Progressive Era Equality

People thought that they were destined and supposed to make advances and progress with society (477). Progressivists were mainly middle class Americans, experts, and women. They pushed for honest and responsive government, an efficient economy and government, and protection to the vulnerable. Progressivists are known to have instated a new boldness and confidence for the American people and wanted to be the best they could be. They were also concerned with poor people. They wanted to ease poor living conditions and protect them and help them. Women played a huge role in progressive reform. The Progressive Era was the time of one of the largest movements in American history, women’s suffrage (483). During this time, women pushed for equal rights as men, especially the right to vote. Women slowly started to gain ground in the movement and finally gained the right to vote in 1920 when the 19th amendment was

“Drawing support from the urban, college-educated middle class, Progressive reformers sought to eliminate corruption in government, regulate business practices, address health hazards, and improve working conditions.” Each American had their own ways of incorporating the upper class train of thought and applying it to their tactics of forced change among industrial and political governments. Progressives eventually formed their own political party in order to advance their ideas. Women were also active within the Progressive Era. The Progressive Era was the time that women began to push forward for the right to vote, and also advocate for their families. “At the end of the nineteenth century, women were considered the ‘Moral Guardians’ and protectors of the home.” In a literal sense, Progressives wanted to turn America into a Middle-class heaven, where civility, health, education, and economic security flourished. Without the influence of the almighty Rockefeller, and the rest of the 2% upper class, America may not have transitioned into the Progressive Era as

More than 600 of these marches took place all over the world, the largest being at the nation’s capitol in Washington D.C.. Those who participated did so for a multitude of reasons. Marching for not just equal rights for women, but for equal rights for the LGTBQIA+ community, for Black Lives Matter, for raising awareness about climate change, and much, much more. The hashtag Why I March has garnered up millions of Instagram posts, Tweets, Facebook updates, and articles, all from men and women standing up for their beliefs. The coordinators of the Women’s March on Washington put together a document outlining their guidelines and principles, and illustrate modern day feminism very well. They go over the basic principles that human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights. It also demonstrates intersectionalism, calling for an end to police brutality, reformations for the criminal justice system, an end to human trafficking, rights for immigrants and refugees, among many others. Just as the first women’s convention in American history drew up a doctrine, the guiding vision and definition of principles of the Women’s March is eerily similar to the Declaration of Sentiments and Grievances written 169 years

The Women's Rights Movement was a significant crusade for women that began in the late nineteenth century and flourished throughout Europe and the United States for the rest of the twentieth century. Advocates for women's rights initiated this movement as they yearned for equality and equal participation and representation in society. Throughout all of history, the jobs of women ranged from housewives to factory workers, yet oppression by society, particularly men, accompanied them in their everyday lives. Not until the end of the nineteenth century did women begin to voice their frustrations about the inequalities among men and women, and these new proclamations would be the basis for a society with opportunities starting to open for

Looking back on the Progressive Era, we see many women activists and their roles in the fight for women’s rights. With the arrival of a new century also came many changes. Society was adjusting to industrialization, urbanization, a growing and powerful economy, and, of course, immigration. As a result of these changes, many people became fearful that traditional values would change as well. Progressive Reform in America began in the late nineteenth century, and an expanding job market as well as changes to the American lifestyle lead to women’s want for change in their public roles. Women activists began fighting for issues such as more opportunities for education and jobs, health advancements, and of course, voting rights. In doing so, women made great advancements in suffrage during the Progressive Era, and without a doubt, changed the nation for the better.

With the advancement of suffrage to equal pay, over the last century, women’s rights have progressed immensely. Through historic marches and demonstrations across the United States, women protested for their equal place in politics and social progress. Despite the fear-mongering components used in achieving these rights, women’s rights are still thoroughly debated within society today. Over the last century, incredible and unreachable goals have been fulfilled for women, such as the right to vote and a sense of equal state in the “Free World,” and can only improve in the years to come.

The economic “market revolution” and the religious “Second Great Awakening” shaped American society after 1815. Both of these developments affected women significantly, and contributed to their changing status both inside and outside the home. Throughout time, women’s roles and opportunities in the family, workplace, and society have greatly evolved.

