The Progressive Era And Social Welfare

During class, the Progressive Era from 1890-1916 was discussed. The countless reforms happened in the Progressive Era were bound to be controversial. Nevertheless, based on our study, it was my contention that the Progressive Era was successful on account of the changes made on social welfare and on the role of presidents.
First of all, the Progressives attempted to raise the living standard of the people. For instance, they made endeavors to resolve the problems from the industrial growth such as child labor. Increasing need of workers from the factories gave rise to the massive hiring of child labors because of the low cost. Starting at around age five or six, many children worked more than 18 hours everyday. The children were often injured

severely from the burdensome work. To protect the children, the National Child Labor Committee was formed in 1904; the reformers launched aggressive campaign and successfully influenced most of the states to prohibit child labor (Danzer et al, 311). In addition, organizations including the YMCA and the salvation army were established. The YMCA promoted exercise by building sports courts, and the salvation army provided food for poor people and taught them the values of the middle class people (Danzer et al, 307). In short, the general quality of life has improved from 1890-1916 because of the Progressives.
Besides the enhancement of social welfare, presidents became more public and powerful thanks to Roosevelt during the Progressive Era. He described the term “bully pulpit” as the power of presidents to speak up and express opinions on issues. Unlike the presidents before, Roosevelt In addition, Roosevelt stated it was the responsibility of the president and federal government to ensure the national welfare. During the coal strike in 1902, President Teddy Roosevelt became the first president in the history to stand forward and support the labors(America in the 20th Century-The Progressive Era). I believed the change on president’s role is positive; the president and government need to be powerful. Individuals are not always capable of taking responsibility for their own difficulties. For example, when the economy encountered a big crisis in 2008, no one but an effectual government can remedy the situation. In sum, Roosevelt’s way of being the president had a big, favorable impact on the presidency later.
To sum up, seeing that the citizens had a more enjoyable life, and the presidents became more responsible for the national welfare, the Progressive Era was a positive in the history of the United States.