The Nineteenth Century was ending, and the complications of the 1800s overflowed into the Twentieth Century. With the United States’ relevance of the Gilded Age, issues between workers and labor standards were disputed. Recognition of labor disorder helped entice reform for other ill-operations. Banking processes, suffrage, and other rights for...
The Nineteenth Century was ending, and the complications of the 1800s overflowed into the Twentieth Century. With the United States’ relevance of the Gilded Age, issues between workers and labor standards were disputed. Recognition of labor disorder helped entice reform for other ill-operations. Banking processes, suffrage, and other rights for women, along with several other social, political, and economic affairs were noted for having poor leadership and corrupt systems. This occurred in the late 1890s until 1920 and became known as the Progressive Era in U.S. history (U.S. Department of State). Despite this period of reform and development being over a century old, several concepts of the Progressive Era still resonate in current times.
Preceding the Progressive Era, the Gilded Age was primarily about the recognition of problems regarding the quality of work. Effectively, the Progressive Era aimed to resolve those issues and modify other injustices. Following the Civil War, the United States underwent industrial and technological growth substantially. This expanded the availability of resources, thereby growing the population. With this advancement came “Social injustice” (Teixeira and Halpin, 3-6). Acknowledgement and communication were crucial for any reformation to occur, so there was social development. In the earlier part Progressive Era, journalists who advocated reform were called “muckrakers,” and this helped grow initiative for others to want change (Zainaldin and Inscoe). Given that technologies of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century evolved, railroad transportation was more readily available, and journalism was accessible. These all helped distribute new concepts and perspectives to citizens nationwide (Crichton, et al.). A major complication that was brought up was about the cleanliness of food preparation and the meat-packing industry, which would eventually influence the creation of the Pure Food and Drug and Meat Inspection Acts (Teixeira and Halpin, 8-10). More recently, the advancement and now-conventionality of the internet and electronics has some similarities to the Progressive Era. Just as it was in the early 1900s, the United States also became more socially connected through modern technologies. Dramatic effect in news sources was also common for reports of then and of now, which heightened importance of predicaments of their respective times.
With intensified social awareness, several views of corruption became apparent. Economically, there was a struggle between businesses and workers in the early Twentieth century. There were threats of certain corporations monopolizing and workers toiled with low pay and limited sanitary conditions. However, progressivism and its leaders, such as President Theodore Roosevelt, helped redirect those threats (Teixeira and Halpin, 8-10). Workers were offered better opportunities and poverty diminished following these reforms. The public also gained more control over what they owned which provided an improved balance of power between the federal and state governments (Halpin and Williams, 14-16). Economic concerns as before are also prevalent now. The domination of online retail and certain businesses with superiority, for example, share attitudes of concern with the Northern Securities Company, which was a predominant railroad company of the Progressive Era (Kennedy; Teixeira and Halpin, 8).
Political corruption was another major factor that would be reformed in the Progressive Era. Considering the change with industry, morals were altered to better accommodate individuals and workers, instead of major businesses. To compensate, the constitution was reviewed to figure out the source of the problem (Halpin and Williams, 6-9). Much of the political reform was completed through adding amendments to the constitution, which further portrayed a necessity of more regulation instead of entirely changing the government. In this time, four amendments were added to the Constitution. The Sixteenth through Nineteenth amendments were passed each regarding the grievances of the Progressive Era. The Sixteenth Amendment covered direct income tax for workers which helps fund federal government. The Seventeenth addressed direct votes in election for the Senate giving choices to citizens and limited overpowering of political parties. Alcohol prohibition was brought in the Eighteenth Amendment, and women’s suffrage was enabled in the Nineteenth Amendment (Albert, 36-38). Of the political and economic, problems mainly covered unjust abilities and setbacks of some people over others. One hundred years later, some of this imbalance can still be found.
In terms of monumental reforms, several still stand in the Twenty-First Century or are relevant to now. Many of the changes preserved unity between people, for example workers’ unions and sharing ideas through journalistic expression. Several unions are active and still seek improvement. Investigations and exposes still aim to reveal truth. Reforms in the Progressive Era also redefined some of the abilities of general citizens, like the suffrage movement, which still allows women to vote today. Although some parts of the Progressive Era may no longer exist, like the ban on alcohol, the era brought productive change that will continue to affect the history of the United States.
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