The Progressive Era was mainly a retaliation to numerous changes and social effects that were happening in America. The era emerged in the 1800’s from complications with the latest industrial order, which included workers who protested about how their jobs were unsafe and exhausting. They also focused on byproducts such as immigration, urban growth, growing corporate power, and widening class divisions. They were also known as humanitarians or reformers who cared about making people lives more bearable and enjoying. They demanded stricter business regulations and favored immigration restrictions. They believed that social problems could be solved by education and organized effort. They figured since advantages such as technology and science created a lot of industrial problems, they could correct and solve them too. However, their ideas was not invented in America, but instead it came from European influences. The middle class progressives were afraid of being over powered by the industrialist class of big businesses, while at the same time they were confident and comfortable in their situation. It was also stated that the middle-class reformers supported the reform for the working class, because the middle class were scared of a growing lower class that could potentially “overpower” the middle class if something did not change. The women Progressives focused on causes such as world peace and women’s rights.

In the 1890s, American women emerged as a major force for social reform. Millions joined civic organizations and extended their roles from domestic duties to concerns about their communities and environments. These years, between 1890 and 1920, were a time of many social changes that later became known as the Progressive Era. In this time era, millions of Americans organized associations to come up with solutions to the many problems that society was facing, and many of these problems were staring American women right in the face.

The Women’s March was a protest that took place in multiple cities across the world on January 21, 2017, the day after President Donald Trump was inaugurated. The march was organized for a number of issues going on surrounding the Trump administration. The participants advocated human, LGBTQ, reproductive, and women’s rights along with other issues such as immigration and healthcare reform, racial equality, religious freedom, and workers’ rights. The march took place because of the current social and political climate surrounding the inauguration of President Trump. This date was chosen because the inauguration of President Trump, who was threatening the rights of all the different groups. It gave everyone a new drive and force to push towards equality and freedom. This march shows how feminism has changed greatly over the years and it is a strong example of intersectional feminism. Feminism served as a unifying force in the past and it still is, as shown in such a large protest. Even more than basic rights and equality for oppressed groups, these protesters fought for reproductive rights, something falling under feminism and women’s rights. Trump’s campaign outlined the defunding and/or takeaway of healthcare and Planned Parenthood, two events sparking much debate and controversy among the citizens of the United States. Many different ethnicities, races, and religions have been targeted ever since Trump’s campaign began.

The Progressive Era of the 1890’s was a period of immense political debate and economic struggle with the movement of various women seeking reform. The excerpt from Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s essay,“women must free themselves from the home to achieve genuine freedom,” presented the argument that an essential piece to the improvement of marriage, motherhood, and individual freedom was independence. Further, the argument Gilman presents supports the transformation of marriage, family, and home by exercising economic interdependence.

The female wage earners impacted the economic climate of the 1800s and caused significant change to women public activism. While, the majority of white female wage earners were unmarried and living at home. In 1890, the estimated of women wage earners were 3 quarters of women. in addition “10-15% of urban families were headed by single mothers” (297) . For white women at this time domestic work was going down and left in leu of factory labor.

During the historical period commonly regarded as the Progressive Era in the 1900s, began with the First World War in which women joined the political field in extraordinary amounts. Women were incorporated in leading positions in an array of social reform endeavors, comprising of suffrage, equality, child welfare, and nonviolence (Haman, 2009). Women in the ear started to establish conferences; spoke at gatherings, petitioned government representatives, led marches and protests. Women were also involved in a multiple policies that, for the first time in U.S. history, provided them with a visible presence on the political arena (Haman, 2009). The lines that divided women’s household and public existence became distorted as women joined the

America is the land of opportunity. It is a place of rebirth, hope, and freedom. However, it was not always like that for women. Many times in history women were oppressed, belittled, and deprived of the opportunity to learn and work in their desired profession. Instead, their life was confined to the home and family. While this was a noble role, many females felt that they were being restricted and therefore desired more independence. In America, women started to break the mold in 1848 and continued to push for social, political, educational, and career freedom. By the 1920s, women had experienced significant “liberation”, as they were then allowed to vote, hold public office, gain a higher education, obtain new jobs, drastically change

Between the late 1700’s and the early 1900’s many American women struggled to obtain the same rights as men. The society of women as a whole had pushed for equality constantly throughout the years. Women especially obtained more equality by publicizing their reasoning and demands for equality. This, is first and foremost proven by the way women had advocated greatly for improved academics for women. Women used another good tactical approach to achieve equality by speaking out strongly against inequalities between the genders.A third example of a great leap for equality, would be the religious movement, the upsurge in religious enthusiasm allowed women to demonstrate their piety and even to found new sects; and this in turn led to change in the way the world viewed women.