Essay On The Progressive Movement

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The progressive era in the United States is associated with political reforms and social change. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the United States’ power was experienced across the globe. Business firms experienced immense growth making some owners excessively rich. On the other hand, the American people experienced unhappiness owing to some problems at home. Workers in the huge corporations did not experience considerable changes in their lives. Employees were subjected to severe working conditions, which were exposed by muckrakers among other people. Railroad charges for shipping crops were very high, which gave farmers immense problems. Increased immigration rates also caused numerous concerns with the need to reform the foreign attitudes. The rise of the middle class in the country also facilitated the progressive movement. This research focuses on progressivism in the United States with the aim of identifying changes experienced during the period.
The harsh conditions experienced in the United States prompted the Americans to seek ways of improving the society. The populist movement is among the attempts made by a section of the American people to make desirable sociopolitical changes. City workers and farmers united under the Populist Party with the aim of mitigating the excesses of huge business firms (Piott, 2011). The Populist Party aimed at attaining the objective by electing a populist president. During the 1896 elections, the Populist Party candidate William Jennings Bryan lost the election, which caused a huge blow to the party. This development led to the collapse of the populist movement, but the ideas fostered by the movement remained. Even with the collapse of the progressive movement, the American populat...

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Conclusion
Progressivism in the United States caused numerous social and economic changes. The movement emerged as Americans sought to address numerous ills in the society. Although the United States power was experienced across the globe, the general population was concerned about various problems that threatened to destroy the social fabric. Unethical practices of emerging business firms were some of the issues targeted during the period. Huge business firms focused on increasing their profits with little or no concern on the effect they had on the population. For instance, child labor and harsh working conditions were experienced during the time. Writers played a leading role to expose such malpractices. Progressivism also led to changes in the American politics in which people were offered increased power to elect their representatives.

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