Progressive Era Essays (Examples)

Era through the Great Depression
The goal of this essay is to discuss the Progressive Era through Great Depression and for this purpose; two major events that changed the face of American history during this period would be discussed extensively. Furthermore, detailed and comprehensive light would be shed on the historical events that had been successful in changing the face of United States and its society, politics, culture and economy.

The goal of this essay is to discuss the Progressive Era through Great Depression and for this purpose; two major events that changed the face of American history during this period would be discussed extensively. Furthermore, detailed and comprehensive light would be shed on the historical events that had been successful in changing the face of United States and its society, politics, culture and economy. Furthermore, this paper would concentrate on discussing the status of women in United States and…

Era
What Would the U.S. Have Been Like without a Progressive Era?

What would have happened had there been no Progressive Era at the end of the 19th and early 20th century? The period between 1890 and 1920 saw the mobilization of several various platforms erected under social, economic and political banners -- all promoting progress in their respective fields. Had there been no Progressive Era, there would have been no women like Ida B. Wells, who became famous in the 19th century when she sued the railroad which made her give up her seat so a white man could sit in it. Wells later went on to write the editorial activist piece "Lynch Law," which drew attention to unjust and violently racist laws in effect in the post-War South. Had there been no Progressive Era, there would have been no voice for social equality, social fairness, and a new…

Era
Worker Exploitation in the Progressive Era

The Progressive period was not as progressive as it sounds right off the bat. Employers were much different in the Progressive Era than today and often exploited vulnerable working class poor to stuff the pockets of a select few elite millionaires. Workers had very few rights and were treated as other minorities with little protection under the law. Ultimately, this caused much of the public to become disillusioned with the way capitalism had created a monster,

For one, many were uninterested in their workers' safety or welfare. Workers enjoyed very little freedoms and rights within their harsh work environments. Employers fought against legislation that would require them to pay minimum wages or enforce an eight hour work day. Thus, workers were often forced to work incredibly long hours with no days off and for very little. This caused employers to exploit the manual…

Hofstadter & Progressivism
The Progressive Era was one of change in the United States. It appeared during a time where individuals were fed up with the status quo and instead wanted drastic changes to occur in their world. ichard Hofstadter is best known for the role that he played during this era of reform. In his famous claim, Hofstadter speaks on the truth about Progressivism and offers an explanation as to how and why this occurred. He offered social, political, and financial explanations for a phenomenon that very few understood at the time. Hofstadter believed in liberal values that very few agreed with at the time. It was this precise belief that allowed him to become a pioneer during the Progressive Era and become a representative of economic mobility. However, despite his seemingly progressive beliefs, his main thought was that Progressivism was guided by the loss of status of numerous…

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…

Era: Aspirations and Accomplishments
Progressives and their accomplishments

The reform movement of Progressivism ran from the late 19th century all through to the first decades of the 20th century. During this period, leading intellectuals and the social reformists sought to address cultural, economic and political questions arising from the rapid Industrial Revolution and modern capitalism growth in America. The progressives shared common views that the at every government level, they need to be involved actively in societal reforms. Historians concur that Progressivism methods and spirit came from the urban middle, upper-middle classes, and native-born who are engineers, doctors, journalists, social workers, lawyers, college professors, ministers, and college professors. Despite the support of progressivism movement by immigrant working class, rural Americans and the top leaders in finance and business, the ethos of the movement are rooted in Protestantism.

At the time, the constitutional system that was in place was outdated and…

Attitudes Towards Work in Progressive America
The Progressive Age in the United States was a time of redefinition in American thought and politics. During a time of global restructuring in which European imperialism was entering the first phase of its death throes, American imperialism was beginning to rise. This imperialism took a different form, at least outwardly, from that which typified the preceding centuries. Instead of colonies with rigidly enforced governments imposed by the colonizers, American imperialism ostensibly had the will and desire to spread democracy and self-rule at its heart.

