Progressive Era Dbq

In the early 1900s, America was going through a Progressive Era that forever transformed the lifestyles of the middle and lower class citizens around the country. Reformers, usually politicians or writers, strived to improve the welfare and status of the United States locally and nationally. While some of the reforms, like the Drug and Food Act and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, tremendously improved the life and well being of American citizens, others fell drastically short. The federal government’s political, economic, and social efforts to reform the lives of American citizens were successful in theory, but often times were executed poorly and had little impact on the country as a whole.

During the Progressive Era, it seemed that the political

impacts made by reforms were miniscule at best. Although Theodore Roosevelt was overall successful with involving the American people more in political elections, Taft seemed to completely destroy the progress that Roosevelt made.

In 1912, Roosevelt declared that the Americans deserved the right to vote directly for the senators that represented them [Doc D]. After long, strenuous debates and thorough consideration, the Seventeenth Amendment was ratified and passed by Congress and the House in 1913. This achievement was a milestone in politics, being one of the first elections that directly came from the sovereign people. This also took the influence away from the corrupt and prejudiced “Millionaires Club”, which was a powerful political entity that practically bought senate seats for esteem and authority. While Roosevelt utilized his presidential power to aid the citizens of America, Taft focused all of his energy on “trustbusting” and not on political reform. It also seemed that

Woodrow Wilson did not acknowledge his own influence as president. Wilson was under the misguided impression that the country could easily be improved and enhanced by a few insignificant laws and promises [Doc F]. While Wilson effectively reduced tariffs with the Underwood-Simmons Act and successfully guided the country through World War I, the political impacts he made were almost non-existent. Instead of completely dedicating himself to the reform in America, Wilson promised that the country would repair itself on its own over time. Despite Wilson’s impressive intellect, his passive approach at improving society did little to truly enhance the welfare and importance of American citizens.
While political reform seemed to be minute during the Progressive Era, there were various social reforms that greatly improved the welfare and prestige of children and women in America.

Child labor was a continuous problem in factories and warehouses during the 1900s. Children were often times forced into dangerous, low-paying jobs by their own parents in order to support and provide for their families. When Congress attempted to limit the interstate commerce of products produced by children and shorten their workday, parents believed that this was abusing the authority of Congress by stretching it to local matters [Doc G]. This backward step in the prevention of child labor was nearly detrimental to the well being of the future generation. Socialists like Jane Addams rallied against child labor promoters and declared that children belonged in classrooms, not factories [Doc C]. In order to have a successful next generation, the children needed to be well-educated and intelligent human beings. Women activists and Muckrakers then publicized the mistreatment of children in the workplace and were able to evoke enough attention to persuade Congress to pass the Keating-Owen Act in 1916, the nation’s first law against child labor. As more and more attention was brought to child labor, women began to strive for attention and recognition of their own. As the World War progressed and moved its way into American life, women fought for the ability to govern and vote for themselves [Doc

H]. Suffragists like Alice Paul established the National Women’s Party in order to convince Congress of the importance of women. After grueling months of hunger strikes and demonstrations, the Wilson administration finally acknowledged the influence of women and passed the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, giving women the right to vote. Although it took many years of mistreatment and unending dedication, reformers were able to enhance society and create a more equal influence and representation of all societal groups.
As attention was brought to child labor, the flaws and blemishes in the economic system were unveiled as well. Muckrakers were able to bring the unsanitary, disgusting conditions in meat factories and production to the public eye. As exposed in the Neill-Reynolds Report in 1906 and Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, the gruesome production of raw, often times rotten meat was described as graphically as possible [Doc B]. Unable to look past the disgust of meat production, Congress began to pass acts to regulate the economic system. That same year, the Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act were passed, greatly improving the sanitation and safety of the food and drug industries. While regulation did somewhat increase, the inspections of factories only occurred annually and did not ensure that all meat produced was free of disease and other inedible