The Progressive Movement

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how progressivism refers to a grassroots movement in the United States that reached its height around the turn of the 20th century when more and more Americans were moving into the middle class and were distressed by the circumstances of the less fortunate in the country. It looks at how, through the progressive movement, a wide variety of reforms and social experiments were put in place, most of which made profound and long-lasting changes to American society, including Prohibition and the campaign to win for women the right to vote. It also discusses how progressivism turned a blind eye to multiple forms of prohibition, including that against the newly freed slaves, the displaced Native Americans whose land all Americans lived on, and the Chinese who were brought in to do heavy labor, but were not welcomed.

From the Paper:

"Progressives worked for changes at the state and federal levels of government as well. They campaigned for both giving women the vote (suffrage) and for the direct election of senators (Sage, 2004). They believed that society's problems were great enough that direct governmental intervention was needed. They wanted to se local, state and federal governments in place that would set policies to prevent problems before they developed rather than just trying to solve those that had already occurred. This movement brought about the first safety laws, improved regulations regarding public health and greater governance over public utilities. At the same time they wanted to see government work efficiently, so that tax dollars would be used as effectively as possible (Sage, 2004)."

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