This new kind of imperialism was a direct outgrowth of Progressive-era thought. Perhaps most notable among the figures who made the connection from Progressive philosophies to advocacies of certain international actions was President and former Rough Rider Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, whose speech entitled "The Strenuous Life" attempts to draw a comparison between the success that labor and active involvement…

era through the great depression_
The economy of the United States was faced with fair share of challenges towards the close of the 19th century that had to be mitigated lets they got out of control. Other than the economic woes, there were also widespread social injustices. There was eminent war between capital and labor. Progressive era was realized in the very last years of the 19th century up to 1917 (Sage, 2010). The progressive era was a dawn of new ideas and progressive reforms. Some of its advantages are enjoyed to date. Some of the major events that characterized the progressive era were the birth of the American oil industry in 1901 and the initiation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1909.

The first American oil was prospected in Texas' Spindletop and this set precedent for evolution of the nation's oil sector. The Texan…

Progressivism began as a social movement and evolved into a political movement, according to materials published by George Washington University (www.gwu.edu). Early in the social movement progressives were concerned about poverty, racism, greed and "class warfare," and they believed that those problems could be best addressed through education, a safer environment, and a workplace that was fair and safe (www.gwu.edu). Who were those considered to be progressives? The George Washington University narrative explains that they live "mostly in the cities," they had graduated from colleges and universities, and their beliefs included the belief that "…government could be a tool for change" -- and among the most vocal and visible social reformers / progressives were Jane Addams and journalists Jacob Riis and Ida Tarbel (www.gwu.edu).
Progressive journalists wrote investigative pieces that exposed "the evils of corporate greed" and they presented a balanced view of immigration and ethnicities, all the time "…urging…

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.

The forces which…

S. led colonial expansion in the area. One impact of the treaty was that it gave the United States the rights to Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. Both Guam and the Philippines were critical additions because they signaled the beginning of U.S. involvement in the Pacific. It also marked a significant change in how America was viewed in the global arena, because almost all of Europe was sympathetic to Spain, and did not wish to see the decline of a fellow colonial power. However, with the treaty, the U.S. entered into the global arena and poised itself to emerge as a superpower. This status also brought about an atmosphere of economic, population, and technological growth that lasted for more than a century. Furthermore, the Spanish-American War helped repair the rift between the North and the South, and helped establish better relations between blacks and whites during that time…

In the settlement houses, American women taught immigrant women about "American" culture and government and also educated Americans about the various cultures of the immigrants. These settlement houses also offered childcare for working parents, health care, English classes, community theater, and many other social outlets These settlement houses were perceived as "hotbeds of progressive reform" and "spearheads for reform."
eformers during the Progressive Era aimed to resolve the problems of American society that had developed during the major growth of industrial growth that was seen in the U.S. (USHistory.com. 2002). The frontier had been tamed, great cities and businesses had blossomed, but not all American citizens shared in this new wealth and optimism.

The majority of social problems during this era were addressed by professional social workers, most of which were female, who ran settlement houses in an effort to protect and improve the living and working conditions of the…

eforms
Who were the Progressives and what were they trying to reform? How and why did the Progressive era end?

Several different Progressives include: Upton Sinclair, Teddy oosevelt, David Thelen, ichard McCormick and Samuel Hayes just to name a few. Their basic goals were to rectify many the social ills that were occurring from the rapid industrialization of the nation. This was creating a tremendous shift in the population, with more people leaving the country and moving to the cities. As a result, there were a number of different problems that emerged in the wake of these transformations. Most notably: unsafe working conditions, the use of child labor, wages and the number of working hours. The combination of these objectives was to give the people a voice in issues of government and society. This would limit the influence of the special interests during this process. (Sage) (Gilmore F-42 -- F-68)…

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. hile 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…

How does the growth of (relatively unregulated) industrial corporate capitalism have on peoples lives and on crime?During the Gilded Age businesses began to grow. During this time there was a lot of racial tension and fear because these businesses would try to pay as little as possible to their employees and thus favored recent immigrants. Recent immigrants could work hard for very little and directly competed with the Americans who were impoverished looking for a decent paying job. The great fear back then was that America would be swallowed by immigrants. A good example of this were Chinese railroad laborers. ith increased wealth stratification in cities thanks to the industrial revolution, the wealthy were very wealthy, and the poor had to live in slums.Examples of the wealthy homes…

