What Are Some Historians Views On The Progressive Reform Movement

People had both the right and the duty to make whatever changes were necessary to come up with a new government or new reforms to that government to better serve their needs. This is basically was the mindset of the people who believed that reform was need in society. The Second Great Awakening refers to a period of religious revivals at occurred in the United States in the 1830s. After this period, many reform movements took place to better serve society and the people in it.

In the United States there were countless reform movements that took place to help shape our very own United States. One of the most influential times of reform would have been considered the Progressive Era. Progressivism is put forth by many different historians, considered to be a movement created by various groups of people, in effort to boost their everyday lives by being more efficient and discard corruption. Historians like George Mowery “Progressivism:Middle Class Disillusionment” and Robert H. Wiebe “Progressivism Arrives” introduce us to these reformers as wealthier and higher class citizens in America. While Joseph Huthmacher brings up that the urban lower class are the people who stood up and provided the force for the reform.

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.

Question 1. The progressive period in US history started in the 1890s and remained current through the 1920s. Progressive leaders in the US include President Teddy Roosevelt, President William Howard Taft, and President Woodrow Willson. The main objective of progressives was to rid the government of corruption. These progressive leaders targeted political machines and worked to rid the country of monopolistic enterprises that were exploiting regular citizens.

Throughout the history of the US, there were many movements and acts that emphasize the rights, justice, and equality of every US citizen, they were needed to push the society move forward. There were some that failed after a long time because of lacking supports from the people, but there also many movements that were so successful that changed the whole way how the US handles Democracy and its people rights. Those movements were maybe not last for a long time but were needed to show everyone that the power and wealth of a nation come through its citizen, and each person has the power to fight for their happiness and equality. In many righteous acts that the people have started, there were two acts that made an enormous change to the US political and economic system, not only they improve the people lives, they were also the main reason why America is such promising and full of opportunities to the eyes of many immigrants. Those two are The Populist Movement and The Progressive era.

“The Progressive movement of 1901 to 1971 was a triumph of conservatism rather than a victory for liberalism,” is a false statement implying that the Progressive movement was not liberal win when it very much was. The progressive movement allowed for all types of government reforms and policies that are all very liberal in a sense. With the Progressives, the laissez-faire government that allowed for many businesses to run free will no longer exist and regulations of all kinds of business will be put into place. The three presidents to reside in the White House during this era, Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft, and Woodrow Wilson, all shared at least one point of view with liberals. The progressive era is the era of the liberals.

Thank you Aunt Bessie for giving me the opportunity to learn about the progressive era and letting me give your money to the three reforms I chose. I was very intrigued when I started researching about these four progressive reforms. Some things I found out were atrocious and the others just plain out disgusting. Although women 's suffrage is a huge issue, deforestation, child labor, and food safety struck me the most deserving. The progressive era was a time from about 1900 to 1920.

During the late nineteenth century, inequality was at its finest. Disagreements from unrightful decisions made by the government set off strikes, reforms and protests, which accelerated changes, all over the country. Oppression of farmers and wage workers hit hardest, as government decisions and how the country was running seemed to affect them the most. Gilded age farmers and workers demanded correct wages, the expansion of power of the government, and to nationalize various systems in the best interests of the people. Various interest groups were created, and aimed to gain popularity but were not successful enough to make a change.

The progressive reformers were mostly middle class families during the early 19 hundreds. These reformers believed that every kid had the right to childhood so that they could develop into well rounded functioning adults. The middle class focused mostly on the poor who tended to be immigrants whose kids did not get to live in ideal situations. During this time the middle class had less kids which gave the kids more space in a figurative and literal sense and allowed them to have more resources from their parents and more time to pursue their interests. The poor classes did not have less kids, and they were forced to live in small apartments that were crowded and had poor air ventilation and septic system that lead to an increase in disease.

The “Progressive Movement was an early-20th century reform movement seeking to return control of the government to the people, to restore economic opportunity, and to correct injustices in American life.” (Danzer R54). The Progressive Era marked the end of the “Gilded Ages” and a start of a new era. The Progressive Era started in 1901 in the United States (Fagnilli 26). There were many major reforms in the Progressive Era that altered and advanced American society.

They believed that the government, local leaders, and the states should play a more active roll in bringing about a fair economy, raising the living standards for all Americans, and directing the vast American resources toward the problems facing America on a personal level. Reforms occurred on federal, state, and local levels. On a federal level reforms consisted of women's suffrage, lowering taxes on imports, prohibiting alcohol, regulating package of foods, sales of drugs, conservation of the environment, and regulating trusts. On a state level reforms consisted of reorganization and reduction of ruling bodies due to corruption, regulation of child labor, creation of power and sewer systems. Although many reforms were made during this period, we will be more concerned with those dealing with children in this paper.

One thing most of these reformers seeked was an increase in their workplaces. They were not as concerned about the monopoly factor as long as, “[...]he provided job security and adequate wages and working conditions, and passed some of the benefits of large-scale production on to consumers in the form of lower prices” (Joseph Huthmacher 13). Based on Huthmacher’s article, historians should focus more on the lower class and their thoughts, such as their real life experiences and careers, when interpreting the Progressive

Populism and Progressivism were two very important movements in US history, that occurred during the outbreaks of the workers union after the civil war. These movements led to the formation of the Populist party in 1892 and the Progressive party in 1912. While there are many similarities between the two movements, they are also very different. The two parties fought for very similar things.

The 19th century was a period of widespread social, economical and political problems in the United States, from the 1890s to the 1920s in need of reform. Both parties were created by the people’s dissatisfaction with the government and its ability to appeal to the majority. The Populist movement was founded my farmers, laborers and middle class civilians that wanted government regulation in the economy, more authority in the government, educating immigrants, to prevent government corruption and high positions to be based on experience.

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