History Assignment Paper: Progressive Movement, Landmarks

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Progressive movement and its landmarks
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Progressive movement and its landmarks
During the gilded age, United States experienced significant economic growth. Great American industrialists like Andrew Carnegie and Rockefeller established industries that would form the basis of the modern industrial economy. The gilded period was characterized by massive economic growth.Moderate industrial complexes, like steel, energy railroad, coal mining, and factories grew rapidly. Rail system made movement easy by the penetration of the railroad systems. As the economy grew, urbanization became a problem and social injustices, political corruption, materialism and poor working conditions became the order of the day. Americans believed that the big corporations were controlling the government and set out to rid the state of the big companies’ grip. To protect the rights of minority groups, immigrants, poor citizens, vulnerable workers like women and children, Americans started the Progressive movement.
The movement’s main agenda was to negotiate for better working conditions, rid the government of corporations control and remove corrupt officials from office. Although the campaign was multi-faceted and had various interest groups in action, this paper argues that it achieved social, political and constitutional landmarks. Socially, the movement succeeded through the enactment of general welfare clause, child labor laws, politically the movement changed how the government handled its affairs, brought the referendum. Constitutionally, it led to enactment of major legislation that brought open primaries and direct election of the senators.
Discussion
The progressive period came up as a result of the vices that plagued the gilded age. Owing to massive technological advancement and bustling economy, disparity between the haves and the have-nots in the gilded age widened. The poor lived in deplorable conditions while their affluent counterparts lived in opulence. The political class dined with business barons while the industrial workers were subjected to poor working conditions working long hours for little pay. In the factories, the conditions were inhumane, unhealthy and risky. Employees worked long hours with little pay (Norton et al., pg.201). Child labor was rampant, and women worked more extended hours equally as their male counterparts.
Additionally, there was lack of political willpower in dealing with workers plight. Entrepreneurs who owned big corporations controlled the government and thwarted legislation. The prevalence of social ills gave rise to progressivism. The group was made up of an urban and middle-class group who wanted the government to take a significant role in addressing the welfare of the public and big business influences.
Social landmarks of the progressive era.
During the progressive period, a group of journalists known as muckrakers highlighted social ills and made the public aware of the societal failings. They did investigative pieces and posted them in magazines. These pieces helped in gunning support for the change movement. Muckrakers consisted of journalists who published articles in magazines and later on books. They did some exposes like "the history of standard oil" which was written by Ida Tarbell and brought to light the deplorable conditions under which John D Rockefeller had subjected its workers (Norton et al., pg.202). His ruthless business practice was exposed to the public. Other exposes' include ‘shame in the cities', which highlighted corruption in the municipality. Muckrakers had influence and through Upton Sinclair’s book, ‘the jungle, the federal moved in to enact laws which regulated meat packing industry after the book expose’ gave a vivid description of deplorable working and sanitary condition in Chicago meat packing plants (Novkov, pg.186.).
Progressive movement was responsible for various social campaigns which changed the social makeup of the American society. The prohibition campaign was initiated to curb the evils of alcohol. The prohibition campaign was supported by the Protestant churches and backed only what was known us "dry candidates." In 1917, almost two-thirds of the states had banned the manufacture and consumption of alcohol (Leonard, pg.131). Due to pressure from the progressives and aided by American participation in world war one, the Congress adopted the eighteenth amendment which banned manufacture and sale of alcohol across the nation. The movement also formed the national labor committee which championed a movement to address the exploitation of child labor.
Photojournalist Lewis Hine showed pictures of children as young as eight years old working in coal mines using dangerous equipment. The efforts paid off when states enacted laws that limit the age children could work and the number of days they could work. They also argued that long working hours in the factory was detrimental to women well-being due to their weak physique and responsibility at home. In a case Muller v. Oregon, a Supreme Court judge placed a limit to women working time to not more than ten hours. The court used sociological, economical and medical evidence presented by attorney Louis Brandeis as the basis for its ruling.
Political landmarks
The progressives wanted to make the government more responsive to people and giving the people power to take part in political activities. According to progressives, the legislati...