Progressive Era Reformers free essay sample

The Progressive Era, a period in United States history between the 1890s and 1920s, was a period of â€Å"social activism and political reform† that flourished in many ways. The purpose of the Progressive Era was to purify the corrupt government, invoke social change, and improve the economic state of the lower and middle classes and immigrants. The Progressive Era reformers were generally very effective in addressing the problems of the late nineteenth, early twentieth century in America. With advancements in media development and innovation, groups such as muckrakers were able to expose corruption in the government and scandals in public health. Social reformers such as Margaret Sanger and Alice Paul were very influential in inciting change to social equality. With the help of institutions such as the Hull House and people like Charles Evan Hughes, immigrants and members of the lower and middle classes were relieved of the corruption and poverty put upon them by big businesses and the corrupt government. We will write a custom essay sample on Progressive Era Reformers or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The Progressive Era reformers were very successful in addressing the problems at the turn of the century and beyond. Prior to the Progressive Era, life was very difficult for lower and middle class citizens, as well as the majority of the immigrant population. Constantly at the mercy of the powerful bosses and corrupt companies, these citizens could not earn a steady income, and some could not even provide for their families. Many people were attracted to the new Progressive Party due to the fact that it helped to give more power to the workers and promoted economic equality. Much of the attractiveness to the progressive party was as a result of the muckrakers. These were investigative journalists who propelled Progressivism by exposing corruption, economic monopoly, and moral decay in the American society. Through magazines such as The Crisis and McClure’s, muckrakers successfully exposed the problems of American Society with the new innovation of the photograph. Photography lead to so much exposure, acts such as The Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act were put in place to end the corrupt public health system. The Pure Food and Drug Act required that companies accurately label their foods and the Meat Inspection Act required that meat processing plants be inspected to ensure healthy practices. Muckrakers made such a significant impact on the American society, they sparked a new way of thinking as well, realism. Realism was a way of thinking that prized detachment, objectivity, and skepticism. This new way of thinking encouraged the average citizen to ponder about corruption, and the changes that could be made. In the 1890’s, intellectuals and artists of all sorts set about creating truer, more realistic ways of representing and analyzing American society. With the rising popularity that Progressivism was gaining, soon came a sense of new nationalism. Unlike previous America, new nationalism was Roosevelts reform program that called for establishing a strong federal government to regulate corporations, stabilize the economy, protect the weak, and restore social harmony. Progressivism not only encouraged a change in politics, but in society as well, specifically, for women. Women encountered many problems in society between 1890 and 1920, the first, and most apparent being the outlawed use of contraceptives. Being that husbands chose when to engage in sex with their wives, women would often become impregnated, but could do nothing about it. Since birth control was completely illegal, women had two choices, either kill their baby with whatever means necessary, or follow through on their pregnancy and have another child. While in modern society, most families welcome in new life, but during the progressive era, another baby meant another mouth to feed, another child to care for, and another child to cloth. In extreme cases, families ended up with ten or thirteen children all living on the low income of one person, usually the husband. This all changed however, in 1916, when a woman named Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic. Margaret Sanger was a leading advocate for the legalization of birth control during the progressive era, and was very successful in the fight for her cause. Another problem that women faced during the progressive era was suffrage, or lack there of. By this point in time, women were the only citizens of America who were not allowed to vote. Neither race nor ethnicity determined whether one could vote, as it did previously in history. Now, it was solely based upon gender. Gender equality advocates like Alice Paul played a major role in the fight for equality for women. Their fight proved to be quite successful because, in the year 1920, the 19th amendment was passed, granting women the right to vote in America. The women of America made great strides towards equality and freedom during the progressive era, however, the economic state of the African Americans as well as the immigrants was quite poor The Progressive Era was a major financial struggle for African Americans as well as the immigrants. Both were, for the majority of the time, uneducated and unskilled. This meant that most of them could only find work in monopolis or other unskilled labor positions. With the help of W. E. B. DuBois, the situation soon changed, at least for the African Americans. W. E. B. DuBois was the first ever African American to graduate from Harvard University, and was the founder of the NAACP. The NAACP was an association the was dedicated to the advancement and liberal arts education of African Americans, for the purpose of equal treatment amongst whites and better job opportunities. Along with that came the Tuskegee Institute, founded by Booker T. Washington. The Tuskegee Institute was dedicated to teaching African Americans trade skills with which they could use to getter better, more lucrative jobs. The immigrants were experiencing similar problems, with respect to income and poor living conditions. Like the African Americans, the immigrants were unskilled and unfamiliar with the American workforce. This meant they were forced to take whatever job they could get, which were usually very low income and demanded long hours with poor conditions. This meant poor living conditions, low food supply, and little amounts of clothing. Reformers such as Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr saw this as a major problem, and decided to do something about it. These two reformers co-founded The Hull House. The Hull House was an institution developed for the purpose of helping financially troubled immigrants get on their feet. It offered a place to live, running water, and food. It was very successful in aiding the immigrants. The reformers of the Progressive Era, roughly 1890 through 1920, were quite successful in the fight for their cause. Corruption both in the government and big businesses was a huge problem. The muckrakers, however, were very successful in exposing the corruption and ending the corrupt practices. Eventually, the Clayton Anti-Trust was enacted which outlawed the the creation of a monopoly and ended all monopolistic practices. Women were also experiencing discrimination when it came to both control over themselves, their bodies, and the government, i. e.  voting rights, or lack there of. People like Margaret Sanger and Alice Paul were successful in ending both of these problems with the legalization of contraceptives and the passing of the 19th amendment, allowing women to vote. With the help of W. E. B. DuBois and The Hull House, the financially troubled African Americans and immigrants were able to sustain moderately lucrative jobs and become moderately financially stable. The Progressive Era reformers were very successful in addressing the problems of their time, and inciting positive change for all of them.