All three groups argued against monied interests and big business, all three represented marginalized groups in economic and political life, and all three sought to expand the power of government at the expense of commerce. The New Deal coalition invited many new people to join the political process, taking advantage of the efforts of the Populists and the Progressives to open up the voting process. hile the New Deal lacked the outwardly religious and evangelical flavor of the previous two movements, at its core, the message of all three groups was the same -- a more powerful and responsive government, regulation of capitalism to support the common welfare, and the creation of laws to protect the weakest members of society.
orks Cited

Edwards, Rebecca. "1896: The Populist Party." Vassar College. N.p., 2000. eb. 10 May 2010.

Horowitz, David and Peter Carroll. On the Edge: The United States in the Twentieth…

What we can take from this is that their pluralistic society was always being threatened. No matter how far a pluralistic society would come in theories, those individuals without the same morality could immediately endanger and void new theories.
Carpenter focuses on the emergence of bureaucratic policy innovation in the U.S. during the Progressive Era, questioning why the Post Office Department and the Department of Agriculture became politically independent writers of new policy and why the Interior Department did not (Carpenter 2001, 4). To explain these developments, Carpenter gives an essentially new theory of bureaucratic autonomy grounded in organization theory, rational choice models, and network concepts.

In Carpenter's opinion, bureaucracies with very distinct goals are able to achieve autonomy when they are able to create and keep a reputation among different coalitions for offering services that are also very distinct (Carpenter 2001, 4) (which is what happened with the Post…

During the turn of the century, maverick muckraking journalists dug up dirt on unfair labor practices including the use of child labor. Muckrakers also drew attention to unsanitary working conditions and the lack of systematic health regulations in meat and food production. President oosevelt responded by initiating a series of labor-related legislation including the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906. However, oosevelt at the same time publicly denounced muckrakers and lent them their derogatory name. oosevelt's passion for environmental conservation reflected his personal interests and beliefs more than it did the results of investigative journalism. Environmental conservation emerged as of the main issues that distinguished the progressivism of oosevelt and that of Wilson.

Presidents oosevelt and Wilson transformed the role of the federal government in the United States. Both wielded their executive powers to protect the rights of the poor and working class, to abolish some of the powers…

In Iran, the American-backed Shah had become increasingly unpopular throughout the 1970s. The Shah fled Iran in 1979, finding temporary refuge in the United States. Religious extremist Ayatollah Khomeni easily filled Iran's political and social need for a backlash against American interventionism.
Iran's 1979 Revolution had a major impact on its relationship with the United States and with the rest of the world. hereas the Shah had guaranteed a steady supply of oil to the United States in exchange for "economic and military aid," the Ayatollah Khomeni did not ("The Hostage Crisis in Iran"). The situation created a second oil crisis and subsequent inflation. Moreover, the Iranian Revolution soured American relations with the nation when on November of 1979, Iranian militants "stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran and took approximately seventy Americans captive," ("The Hostage Crisis in Iran"). The hostage scenario symbolized the rise of terrorism and specifically, anti-American…

Targets were set by the government on the manufacturing and agricultural sector. Their approach however is heavily labor intensive, with little use of technology, the cost of production increased and wastages abound because human intervention was quite prevalent in the production process. The economy's rise is somewhat slow given the use of little technology as Mao relied too much on manual labor to drive industries and the agricultural sector.
In Mao's term there were debates between members of the Communist Party. The conflicting parties include a group considered as technically sound in administrative and scientific skills and a group who has the ability to mobilize society along ideological lines. Mao is torn between which group should lead the party. The power struggle between these two groups eventually took its toll in government policies.

