Question

(Amercian history since 1900) The years 1890 to 1920 are considered the progressive era in the united states history. What is mean by such a statement? In addition, describe three areas of Amercia life that progressives focused their attention on, and , were they able to affect change in these areas?

Answer 1

Progressive Era in America

During the progressive era, industrialization was introduced in America. Progressivism was originally began as a social movement but later it got converted into a political movement. The early progressives believed that the crisis that the society was facing (violence, racism, poverty etc.) could be best overcome by educating people, providing people with a safe and secure environment and a nice workplace.People who believed in the progress of the society lived mainly in the cities, they were the educated class and they were of the opinion that government will drive the people towards change. During the progressive era, the progressives encourage the Americans to vote, fight against the corruption in politics and let people decide through voting how the serious issues should be dealt with.

3 areas of American life that progressives focused their attention were

1. Campaign again prostitution: Progressives were the reason that Mann Act (1910) was passed. Which stopped the transportation of women which used to happen for reasons that were considered immoral. By 1915, almost all the states had banned prostitution

2. Securing women's right to vote: During the progressive era, a lot of emphasis was given to the women rights to vote. Different women from diverse race, ethnicity, class came together to join this campaign. The movement was mainly taken ahead by the middle and upper class educated women

3. Housing reforms and sanitation reforms: Progressives worked towards passing legislation that would help in setting some standards for housing and settling of matters like garbage pickup and proper sewage systems. The legislation would have to hire supervisors to make sure that the standards are meeting the expectation. A lot these supervisors were hired by the local government were women