The Progressive Movement was an era in the nineteenth century in the US and mainly revolved around issues involving political reforms. These reforms ideally cut through a broad variety of aspects of life that particularly affected American citizens.[1] Throughout the progressive era, many political reforms were witnesses that variably affected the living standards and state of society in the nineteenth century upon the entry of the twentieth century. Most of the changes witnessed revolved around the right to vote or the eligibility of a voter, the process of electing a leader among other changes that constituted the current laws of the American Nation[2]. This paper reviews the Progressive Movement and its importance in the US history.
The changes made on most laws through reforms constituted a major or fundamental change in the American society. A perfect illustration of this is the reform that led to women being allowed to vote. These changes were significant to the lives of most Americans. In due sense, women were having a major political and social impact on the American civil society years preceding this fundamental change in a democracy.[3] This was a political milestone that set the pace for more fundamental and significant changes to take place in the near future.
The Progressive Movement was a major shift in the mental orientation of most Americans in matters concerning democracy. At the time before the Progressive Movement, democracy was vaguely defined. It seems that the years before the commencement of the twentieth century had a lot of impact on the ensuing definition of democracy. Starting with giving women the right to vote, more fundamental changes were set to take place in the future.[4] Nevertheless, one of the most significant aspects of the Progressive Movement is arguably the commentary surrounding the living conditions of most Americans.
The City of New York had by the commencement of the twentieth century received the most criticism on how the majority of the citizens of the city were subjected to poor living conditions. History shows that the average working individual was subjected to low pay compared to the work being done. Moreover, at the time, there was a lot of corruption surrounding the use of public funds, which created an avenue for reforms of laws governing spending of public funds.[5] This among other issues constituted the majority of the social injustices being leveled on the American civilians.
However, the main issue that surrounded the call for reforms that arose during the Progressive Movement was that of the quality of life for the average American citizen. The nineteenth century was characterized by rapid industrialization which had many negative effects on the life being led by the common man.[6] For instance, workers in coal mines received very little compensation, and their working conditions were terribly unhealthy. The issue of alcoholism was being viewed as the main cause for continued poverty among the poor segment of the American community, paving the way for the laws that banned the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages.
Other issues including the importance of appropriation of public funds were attributed to the Progressive Movement. One of the important laws that governed spending of public funds was laws that kept the government accountable to the tax payers.[7] These laws demanded that public resources be distributed appropriately and be used in such a way that there was guaranteed continued benefits of government projects to the American community as opposed to a few elite individuals placed in power. However, one of the important features of the Progressive Movement up to date still remains to be the changes that affected the voting process of a leader into a public position of during party nominations. These changes not only created a better way of voting leaders into power but also ways to ensure that bad leaders are removed from power effortlessly.[8]
To date, historians allude that the Progressive Movement would not have been possible were it not for the group of journalists that lit the spark that ignited the Progressive Movement. Ideally, these groups of journalists included individuals with a deep desire to solve various social injustices that were happening all across America. These journalists also referred to as the Muckrakers[9], paved the way for the Progressive Movement in various ways. One of the effective ways was through writing newspaper articles that identified the rot in the society and particularly the political elite that was being witnessed in numerous instance. These articles pointed out various issues in the society that were mostly social injustices adhering to public concerns. The articles also provided evidence to the issues and possible solutions that could be adopted by the public for the betterment of the society.
Through various instances all across the era of the Progressive Movement, information proved to be a tool for political and social prosperity. Laws were changed due to sufficient information that made existing laws inferior to the suggested ones. Furthermore, as rapid industrialization took over the better part of the American community, the living conditions of the working class seemed to deteriorate gradually. Concerned parties saw this and lit the spark that ignited the Progressive Movement in an effort to address these issues and find viable solutions to the same. Therefore, the Progressive Movement is a significant part of the American history as it shaped the American society through fundamental reforms that took both a social and political nature.
Bibliography
De Witt, Benjamin Parke. The Progressive Movement: A Non-Partisan Comprehensive Discussion of Current Tendencies in American Politics. New York, NY: Routledge, 2012.
Gould, Lewis L. 2014. The progressive era: America, 1890-1914. London: Routledge, 2014.
Mayhew, David R. Placing parties in American politics: organization, electoral settings, and government activity in the twentieth century. Princeton University Press, 2014.
Shi, David E., and George Brown Tindall. 2017. America: a narrative history. New York: W.W Norton & Company, 2016.
Smidt, Corwin E., Lyman A. Kellstedt, and James L. Guth. 2017. Oxford handbook of religion and American politics. New York, Oxford University Press, 2017.
[1] Benjamin Parke De Witt, The Progressive Movement: A Non-Partisan Comprehensive Discussion of Current Tendencies in American Politics (New York, NY: Routledge, 2017), 2.
[2] Lewis L. Gould. 2014. The progressive era: America, 1890-1914, (London: Routledge, 2014), 27.
[3] De Witt, Progressive Movement, 5.
[4] Corwin E. Smidt, Lyman A. Kellstedt, and James L. Guth. 2017. Oxford handbook of religion and American politics. (New York, Oxford University Press, 2017) 56-89.
[5] De Witt, Progressive Movement, 5.
[6] David R. Mayhew Placing parties in American politics: organization, electoral settings, and government activity in the twentieth century, (Princeton University Press, 2014), 50.
[7] De Witt, Progressive Movement, 358.
[8] De Witt, Progressive Movement, 218-230.
[9] David E. Shi and George Brown Tindall. 2017. America: a narrative history, (New York: W.W Norton & Company, 2016), 37-57.
