¶ … motivated progressives and how they began to use the government as a moral agent for change and the impact of Progressivism upon society and government during the early decades of the 20th century. The central question that will be addressed will be to answer to what extent he Progressive Era was actually progressive. In particular, we will pay attention to the limits of progressive reforms in the history of the United States. Progressives fought for such issues as women's suffrage and better labor and health regulations (Rodgers, 1982, 115).
Progressivism in America was a broad-based movement for reform that reached its apogee in the early 20th century. While reformist in nature, it was middle class. It grew in response to the changes brought on by industrialism, modernization (for example the rise of the railroads) and corruption in American politics. Largely, it grew in response to tragedies such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. This deadly fire in New York City which broke out on March 25, 1911, has gone down in history...
history. Most of the victims were composed of recent Jewish and Italian immigrant women, including child laborers Such disasters spurned a good amount of pressure for reform of labor and consumer laws to make industrial society safe for women and children (Rosa, 2010).
Additionally, middle class Americans were clued into the underlying ugly realities of American industrialization by the "muckraking" press that was composed of a core of reporters who exposed these injustices in gruesome detail. For instance, Upton Sinclair's epic The Jungle exposed the horrible unsanitary practices as well as labor practices in the meatpacking industry. What is interesting about the Jungle is that it is a case study in the effectiveness as well as the limitations of Progressivism in the United States. Sinclair, a socialist, hoped that by exposing the horrible labor practices (that would include sanitary conditions) that is would…
