Progressive social reformers and their impact on policy

¶ … social reforms. The Progressive Era lasted from approximately 1890 through 1920, and it contained some of the most progressive social reforms ever to impact the nation.

The goals of the Progressive social reforms were to give more power back to the people, improve their rights, and create more social responsibility. Many of the social reforms, such as child labor laws, work week and wage laws were created to protect workers and ensure they worked under safe conditions. They created legislation to create safety and housing standards to eliminate slums and overcrowding in America's biggest cities, and they led to the establishment of the Food & Drug Administration in 1906. Some of the shortcomings of the reforms were that they did not go far enough to ensure safe and equitable working conditions or housing conditions, because they were difficult to enforce, and some people thought the government was becoming too liberal and could lead the country to anarchy.

One of the biggest reformers was Teddy Roosevelt, who ran for the Progressive Party for president in 1912. He helped craft legislation that guarded against monopolies and trusts to ensure that huge corporations could not drive out all their competitors and create monopolies. He took several corporations to court as a result of that legislation. Another was William Jennings Bryan, Democratic presidential nominee and lawyer who worked to defend many labor protesters who were arrested for being "Socialists" and attempting to organize labor unions to protect workers from employer abuses.

Their goals were different from the Populists, who wanted to return to the silver standard, and were largely from the central part of the country. The Populists wanted more power against monopolies and trusts like the Progressives did, but they wanted their party to be a "People's Party," and their issues were largely geared to agriculture and its' pricing, rather than sweeping social changes. The party only existed for a few years, and never really had much effect on national politics.

The Progressive women reformers worked for social change, as well. They wanted women to have the right to vote, and that was one of their major causes. Ultimately, they helped create the Nineteenth Amendment, on August 26, 1920 that gave women the right to vote. They were also largely responsible for the Eighteenth Amendment, passed on January 19, 1919, that prohibited alcoholic beverage sales and distribution in the country. The women also worked for other Progressive social reforms, like housing and safety conditions. Some of the most famous women reformers were social worker Jane Addams, who advocated for settlement houses and social reforms for women and families, Charlotte Gilman, a feminist and writer who wrote about new roles for women, and Margaret Sanger, an advocate for birth control and women's rights. The changing roles for women and African-Americans during this time were growing just about every day. Women were taking a much more active role in politics and government, and in influencing reform. They were working in greater numbers, and taking on an active role in society. African-Americans were becoming more vocal about their role in society too, and beginning to demand change. The Harlem Renaissance helped form some of the best African-American writers and artists, like W.E.B. Du Bois a Black intellectual and writer who called out for civil rights and action, and Booker T. Washington, a black academic and leader who fought for African-American education. Both women and Blacks were fighting to be treated equally and with respect, and they began interacting with society even more during the Progressive Era, in an attempt to create change and equality in the country.