Progressive Era Dbq

African Americans face a struggle with racism which has been present in our country before the Civil War began in 1861. America still faces racism today however, around the 1920’s the daily life of an African American slowly began to improve. Thus, this time period was known by many, as the “Negro Fad” (O’Neill). The quality of life and freedom of African Americans that lived in the United States was constantly evolving and never completely considered ‘equal’. From being enslaved, to fighting for their freedom, African Americans were greatly changing the status quo and beginning to make their mark in the United States.

Prior to the year 1890 the United States went through the era of industrialization. The era focused on manufacturing, and factory work which led to mass production. Industrialization caused the U.S cities and market economy to expand rapidly. Industrialization also shaped the development of a large working class, to provide work for the large industries. Workers experienced poor working conditions such as long hours, poor sanitation, and little pay.

A lot of reform movements gained momentum during this era including: political corruption, economic inequality, labor rights, and social injustices. One example of political reform was the passage of the 17th Amendment, which called for the direct election of United States senators by the people rather than by state legislatures which increased the power the people had relative to the state. This reduced corruption in the selection of senators and made the process more democratic as a whole. This was heavily advocated by progressives at the time and was a good step in the right direction for the county. Another area of reform during this decade was labor rights and social justice.

First of all, the progressive era which took place on the period of 1890 to 1920 was an important part,, positive and negative, in the history of the United States which at the moment it main ideals were to destroy the corruption in the government and create a more stable government that could work for the American people and much more less work for the rich. Some of the important things that were created and given were the right to women to vote which did not include people of color and much more less women of color because they were considered less than a human being and not worth of this so called privilege. I strongly believe that we are all equal and that nobody is above nobody else because were born the same way and will die sooner or

With the passage of the 19th change in 1920, that gave women the right to vote, women in America finally achieved the political equality they had fighted for so long to achieve. They called themselves feminists. A big gap began to form between the "new" women of the 1920s and the previous generation. In earlier times, feminists commonly thought women could not handle both a career and a family successfully, believing that one would hold back the development of the other.

The 1920’s was a time of progress due to many different reasons that shaped our country to what it is today. Women’s rights have progressed in many ways that have improved the lives of women in that time period and is the reason women have the rights and privileges they have in Canada today. Women have gained the right to vote, even though not all women have gained this right, it was still a step in the right direction of progression. Women gaining this right was definitely progression in our country because of the amount of women fighting for this privilege and it made our country what it is today and is the main reason women 's rights and equality has come so far in our country. Our technology also progressed and improved a lot at that time

Corporate greedy and corrupt politicians were specific problems and injustices that were present in American life during the late 1800s and early 1900s however these were addressed during the progressive era with laws and regulations. Throughout the gilded era corrupt politicians and corporate greedy allowed the upper class and businessmen to take advantage of the working class. This means that a majority of the population were hurt during the gilded age whereas a small percentage benefitted. As seen in document 1, living conditions were crowded, dirty, and unsafe.

In the period between 1900 and 1920, the federal government and reformers were very successful in bringing social, economic, and political reform to the federal government. While not every aspect of it was successful, the rights of women, fighting against child labor and limiting the control of trusts and monopolies were three distinct successes of that time. Even before the progressive era, women challenged their place and articulated new visions of social, political and economic equality. The progressive era was a turning point for women as organizations evolved fighting for equal rights. Woman began to become very involved in a variety of reform movements.

The progressive movement took democracy to a anew turn, people voices were starting to be heard, the National Association for The Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formed to solve the dilemma of race within the framework of the ideological ideas of the progressive era. Progressives sought to enable the citizen to rule more directly and circumvented political bosses. Which is what the 17th amendment did, also the progressive era reform brought about the end of women’s suffrage as the 19th amendment was ratified in 1920 granting women the tight to vote, giving them a voice in their government. This marks new heights for democracy in the American

According to "American-Historama.org", "The 'New Women' of the 1920s had been given the right to vote.... could attend college, get a job or career..... clamoring to learn how to drive" This shows how the introduction of the "New Women" were influential because before the 1920s, women were housewives and had little education. However, on August 18, 1920, women were finally given the right to vote. This means that their issues such as alcohol, child labor would now be addressed. In addition, many of the "New Women" fought for equal education and job opportunities. Although women did not get exactly what they want, they would lead the way for many other women of different eras to help get equal opportunities for both genders.

“In Mississippi alone, 500 blacks were lynched from the 1800s to 1955” (Source 4). For some reason, instead of holding a fair trial against these people for their “crimes”, racists would viciously attack members of the black community because that is what they believed was right. In instances like this, people need to take into account how their actions were benefiting their community, including the colored population, not just themselves. “African Americans and others who supported civil liberties realized they would have to organize en masse and risk their lives in order to bring change” (Source 4). The black community, along with other nationalities, were so passionate about civil rights that they were willing to risk their lives so that the future generations can live comfortably.

In his New Deal, Roosevelt attempted to revise a number of characteristics of society which he perceived to be the least beneficial and could be easily improved upon. One such feature was the highly uneven distribution of wealth in pre-Depression society. In a radio address, Louisiana governor and U.S. Senator Huey Long outlined a plan to mend the, “bad distribution of this nation’s wealth,” which detailed that, “no family shall own more than three hundred times the average family wealth” while, “every family shall have an income equal to at least one third of the average family income in America.” (Doc E) An extremely liberal opponent of the New Deal, Huey Long insisted that the New Deal propose many radical changes to form a new society in the wake of one that led to an economic depression.

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.

During the Progressive Era there were multiple of changes occurring that people became overwhelmed. New resources in the oil market, industrialization, fights for equality. There were many factory jobs, however, no one to stand up for the workers. So of course people will turn to their government for help, the power house of the country. However, even the government was picky in what they helped with.

Some things that changed were that women had gained the right to vote, women held more jobs, and the great migration. In 1919 women got the right to vote, because of the ¾ vote from states, women felt they had more of a say in society due to men being at war. The amendment said that the right to vote shall not be denied on the account of sex. During America’s time in WW1