty issues but they did not make an effort to help the people.

It is time to set the public welfare in the first place. ”(The Progressive Party Platform of 1912). The Progressive Platform is set to improve America and bring a more stable and equal nation with more democracy and benefits for the common citizen. The Progressive Platform set forth the improvement of political power, a less corrupted set

The progressive era was a period in time where citizens came together to fight for different, social and political reforms throughout the country. There were unsafe working conditions for children, women, and men, there were powerful businesses that ran the economy, and more. Reformers wrote about corrupt businesses and working environments to try and get better laws as an outcome. Progressive era reformers were effective in shaping the mandates that were being created by the government. The different social, political, and economic reforms that took place shaped the government and the new laws that were created, improving the lives of all.

The many goals of this settlement house would be to “assimilate and ease the transition of immigrants into the labor force by teaching them middle class American values” and “…provide social services to families who are unable to afford daycare centers and various necessities”. Following the opening of numerous settlement houses, I would guarantee you that I will express my journey and findings in a book to which I would name “Twenty Years at Hull House”.

The Progressive Era could not have made such an impact in the U.S without the political, social and economic

The Hull House also provided education and care for children, this included both child care and kindergarten. The Hull House created the first playground in all of Chicago. Due to Jane Addams idea, she inspired over 400 other houses around the country. Without the creation of the Hull House many immigrants would not have been able to survive in

For example, the improvement of working conditions in America. At the time, working conditions were very poor, and the workers were paid very little. Since there were not any regulations employers were able to over work there employees. Even children were being over worked, but they needed to, otherwise their families could not eat. Both parties focused on the reformation and modernization of

1) The Immigration Act of 1907 created the Dillingham Commission to review U.S. immigration policy. In 1911 the Dillingham Commission produced a report that highlighted the differences between Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants and the effect on the social, cultural, physical, economic, and moral welfare of the nation. The Dillingham Commission Report favored the "old immigrant" who had come from North Western areas of Europe as opposed to the "new immigrant" who came from South Eastern areas of Europe and other parts of the world. The argument of Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants concluded that immigration from southern and eastern Europe posed a serious threat to American society and should therefore be greatly reduced. 2) Jane Addam founded Hull-House in Chicago, which would eventually become the most famous settlement house in the US.

Progressivism began in the 1890s as a social movement and eventually grew to become a political movement. Those who were early progressives rejected the ideas of Social Darwinism, instead they believed that the problems society faced such as poverty, violence, and racism could be solved by good education, a clean environment, and a safe workplace. Progressives mainly lived in large cities where the population were mainly college educated, believing that the government was the first step to changing. Some of the most popular reformers were Jacob Riis and Ida Tarbel, which were journalists who used their writings to show off their voices for progressivism. They tried to expose corporations and urged other Americans to rethink what democracy.

Change takes places everywhere, everyday. If we as humans experience change on a daily basis, it should be no surprise that even “The Land of the Free” must eventually evolve. A Fierce Discontent by Yale alumni Indiana University historian and Michael McGerr documents this change that spread throughout America, which is known as the Progressive Movement. Michael McGerr believed that “the people and struggles of that age of “fierce discontent” a century ago still command our attention” (McGerr, xiii), which sheds a little light as to why he chose to write about the Progressive Era. It was social and political reform and activism that made up the Progressive Era and

They faced opposition from other mill owners who knew that reforms would cost them money and give workers more rights. The reformers successfully forced changes to the way workers was treated. They are now called Factory Acts. The factory act changes in time and increased the rights of men, women and children