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Throughout the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era corporations took over to the point where they became too powerful and it was recognized by President Theodore Roosevelt. In his speech at Providence in Rhode Island, 1902 Roosevelt suggested that there was a clear need for supervision especially since the state has the right to control these corporations and trusts rather than the people. Business corporations had become so powerful alike for beneficent work even for work that was not always beneficent (Doc B). Roosevelt was known to be a trust buster mainly because of his regulation which also included the square deal. His square deal from the 1912 election had three specific priorities, the conservation of natural resources, control of corporations along consumer protection, these priorities were made to essentially fulfill his goal of having a transparent and honest society where equality and success were held and maintained. In addition to this, the Elkins Act of 1903 authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission to set large fines on railroads that offered rebates which were also set upon shippers who accepted them. The act itself began taking a toll on corporations especially because it would cost them more money and without the rebates there would be more spent and less profit.
Even though the Progressive Era was successful in fostering political change, it failed to modify social ways since minorities continued to experience unjust treatment. During the movement racism against African Americans was present and the fight to abolish segregation and discrimination continued through the NAACP and the Niagra movement. The NAACP or National Association for the Advancement of Colored People respectfully protested against President Woodrow Wilson's policy in 1913 that segregated colored employees in the departments at Washington (Doc E). Before the peaceful protest in 1905, there was a meeting of African Americans at Niagara Falls where a list of demands was created, some of those demands included the unrestricted right to vote, the end to segregation, and equality over opportunities; not only did the movement focus on black men but also involved black women and the demand for both economic and educational opportunities. The Niagara movement disbanded in 1910 but the fight for these rights and opportunities did not stop and continued with the NAACP which also had the intention of gaining civil rights for African Americans. Though the fight for the abolishment of segregation and discrimination was one of the main social issues during the era, other issues involved juveniles and consumption habits that would not only affect women and their families but would eventually lead to an amendment proposal. In 1909 Julian W. Mack wrote a review that questioned the treatment of juvenile offenders based on their age. Mack questioned why the background and lifestyle were not previously considered before punishing the children, he asked why it is not the duty of the state to find out what the child was physically, mentally ally, and moral and if they knew what their decisions would lead to (Doc C). The Illinois Juvenile Act of 1899 was established to not only prevent children from being treated as criminals but also give jurisdiction over neglected, delinquent, or dependent children who were under the age of 16 with the focus of offering rehabilitation rather than punishment. Lastly, as mentioned before other social issues were also affecting women and their families which involved the alcohol industry. The American Issue Publishing Company had distributed pamphlets that argued “wet” or “dry”, the pamphlet included in bold “ shall the mothers and children be sacrificed to the financial greed of the liquor traffic” (Doc G). Although the pamphlet affected the economy it was mainly a social issue because of how much it affected society including the people and politicians as well. The Anti-Saloon League essentially increased public awareness of the effects of alcohol and how politicians also promoted the prohibition of it because of temperance. Temperance was known to have come from the Second Great Awakening but was a movement that limited the consumption of alcohol in the U.S. Alcohol had a strong connection to prostitution, crooked politicians, abuse, and poverty which is what made it such a strong social issue that needed to be modified or changed to fulfill what the people wanted to hold the transparent and strong government held by the people.
The Progressive Era from 1890 to 1920 successfully fostered political change in the U.S. even though there was not complete reform that was necessary. As an entirety, the United States benefited from the progressive era in both political and economic ways because of the changes that were affecting society and the impact it had on both the wealthy and the middle class. Because of the gradual elimination of corruption and the strong efforts of trust-busting greedy corporations, the people were able to gain the power that they always held especially with their goals and intentions of making an impact and making society something that represented them rather than just the government and its connection to wealthy corporations. Although the people may have benefited from the progressive era this did not mean that all was well and everything changed for the better, racism and discrimination were still present. The intentions of the Progressive Era were successful even if there were defining negative effects.
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