Synthesis Essay: The Progressive Era

The Progressive Era was a timeframe when many individuals pushed for real changes. Some become successful while others weren't. A wide range of methodologies were utilized to attempt and change four areas. They were securing social welfare, upholding moral values, making financial change, and fostering efficiency.

The Progressive Era took place between 1900-1920. Progressivism is the term applied to a variety of people within the economic and social problems during this time peiod. With rapid industrialization being introduced to America The people started to be more progressive. The early progressives rejected Social Darwinism they favored Progressives. The Progressive Era was a time of social activism and political reform across the United States, from the 1900s to 1920s.

(“Susan B. Anthony”). Those who loathed women’s suffrage did it on religious grounds arguing that the Bible had ordained that women be subordinate to men. (“The Nineteenth Amendment”). The Nineteenth Amendment Grants Women Full Suffrage, claims “the argument was based on the moral idea that women were the victims of male tyranny that must end”. For decades, women have and continue to fight until they receive their voting rights, during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to grants women the right to vote after many protests were held outside the White House.

The Progressive Era took place in 1890 to 1920. The Progressive Era started as a social movement and started to grow into a political movement. They also did not believe in social Darwinism. They believed that the worlds problems that society faced "(poverty, violence, greed, racism, class warfare)" could be prevented by having safe environments to live in, having a great education, and an efficient place to work. The "Progressives" usually lived in the big cities.

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.

Through protests, writings and speeches, women were finally able to vote in

Some women fought to get the Nineteenth Amendment passed so that women could vote and have more political power within the male government. An example of a woman who fought for the vote was Alice Paul who founded the National Women’s party, which was the group that lead the more aggressive push for the 19th Amendment (“Alice Paul”). This was a challenge against society as they worked towards the political power that women were being deprived of. Alice Paul made a large difference to the political status of women as the 1920s was a turning point for women and one of the main reasons that women were more independent in society was because the 19th Amendment was ratified. She was very influential in this movement and continued to fight for Women’s Rights for the rest of her life, for example, “in 1923, Paul proposed an Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution” which many women fought for to gain more equality between men and women in the United States (“Alice Paul”).

Peter Girgis Period 1 The Progressive Movement Through 1890 to 1920 American Social reform called themselves progressives. The conception of Progressives was that they could make social and economic reforms. The Progressives were college educated and believed that government could be a tool for change in America. While the Industrial Revolution caused many social and political issues, the Progressive Movement solved these problems by informing by informing the public and passing series of legislation like Child labor, Meat Inspection Act, and Women Suffrage.

The Progressive Era was a time period, in the United States, of reforms that created to better the conditions that people lived in. There were many things that happened which were Populism, Social Gospel, and Progressivism. The best accomplishment of the era was the Social Gospel, led by the Protestant Clergy, because they created social reforms for working conditions, housing conditions, and civil rights were granted. The working conditions were poor with long hour days, no work breaks to take a break or eat.

Many parents needed their wages to make ends meet. In Document C from The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets by Jane Adams 1909, Jane states how children enter factory life when the law allows them to, and children end up not having childhoods. She writes that people are so caught up with the marvelous achievements of their industry and end up forgetting the children who have to work to help out as well. In Document G, a court case Hammer v. Dagenhart 1918, the father of two sons one under fourteen years old and another one between fourteen and sixteen explains his concern about the exploitation of his children in a cotton mill. He says its concerning that children are allowed to work more than eight hours a day and six days a week.

The progressive era, which occurred between the 1900s and 1920s was an important time in American history. It was a widespread period of social and political reform across the United States that sought to eliminate problems in many different areas of American life, such as education, public health, labor, transportation, and women’s rights (Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty, pg. 680). While all the reformers of this time period left a great impact on American politics this essay will primarily address the role of women during the progressive era. These reformers, especially women influenced and changed American politics and government by not only giving the public an opportunity to openly voice and address their concerns, but also by getting the

The Progressive Era was a time period where people known as Muckrakers exposed the problems of everyday people like the poor living conditions while the progressives tried different ways to fix those problems. During this time, there were also six goals that they focused on protecting social welfare, promoting moral improvement, improving efficiency and labor, creating economic and government reforms. One of the major reforms of this time was the Social Welfare reform which helped to improve some of the problems that people faced such as poor housing, lack of education, and social welfare for women. In 1890, Jacob Riis published a book called How the Other Half Lives which exposed the harsh and poor living conditions of immigrants in tenement

“Women couldn’t attend college to most states. The wages they earned working outside the home went to their husbands or fathers, not to them. And they were helpless to change the laws because they weren’t allowed to vote” (Blumenthal 10). Women were helpless and it was simply the men’s show.

Fortunately, due to the tireless work of decades of activist’s, laws have changed, amendments added to the constitution, and rights granted to those who were previously unjustly denied. One of these victories for women’s rights occurred when women were granted the right

The early women’s rights organization was developed based upon the standards and experiences of different endeavors to promote social justice and to enhance the human condition. These efforts are known as change. Among these were the Abolition and Temperance movements. The personal and historical connections that united, and on occasion divided the movement for women’s rights existed before 1843, have advanced over the subsequent century and a half. The 1877 Woman’s Suffrage amendment had been initially brought into U.S. Congress.