It was within this context that Mao's Cultural evolution went into full swing. The Cultural evolution was…

Prohibition is a chapter in the history of the United States where the government implemented a nationwide ban on the consumption and sale of alcohol. Although it seems archaic and nonsensical now since most countries allow alcohol consumption, back then, for thirteen years it was considered illegal to buy, sell, and consume alcohol in the United States. A time of bootleggers and social 'Progressives' the Prohibition Era of the United Sates shocked the nation, revealing how important the need was for people to drink. It was a time for many to understand alcohol consumption and in retrospective, see what caused the activity to be outlawed in the first place.
The Prohibition Era: A Brief Background

The Prohibition Era of the United States lasted from 1920 to 1933. January 1, 1920 saw the start of national Prohibition that became effective via the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The driving…

" (Montessori, 9) There is a counter-intuitive disconnect between the priorities of the educational system and the real-life demands of individuals attempting to function ably therein.
Here, Montessori speaks to the incredible irony present even in higher education, where students are essentially intended to be prepared for the real world but are instead isolated in a false environment where priorities such as a streamlined means of graded evaluation, a disregard for the physical or emotional needs of students and an overall proclivity toward isolation from true conditions of worldly socialization tend to misappropriate crucial transitional learning years.

In some regards, Montessori's work is relatively outdated, betraying its origins in the first half of the 20th century by criticizing an absence of services that are now present in many universities. Some of the better funded academic institutions do possess programs availing medical treatment and psychological counseling to students where needed at…

American History Between 1870 and 1920
The years between 1870 and 1920 had been the period of astonishing changes because of the political, social and military upheaval that occurred during the period. Typically, the United States had witnessed several changes that affected the American way of life during the period. For example, period of 1877 -1900 had witnessed the rise of the industrial revolution. The years between 1870 and 1920 were the period of momentous and dynamic changes in the American history because they set in motion the industrial and socio- economic development that shaped the country for several generations which include industrialization, labor strike, westward expansion, immigration, urbanization, and integration of millions of freed American Americans.

The objective of this paper is to explore the fundamental changes that occur between 1870 and 1920 and the impacts on the American life. The paper also explores different labor strikes and massacres…

FDR’s Approach President Roosevelt took a proactive approach to the Great Depression, immediately proposing the New Deal programs as practical steps towards rebuilding the nation’s economy. When he was elected, Roosevelt also demonstrated understanding of the need for emotional messages to help the American people remain calm and confident. For example, one of FDR’s most famous quotes was delivered in his inaugural address: “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Roosevelt capitalized on the power of the radio to deliver his message of hope and inspiration to the American public. Starting in 1933, Roosevelt delivered the “Fireside Chats,” which informed the public but also provided the psychological solace that so many needed.
Who Benefitted from the New Deal
Ultimately all Americans benefitted from the New Deal, which comprised a number of different but related programs designed to stimulate the economy and mitigate harm. The New Deal programs…

With the public pressure in the right places, regulations of application and procedures can be developed for precise procedures (Vosse 1996).
roadbent (1996) writes that the ecological consequences, from construction to removal of merchandise that are dangerous and poisonous ought to be considered in the rules. Elements ought to be assessed depending on the altitude of peril, and where prudent substitutes have become obtainable, limitations will be forced. Rules for responsibility and costs for impairments ought to complement the principles, to endorse better precision and prudence, chiefly in the administration of dangerous discard and corrective measures for fear of pollution of the land and water. This can only take place when the people join hands and collectively pressurize the government to replace existing laws with laws that support the abovementioned processes (roadbent, 1996).

Fiscal measures

Although dictatorial procedures continue to be vital for the efficiency of the strategy, social organizations…

With men off to fight and die, women in America took to the workforce to both support their men and Uncle Sam's war effort.
Because women could now be seen as part of the war, no part of society was safe from war. The idea of total war began to emerge: this was the concept that civilians could be attacked like any other soldiery in the war. In a way, the disasters of world war were simply the expression on a macro level of what was happening in the U.S. On a micro level. Ida B. Wells helped illustrate the senseless violence occurring in the U.S. against Negroes when she wrote "Lynch Law" in 1893 at just 31 years of age. "Lynch Law" described the violent prejudice being visited on Southern blacks. As she writes, the Negro as a person has been "murdered by masked mobs for trying to vote,"…

Minimizing Poverty Is a Government Initiative
The Progressive Era

Poverty reduction has remained a central debate in periodical democratic societies. Schemes have been established to enable citizens to be economically viable either at paid-employment or self-employment level. Activists, philosophers, and politicians have suggested technical, liberal, and legal approaches towards poverty eradication. In fact, most of the debate in relation to the field of poverty examines whether poverty is a natural phenomenon associated with human beings. As this report will identify, fighting poverty is a double-edged sword since, after all, poverty is not the only member of the league. Close players include capitalism and politics. The commencing research proves that reducing poverty is a sequential process that requires considerate participation from all stakeholders. The research will principally cite Darwin's Social Darwinism theory, the 1933-1936 national initiative New Deal and Johnson Lyndon Economic Opportunity Act.

