Lee Winton-Burnette AP U.S. History Patricia Regan Period 4 Progressive Reform Essay The dawn of the 20th century saw the meteoric rise of a new group of reformers: the Progressives. Led by the perennial agents of change, the middle class, and supported by three like-minded presidents; the reform movements of the first two decades ushered in sweeping changes across American society. From political reformation to amelioration of economic follies, the late eighteenth and early twentieth century illuminated progressive development. With astounding success, the Progressives triumphed where the Populists had failed, inspiring revolutions in the running cities, states, and even the federal government. The burgeoning cities of the early 20th
Progressive Movement The Progressive Movement was an effort to cure many of the ills of American society that had developed during the rapid industrial growth in the last quarter of the 19th century. As Americans became increasingly aware of the need for reform, attitudes toward the proper role of government shifted from the limited role preferred in the 19th century to the increasingly expanded role chosen in the 20th century. During the era of progressive reform new groups and movements emerged that were successful in bringing about effective changes. Muckrakers drew attention to the need of reform by highlighting great injustices in their writings and woman played a major role addressing poor working conditions, child education, and woman’s suffrage. The success of progressivism owed much to publicity generated by the muckrakers.
Progressive DBQ In the history of the United States the progressives attempted to change the lives of United States citizens for the better. Progressives are reformers who worked to improve social and political problems, beginning in the late 1800’s. During the industrialization era many reformers came together to solve the difficulties of society. There were several reform groups such as, the Populist Party and Muckrakers. Their goals were to help make life better for immigrants.
Westward expansion brought about negative change in America. From economic troubles to harsh stereotypes, expansion has brought more harm than good. Expansion began with the unfair treatment of Native Americans in the 1800s, and lead to economic hardships such as the contamination of groundwater as a result of hydraulic fracturing. Westward Expansion affected the Native Americans’ freedom, safety, and their economy. This is important because although new settlers were gifted with new land and resources, Westward Expansion resulted in controversial disagreements and even more hardships.
Then, after McKinley declared war upon the Spanish in 1889, America could use imperialism to gain land and power in the world. America declared war on Spain in April 1889, not to gain land, but to assist Cuba in gaining its independence. Only later into the war, it realized how it can benefit through imperialism. The newly acquired land increased America’s resources and gave them new countries to trade with and worked as an advantage for the U.S. military as well. Turner believed that the idea of the frontier shaped the American being and their characteristics.
During an age of mass industrialization and urbanization, obtaining social justice was of vital importance because with social justice established, social control would naturally be achieved due to the satisfaction of citizens being treated equally. Progressive reformers moved to correct flaws in government and improve societal equality, but they soon found the widened divisions in American society to be difficult, if not impossible, to overcome. (Out of Many, 606) Progressivism was characterized by a series of movements, each of them aimed in one way or another at renovating or restoring American society, its values, and institutions. (Out of Many, 612) The three basic social issues addressed by the Progressives were women suffrage, freedmens civil rights, and working conditions. Each group of reformers challenged the words of our founding fathers as stated in the Constitution, “…in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity,…promote the general welfare…to ourselves and our posterity…,” progressives were searching for a perfect union for every individual to be satisfied with.
There are a number of things that influenced the foreign policy through the progressive movement and there are also things that didn’t. Overall, the progressive moment did have a massive impact on the American foreign and domestic policy before World War 1. Some people would argue that the progressive moment did influence American domestic and foreign policy before World War one, because a lot of social aspects were influenced by it. These are aspects such as child labour, working conditions and anti-trust laws. From the urging of social critics such as Jane Addams, child labour laws were strengthened and age limits for work was introduced, along with the shortening of working hours, restricting night work and requiring school attendance.
In 1909, Herbert Croly was determined to better the United States and did so by writing a book called, “The Promise of American Life”. Croly’s book caught the eye of many politicians and has often been called “…one of the few genuinely important political studies written by an American in the early twentieth century… it has generally been considered an expression of progressivism”(192). During this era the United States experienced constant change due to the Industrial Revolution. As a result, the wealth in the United States was granted to fewer and fewer individuals because big businesses were taking over. Additionally, the economy was not balanced and Herbert Croly devised a plan to regain this balance through federal regulations.
The Progressive Movement The Progressive Movement can be defined as a period of reform which lasted from the 1890s to the 1920s. (www.nps.gov/nr/travel/pwwmh/prog.htm Retrieved 11/2008 During this time Americans organized in voluntary associations to devise solutions to the myriad problems created by industrialization, urbanization, and immigration. The Progressive Movement was not a single movement but rather a collection of coalitions agitating for chances that often seemed to contradict each other. Many progressive reforms were aimed to increase democracy in America. This included women’s suffrage, the direct election of senators, the availability of the referendum, and the right to recall representatives whose behavior in office did not satisfy their constituents.
Progressivism in America Jane Dang Elkwood High School Industrialization and urbanization led to the progressive movement in America. Progressives were concerned with a variety of social issues, such as women’s suffrage and temperance. They made many reforms to try to improve society. In 1914 World War I began and American society was heavily affected. The late 1800s and early 1900s brought major political, social, economic, technological and cultural developments to America.