Progressive era: reforms, politics, and social change

¶ … Era can be considered to represent one of the most important moments in the history of the United States. It marked the beginning of the modernization process in America and at the same time the start of the organization of the state following its independence. The actions undertaken during this time affected all aspects of the society, from politics to the social sphere which has been affected the most.

The beginning of the Progressive Era came as a result of the endless disputes in terms of political and economic outcomes which resulted following the end of the Civil War. In this sense, the North having won the battle with the South engaged in an era of massive development as a result of the industrial revolution (Jenkins, 1997). However this development soon led to the increase in the way in which wealth and opportunities were being shared and distributed. In this sense, a certain clear distinction between the wealthy and the poor was created. This in turn led to the social discrepancies that became a common situation in the final years of the 19th century America.

On this background, the Progressive Era came as a solution that would address the inequalities and the social issues that became a serious problem in the U.S. Thus, "the Progressive Era (roughly, 1901-1921) was the beginning, in the United States, of the growth in the role of government in the 20th-century. During this era, and its prelude (1887-1901), the American people saw the beginnings of federal regulation of business through the regulatory commissions and antitrust laws, the income tax system that we have today, federal food and drug regulation, the Federal Reserve Board, and government conservation" (Browne, n.d.). Therefore it can be said that the period represented a period of increased governmental activity as well as social empowerment.

In terms of the economic practices, the monopoly was the key word to fight against (Warde, 1957). It represented the enemy for a proper evolution of the economic base. At the same time, an increased state control would have allowed more financial resources as well as an increased state attribution.

One of the most important ideas related to Progressivism was the situation of the individuals which were split into two distinctive categories: "the wealthy, the educated, the politically adept, on the one hand; the unschooled, the wage-enslaved, the politically impotent, on the other" (Pease, 1962, 6). Theodore Roosevelt in this sense tried to tackle the issue by intervening for the miners, for instance. However, an essential idea is related to the desire of the government to increase its power and intervention possibilities in order to better control the corporations that were created as a result of the industrialization process. These were sources of constant impoverishment for the population (Pease, 1962, 163-5).

However, the population reacted in a different way than expected by the political actors. Indeed, from the point-of-view of the labor unions, their number increased and a certain collective mentality was formed, one which allowed them to further fight for the rights of the employee (Pease, 1962). Even so, there were individuals who reacted negatively considering that the Progressive Era was in fact a socialist perception of the economy, rather than a means to create progress for the population in the country.