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The Gilded Age: The Birth Of The Progressive Age

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The end of the Gilded Age lead to the birth of the Progressive Age. Starting in c. 1896, the Progressive Age came to fruition when the industrialization of the United States was at its peak. As a result, immigrants flooded the United States in search of jobs. This caused major problems, as the immigrants’ lack of wealth and poor education lead to a multitude in and out of the workplace. Some of these problems included overcrowded housing and lousy working conditions. The overflow of immigrants was only one of the issues. Clear racial and business bias was enlaced in the law and was still being practiced religiously. Moves like the Anti-Trust Act and the 13th Amendment were intended to prevent these types of things; however, lack of enforcement …show more content…

The progressives believed that a serious reform needed to occur so that the social injustices would be fixed. They thought that the government was a powerful tool that could handle this task if the people were the ones that had the biggest influence. During the period, major influential progressive figures such as Theodore Roosevelt implemented many ideas based off of the progressive ideology that shaped the era into what it was. Historian Richard Hofstadter views the era and movement as WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) led and in turn, WASPs received a majority of the benefits. Although it is hard to deny that WASPs experienced the most benefits due to their role in the movement, most of the other groups also reaped the benefits that accompanied the progressive …show more content…

Hofstadter’s statement makes it seem as if minority groups in society, such as the poor, did not get what they expected/wanted out of the movement. This was most often not the case. Farmers (even those involved in the populist movement) had started to become neglected by the population due to the movement away from sustenance farming and into industrial work. They wanted someone to show attention to their ideas, which the progressives succeeded in. Even with their extensive list, progressives accomplished what the farmers wanted. Woodrow Wilson created the 17th Amendment that allowed the people to elect their Senators. This prevented corrupt senators creating deals with companies in the area to squeeze everything out of the farmers. The Anti-Trust Act was finally being put to use to stop monopolies from harming farmers. The amount of money in circulation increased as silver became involved in the Federal Reserve System. This helped farmers get out of their debts and start turning a profit to be able to survive. The government regulated the railways by implementing the Interstate Commerce Commission. The Interstate Commerce Commission made sure the rail companies were following the laws. This prevented “fees” and other things that would take money away from farmers as their products shipped in and out of their farms. An income tax was created by Woodrow

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