Cameron Richter Period 0 Unit 8 DBQ Prompt: Evaluate the effectiveness of Progressive Era reformers and the federal government in bringing about reform at the national level. In your answer be sure to analyze the successes and limitations of these efforts in the period 1901920. The Progressive movement was an effort to cure American society of many of the ill ideals that had developed during the later parts of the 19th and the early 20th centuries because of the growth of industry. Although great cities and businesses developed, many Americans were still unhappy with the wealth, optimism, and pride their country had developed. The progressive era reformers and federal government helped to strengthen the progressive reform era …show more content…
Women were also seeking suffrage at this point and they wanted to have a say in government, including the right to vote and work. According to a National Archives photograph in 1918, 20,000,000 American women are not selfgoverned. This served to raise awareness for the benefit of women, and eventually they got the right to vote as well with American men. This way brought about more citizens participating in the political process and helped to take power away from corporations. There was also the electoral reform movement under Theodore Roosevelt, which sought to include citizens in politics. In his speech, president Theodore Roosevelt stated, “I believe in providing for direct nominations by the people.” Instead of indirect nominations by the legislature the people were empowered and this also in turn helped to end the corruption of local government positions such as the Tweed Ring. However, even after the electoral reform movement was initiated, the number of eligible voters who cast ballots significantly declined, according to a graph showing the percent of Eligible voters who cast votes. Even though it did not seem effective directly, the electoral movement made many issues noticeable by the muckrakers. The
Women also had the right to vote, but some women didn’t use that right because they had believed it was for men. Though other women saw this as a chance to get involved with politics. Women
The Progressive Era was a period that changed America greatly due to political reforms and social activism. This era brought forth many changes in America and almost all Americans were involved in this movement somehow. This period began in the late 1800s and lasted until the mid-1900s. The Progressive Era was one of the biggest movements in America. The main point of this movement was to purify the government. Several historians have wrote excerpts on their perspective of the Progressive Era. George Mowry, Joseph Huthmacher, and Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore are three key Progressive historians. In their writings, each of the historians explain who the Progressives were, who was affected during this time, events that took place in the community and government, and other topics.
The progressive movement is a middle class response to take on the problems that was caused by the industrialization in the rapid social change that took place during the civil war. It is a collection of reform movements. The progressive era was when reformers or activists who were working to solve the problems in the American society and the government were trying to end the laissez-faire. The root of progressive started during the glided age. This era started in 1890 and ended in 1920. A solution was needed to eliminate all the problems that was faced over the years. The fight for social justices include social reforms, women’s suffrage movement, and political reforms.
The Progressive movement occurred after the civil war moving into the 20th Century and into the first World War. It focused on four main goals: Cleaning up politics, limiting power of big businesses, reducing poverty, and promoting social justice. In this paper, I will show some of the attempts to accomplish these goals, and some of the failures of the movements.
The era of progressive reform was short, 1900 to about 1917, but much was accomplished and done in this short time span. Evils like child labor and social ills were thought curable by progressive optimists like John Spargo and Upton Sinclair but the main focus was urban America. The progressive reform movement was a period of awareness where people sought to change the injustices of society for example, Anti-Trust laws, recognition of environmental destruction and conservation of national park land, and improving the American way of life through significant areas of reform like women’s suffrage.
The progressive movement was primarily a reform movement. The movement was pivoted to cure many of the problems of the American society that had developed during the great emission of industrial growth in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. In this Era, the boundary had been restrained, great nations and businesses developed as well as overseas empire established but all citizens were entitled to share the new wealth, optimism and prestige. Therefore, the main goals of the movement were to eradicate the problems cause by immigration, urbanization, industrialization as well as corruption in the government. The movement was succeeded by several progressives who included politicians, writers as well as social welfare advocates who ensured that society would develop as a result of government action.
Women and those of color began to speak out for their right to vote and fight back against the injustices they were facing. Their problem was that if they didn’t have anyone in power to defend them, they wouldn’t make any progress. It was crucial for them to have the right to vote to get people in power that would help them get their unalienable rights. During the 1850s, the women’s rights movement gathered steam, but lost momentum when the Civil War began.
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 cartoon, it states “20,000,000 American Women Are Not Self-Governed” (Doc 7). This cartoon establishes the idea of women not taking part in the process of developing their own government. This is a necessary part to uphold as the equality of women leads to the right to vote, a key point in basic American rights. Two major women that fronted women's suffrage movement were Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Lucretia Mott initially started this movement with Elizabeth Stanton, in Seneca Falls, NY. In the letter to Elizabeth Stanton from Susan B. Anthony, she asks the question, “If only now--all the women suffrage women would work to this end of enforcing the existing constitution--supremacy of national law over state law over state law” (Doc 2). The idea of women's suffrage is not a simple task, as enforcing this law is a difficult task to continually maintain within both the national and state
Throughout America's history, there have been numerous social and political movements that have had a profound and lasting impact on American culture. Movements such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Women's Suffrage Movement have influenced and shaped American ideals and beliefs. These movements were typically driven by a cause. From the 1890s to the 1920s, a period of social and political reform flourished in America. This was driven by the desire to eliminate corruption in the government. People wanted to have a positive impact on society and they wanted to speak up for what they believed in. This era was a pivotal turning point in the history of the United States. This era was known as the Progressive Era.
The Progressive Era is the general movement to reform society by increasing government role in America. Progressivism is led by the educated middle-class. Progressives want monopolies, the control of services and prices, to be gone. The effectiveness of Progressives and federal government in bringing change at a national level included solving social problems, equal rights, and the voting system. During the Progressive Era, Progressives and the federal government attempted to solve social problems, promote equal rights, and reform the voting system.
The Women’s Suffrage Movement of the 1920’s worked to grant women the right to vote nationally, thereby allowing women more political equality. Due to many industrial and social changes during the early 19th century, many women were involved in social advocacy efforts, which eventually led them to advocate for their own right to vote and take part in government agencies. Women have been an integral part of society, working to help those in need, which then fueled a desire to advocate for their own social and political equality. While many women worked tirelessly for the vote, many obstacles, factions, and ultimately time would pass in order for women to see the vote on the national level. The 19th Amendment, providing women the right to vote, enable women further their pursuit for full inclusion in the working of American society.
Up until the 1920s, women’s struggle for their right to vote seemed to be a futile one. They had been fighting for their suffrage for a long time, starting numerous women's rights movements and abolitionist activists groups to achieve their goal. “The campaign for women’s suffrage began in earnest in the decades before the Civil War. During the 1820s and 30s, most states had enfranchised almost all white males (“The Fight for Women's Suffrage” ). This sparked women to play a more emphatic role in society. They began to participate in anti-slavery organizations, religious movements, and even meetings where they discussed that when the Constitution states "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain
Over many years of protests and other movements laws were passed that granted women the right to vote and own their own land.
they were granted suffrage as a reward for all their hard work and support during the war. After