Progressive Era Effectiveness

The Effectiveness of the Progressive Era

Many problems have existed throughout history that have needed to be resolved by either the government or the people. For example, before the 1890s many problems arose such as monopolies, immigration, social injustice, and industrialization. However, during the Progressive Era the federal government and reformers were both partially effective in bringing about political, social, and economic reforms on the national level.

The federal government was partially effective in bringing about a national political reform through the expansion of democracy. An expansion of democracy arose during the period from 1890 to 1920 because the 16,17,18, and 19th amendments were created. From the new amendments the

These progressive reformers were known as muckrakers because they were journalists that would expose current problems within the society. For example, some of the most important muckrakers were Upton Sinclair and Jacob Riis.Upton Sinclair opened the eyes of the government when he published his book The Jungle. His book exposed the problems in the meatpacking industry, which led to the Meat Inspection Act, Pure Food and Drug Act, and the Food and Drug Administration. The two new laws and administration were national and are still used to this day to ensure the safeness of consumers. Jacob Riis would expose the poverty in urban slums caused because of industrialization in his photos. He led to several Americans being shocked by poverty with his book How The Other Half Lives, which eventually to several Americans being aware of the conditions that several people lived in leading to better treatment for the urban poor like settlement houses. Even though the progressive reformers were not always successful, such as with the 18th amendment, the successes of progressive reformers outweigh their non-successes because their successes help America with the safety of a consumer to this day making their national social reform partially

It was partially effective because of Theodore Roosevelt’s creation of the Square Deal. The Square Deal consisted of three C’s: control of corporations, consumer protection, and conservation of natural resources. However, the most important in bringing about a national economic reform was the control of corporations. The control of corporations led to trust busting, this was good because trusts controlled ⅘ of the industry. Although not all trusts were busted the bad ones were, while the good ones were not because they were not corruptive with rates as the bad ones were. Roosevelt’s deal also led to legislations that helped the economy such as the Elkins Act and Hepburn Act. The Elkins Act allowed the government to regulate railroads so that people were not exploited. While, the Hepburn Act strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission by giving it more powers such as setting maximum rates for railroads. As the evidence provided shows the federal government was partially effective in bringing a national economic reform because of trust busting and legislations created during the Progressive