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Unit 8 DBQ

Decent Essays

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

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