Social Darwinism vs. Progressivism

Introduction

There are…

Turning Points in American History
Two Turning Points and Current Impact on Cultural, Social, Economic and Political Life

Two historical turning points are the Social Security Act and the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Social Security Act, passed in 1935, was intended to provide a "safety net" for people who could not support themselves (Schultz, 2010, p. 399). This "social welfare" was a significant departure from the federal government's prior tendency to let citizens fend for themselves financially. The strength of the Social Security Act's impact on our history is at least partially proven by the fact that it expanded significantly and endures to this day. The Social Security Act currently influences several facets of American life: society and culture, in that the responsibility of the federal government for the welfare of its citizens is now a commonly accepted idea; economy, in that Social Security is now a…

The main Woolworth's store was already on strike, and the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) was threatening to escalate the strike to all of the stores in Detroit." (Cobble, 2003)
Myra had been nicknamed the: "attling elle of Detroit" by media in the Detroit area because Myra is said to have:.." relished a good fight with employers, particularly over the issues close to her heart. A lifelong member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) she insisted, for example, on sending out racially integrated crews from the union's hiring hall, rejecting such standard employer requests as 'black waiters only, white gloves required." (Cobble, 2003) Myra was involved in many more organized protests and strikes and is stated to "consider herself a feminists...outspoken about her commitment to end sex discrimination...lobbied against the ERA until 1972...chaired the national committee against a repeal of women-only state labor…

The lack of public support is one of the key factors that resulted to the failure of the U.S. There were false claims that the American government acted against people's aspirations and that the American youth protested against the war. Early initiatives of the United States under Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Truman obtained a lot of support. Only two members of the United States congress voted against giving Johnson the opportunity of waging the war in Vietnam
It was difficult to identify the enemy as Viet Cong merged with locals and only ambushed often at night. American terror campaigns hit their target, but failed to make the North Vietnamese surrender. A small portion of America considered their government as evil as even Walter Cronkite a CBS newscaster raised concern on the effectiveness of pursuing the war

In January 1973, President Nixon signed a truce that officially ended the resentments. Communist forces…

The progressive era in American political culture set the stage for President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. Starting in the 1890s, the Progressive Era drew upon Marxist theory of labor exploitation to help balance unbridled capitalist growth during the Gilded Age of industrial development. Progressivism welcomed social and technological progress both by suggesting reforms in both government and business to reduce corruption and ensure a higher quality of life for all Americans. Two of the progressive political party movements during the turn of the century included the Populist Party and the Bull Moose Party. Progressive values then later became embedded in the platform of the Democratic Party when President Franklin Roosevelt became president.
Some of the specific issues spearheaded by the Progressive movement included labor rights, women's suffrage, and anti-trust laws. During the age of urbanization, the Progressive movement helped to improve what was rapidly becoming deplorable and deteriorating living and…

Concurrently, while the agrarian sector and movements suffered from the effects of urbanization and the nation's laissez faire form of government, cities flourished as more and more economic progress happened in the area of industrialization. New technology allowed new industries to flourish; increased immigration made possible the increasing mandate of political groups and movements and policies that supported the path towards industrialization and urbanization. Railroads became a cause for faster transportation, in addition to electric streetcars, making trade and migration from city to city easier -- in effect, making business transactions and operations faster and easier for Americans during the period of 19th century.

