Essay On The Progressive Movement

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The Progressive Movement, or the Progressive Era, was a time period between 1900 and 1920. This was a time of great social and economic change. Those who pushed for the Movement were called Progressives. Progressives wanted to cure the ills of American society that had developed during the great spurt of industrial growth in the last quarter of the 19th century. Although all goals were not met, the Progressive Movement was very successful because of the way it improved working conditions for those in all labor fields, put limits on child labor, and made the food and drug industry safe for consumers. The corruption and undue influence in the government was still seen and there was still small inclusion of the people in the political process. Even with these goals not being met, the Movement was successful because of the social and economic improvements. The many acts and administrations created by protests, strikes of workers, and political onlookers not only improved our country democratically, but socially and industrially.
In 1902, there was a strike among the United Mine Workers. The workers were protesting against the unsafe working conditions they were forced under and the unreasonable work hours and pay. Coal miners would work very long hours with hard physical labor in the dark for little pay and almost no job security. Strike was seen as the only option because the mine owners did not listen to their workers. After seeing a coal shortage, the President personally intervened. Although his attempt to bring the sides together failed, representatives from the coal miners and the coal operators later met. A union was formed between the two and there was a 10% wage increase and a decrease in daily working hou...

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...ade such uproar that the Pure Food and Drug Act was made, and the Food and Drug Administration was later created to insure safe conditions for consumers and workers.
The Progressive Movement was successful because of the way it improved our country’s standards for work which ultimately led to a peak in the economy. In economics, there is a peak in economic activity where the economy is at its best right before a crash. No one will know when this peak is until the economy crashes. In this case, the crash was the Great Depression, and the peak was during these years of social and economic proficiency. The Progressive Movement put many limits on labor that aided in our economy skyrocketing and imposed new safety standards on the food industry. These together put America where it is today—a prosperous country built on thriving economics and societal standards.

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