The progressive Era was a period between 1890 and 1920 where people responded to the conditions brought by industrialization. They struggled against the elite and against the ideology of social darwinism. They believed that government intervention was necessary to provide the poor with rights that industrialization had stripped away from them. This led to increase in the number of socialist programs. The Progressive era was very progressive because there were many reforms that led to increased equality by holding those who tried to infringe upon their rights accountable.
Industrialization increased the disparity between the classes. Industrialization allowed the rich to make more money faster because of increased production and demand. However, this caused the poor to lose rights as they were treated as sub-human as their bosses tried to extract as much money as they could by paying their workers less. To hold the elites accountable, workers united to form unions and used the power of striking to ask for their progressive demands. Some examples of progressive successes regarding the relationship between the rich and the workers during this time period include the Sherman Anti-trust act of 1890 which targeted monopolies. The Erdman Act protected railroad workers from being discriminated against for being part of a union. The progressive movement was also successful because it had the support of president Theodore Roosevelt. In 1902 Theodore Roosevelt showed how he was a strong progressive when he took J.P. Morgans Northern Securities Company to court.
The Progressive Era was progressive because it resulted in increased awareness for many forgotten groups. Women, children and African-Americans all saw support for their cause increase. This is shown by the creation of organizations committed to their progressive demands for equality and government help protect them from the will of the elites. In 1890 the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was formed, in 1904 the National Child Labor committee was formed, and in 1909 Ida B. Wells founded the NAACP. These progressive groups where fairly successful. The Keating-Owen Child Labor Act was passed in 1916 and it limited children's work hours to end excessive child labor. In 1919 the 19th amendment was passed which gave women the right to vote. They wanted equal rights but they would have to wait until the 60's until women women could finally achieve that goal. However the women's rights leaders such as Alice Paul and Susan B Anthony inspired that future movement. Although African Americans did not see the progressive demands that they desired as lynching persisted even though the anti-lynching bill was passed. However the progressive movement inspired the future civil rights movement as Rosa Parks was a member of the NAACP.
In addition to leading to increased rights for these groups, the progressive era was also led by those who wanted to see America become a better place. They did this by trying to hold the elites accountable. This was done by using the media and a new form of journalism called yellow journalism or muckraking. Famous yellow journalists include Upton Sinclair, Ida Tarbell and Jacob Riis. Upton Sinclair exposed the disgusting truths behind food processing. In his novel "the Jungle" he advocated for socialism as a solution to the contaminated beef in Chicago stockyards. He was successful at getting the government to pass the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act. Ida Tarbell used her journalism to take on the monopolist J.P. Rockefellar and expose his cruel unfair business techniques that he used to crush his competition and create his monopoly. Finally, Jacob Riis was another muckraker. He was responsible for exposing the horrors of the New York slums. In his book "How the Other Half Lives" he used photos and words to describe the lack of sanitation and unsafe living conditions of the working poor.
In conclusion the progressive era was very progressive because by uniting and spreading awareness, the less powerful were able to stand up against the elites. They either succeeded in achieving progressive demands or they inspired movements to come.
Sources:
https://www2.gwu.edu/~erpapers/teachinger/glossary/progressive-era.cfm
http://www.american-historama.org/1881-1913-maturation-era/progressive-era-timeline.htm
https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/muckrakers-jacob-riis-upton-sinclair-lincoln-steffens-ida-tarbell
http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/WIC/Historical-Essays/No-Lady/Womens-Rights/
This was a very interesting post Owen. It shows how the progressive era was certainly very "progressive" in the way that it sought to correct the problems caused by industrialization. I think that one problem caused by the increase spread of people to cities was the increase of political machines and party bosses like Boss Tweed. However, I think that the Progressive era was able to correct that, as it cracked down on the party bosses and jailed people like Boss Tweed. This just shows how widespread the effects of the progressive era was.
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Interesting post, Owen. I noticed that you referred to women's rights activists Alice Paul and Susan B. Anthony. Alice Paul was instrumental in the campaign for Nineteenth Amendment. She initiated and helped to strategize events such as the Women's Suffrage Procession and the Silent Sentinels, both of which were part of the campaign to pass the amendment in 1920. Susan B. Anthony also played a pivotal role in the suffrage movement, but also had a hand in supporting the anti-slavery movement. She was born into a Quaker family that strongly supported social equality, and at 17 years old, she collected anti slavery petitions. She also went on to become the New York state agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society. As for women's rights, she, along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, founded the New York Women's State Temperance Society in 1852 after Anthony was banned from speaking at a temperance conference due to her gender. They also founded the Women's Loyal National League in 1863, which collected nearly 400,000 signatures in support of the abolition of slavery (the largest petition drive in US History up to that time).
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