Industrialization impacted on national economy by helping create and develop the corporation, perhaps the biggest business organization that could possibly be formed under the modernist economic system. Apart from the creation of the corporation, foreign trade also increased, in the same manner as migration and immigration…

Patronage jobs allowed local and regional businesses to flourish, offered political viability for minority groups, and ensured welfare services that state or federal funding would not have provided.
However, urban machines also colluded with organized crime, created impenetrable legacies of city boss cabals, and fomented corruption. Voters cast ballots based on the spoils system, diminishing the relevance of democratic freedoms. The patronage system also boosted special interests and prevented businesses from thriving independently of the machine. Around the 1920s, muckrakers began exposing the inner workings of the urban machine. Progressive politicians championed legitimate social welfare reform at the local level, speaking out against government corruption and collusion with big business (Caswell 2001).

The Progressive movement helped to eliminate or at least to diminish the scope of urban machine governments, even though Chicago's would persist well into the 1970s. In other cities like New York and Boston, the strong mayor system…

American Ethnic Culture
What is an American?

It is clear that Progressive era Americans from different backgrounds differentially defined precisely what being an American actually meant. Stephen Meyer wrote in the work entitled "Efforts at Americanization in the Industrial Workplace 1914-1921 that Americanization

"…involved the social and cultural assimilation of immigrants into the mainstream of American life…" but that the process was of the nature that was comprised of "a unique and distinctly American method for the resolution of a key industrial problem -- the problem of work-discipline and of the adjustment of new workers to the factory environment." (p.323)

The Americanization campaign is stated by Meyer to have been one that was "voluntary, benevolent and educational." (p.323) However, the programs emerged from within the factories and had negative connotations as well. It was not so much an issue of the diversity represented by the national or ethnic cultures but…

orld ar I upon the Great Depression on the federal role of American government
After the advent of the Great Depression and the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, America shifted in its national emphasis from being an economically decentralized nation, with a capitalistic and 'hands off' attitude to the development of industry, to a more truly modern nation that took an active role in the lives and well being of its citizens. The American federal government also began to seek to exercise its moral influence upon the rest of the world. However, this shift from American isolationism towards those in need within America, as well as the needs of individuals abroad, did not come with some national soul-searching. The historian illiam E. Leuchtenburg writes in his text The Perils of Prosperity: 1914-32 that the economic advancement of the post orld ar I era, and America's less economically damaging late involvement in…

Racism, nativism, and exclusion: Public policy, immigration, and the Latino experience in the United States. Journal of Poverty 4, 1-25.
Shacknove, a. (January 1985). Who is Refugee? Ethics 95, 274-284.

Said, E. (1993) Culture and imperialism. www.zmag.org/zmag/articles/barsaid.htm.

Platt, a.M., & Cooreman, J.L. (2001). A multicultural chronology of welfare policy and social work in the United States. Social Justice 28, 91-137.

Reisch, M. (1998). The sociopolitical context and social work method, 1890-1950. Social Service Review, June, 162-181.

Carlton-LaNey, I., & Hodges, V. (2004). African-American reformers' mission: Caring for our girls and women. Affilia, 19, 3, 257-272.

Gordan, L. (2002). If the Progressives were advising us today, should we listen? Journal of the Guilded Age and Progressive Era 1, 1-8.

Gordan, L. (1991). lack and white women's visions of welfare: Women's welfare activism, 1890-1955. Journal of American History, Sept. 559-590.

Williams, L.F. (2003). An assult on white privilege: civil rights and the…

Modern-Day Corruption and Graft
The Watergate incident that occurred in President Nixon's Administration is exemplary of modern day corruption. Here, the government under Nixon's presidency was recognized to have sanctioned a sequence of confidential monitoring operations conducted by highly-trained agents that was financed by illegal campaign contributions. The seriousness of the incident was such that ichard Nixon had to resign his presidency.

Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois offered differing philosophies, strategies, and tactics for African-Americans following econstruction. In your opinion, which of these leaders gave the best advice for their times? Why do you feel this way?

