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What Led To Progressivism Dbq

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What led to progressivism was the Industrial Revolution. This brought prosperity to America but at a great cost. While the big businesses were booming and making America a stronger country the middle and lower class was suffering. This was called the “Gilded Age” because when an outside country would look at America it would assume they are fine but on the inside it isn’t. This all changed however when the people had enough of bad working conditions, unfair wages, dangerous machines, and child labor. Through the persistence of the people and the help of two very progressive presidents named Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson they changed the country for the better. Progressivism was effective on a national level for some aspects but not all. The people also wanted to have a more safe and fair working environment. Before progressivism there was no laws on food or product production making it very unsafe for the consumer to know what he is buying. Journalists called “muckrakers” would call attention to this by writing about the horrible conditions in factories. One of these muckrakers named Upton Sinclair wrote a book called “The Jungle” which talked about the unsanitary atmosphere the meat was produced in. This book brought so much attention that the Meat Inspection Act was passed in 1906 by president Roosevelt. This act made strict cleanliness requirements for meatpackers to ensure the general people a healthy meal.(Document B). Another act that was passed at this time

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