Booker T. Washington primarily believed that the approach to deal with the African-Americans after the econstruction was tolerance, adaptation, and self-assistance with maximum attention on the provision of job opportunities for possible advancement of the community W.E.B. Dubois, on the other hand, asserted that the best methodology was the use of campaigning…

These years would come to define the modern American woman as a counterpoint to her sheltered Victorian counterpart.
4. Looking at the number of immigrants by region of the world from 1925 to 1981 and 1982 to 2005, as noted in the 2005 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, and at the number of asylees and refugees arrived and granted asylum, and deported aliens. From which regions and countries in the world do most recent new Americans come from, and in what proportion? Quantify the changes? hat political and social reasons could be the reason for such changes? hat impact might these changes in immigrant origins have on American society and culture?

The first waves of immigration to sweep through the United States during the 20th century would be European in origin. At a time when much of Europe would be fractured by conflict, poverty and political strife, the United States would…

Old and New Leadership Styles
Max Weber was correct that in modern society, the power of the bureaucracy increased exponentially with urbanization and industrialization, particularly when it was called upon to deal increasingly with social and economic problems. Such organizations were hardly designed to enable others to act within a democratic or participatory system, but to act on their behalf and direct them from above in a very hierarchical system. For example, during the Progressive Era and New Deal in the United States, the civil service was expanded to regulate capitalism in a variety of ways, to administer large parts of the economy and the growing social welfare state. Of course, with the growth in the power and influence of the civil service, opportunities for bribery, corruption, authoritarian behavior and catering to special interests instead of the public interest became far more common as well. Building public trust and confidence…

Doll House
Noted Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen composed his resound opus, "A Doll's House." Ibsen's "A Doll's House" is a dense and intriguing work that continues to vigorously engage readers and audiences after more than a century after his composition. Ibsen composed this play while in Italy, during the last quarter of the 19th century. He composed this play during and slightly before several significant global changes including industrialization and the emergence of American feminism during the Progressive Era of American history. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Ibsen channels these changes and harnesses them into a creative and well-crafted meditation upon many social and class aspects of society. While the paper will reference narrative aspects and literary devices within the text, the paper will analyze aspects of this "problem play" such as setting, character development, and symbolism to penetrate the depths of meaning present in "A Doll's House."

The primary setting…

The Progressives transformed America in a multitude of ways, some positive and some negative. Most importantly the situation offered voice to many who had not previously had voice, or at least gave permission to build one and created a completely different relationship between individuals, the economy and even government. Definitions used during the progressive era still apply to many attributes of social, political and economic reform today and many of the anti-corruptive checks and balances that were begun during the progressive era are lasting even into the modern information age. Diner contends that the progressive era marked an opening of opportunity for individuals and groups to help redefine American democracy in such a way that people might be better protected from industrialism, economic concentration and better allow the government or representative government to help control the destiny of the nation. (12) Most importantly Diner stresses that for many groups this…

ungalow Craze
The bungalow style was a major influence in the drastic change of American society and how people lived. It influenced a major shift in gender role of women in society, creating easier housekeeping techniques and greater employment and career opportunities for women by confronting economic and social issues in society using domestic architecture. The simpler home design expressed many tensions of Progressivism in attempting to solve social issues of the time. The transformation brought about new ideas as well as fears that had to be confronted.

The spread of factories from the industrial age left anxiety concerning the loss of independence and masculinity. The middle class population was becoming salaried workers, loosing economic and moral independence. The Progressive Era had created a deep desire to reshape institutions and values as well as faith to reform the people. At the same time, the Arts and Crafts Movement grew in…

History Of Human Services
When the Kalamazoo Foundation began in 1925, the welfare state in the U.S. was minimal, and on the federal level almost nonexistent. Problems of poverty, hunger, racism, unemployment, and inadequate education were largely left to the start and local levels to be dealt with by private charities and religious organizations. This only changed with the expansion of the federal safety net during the New Deal of the 1930s and the Great Society of the 1960s, although it has been contracting again over the last thirty years. During the Progressive Era of 1900-20 and into the next decade, civic-minded philanthropists and capitalists often took the lead in dealing with the social and economic problems of urban, industrial America, among them Dr. W.E. Upjohn, founder of Upjohn Pharmaceuticals. In addition to donating the first $1,000 in stock to establish the Kalamazoo Foundation, Upjohn also founded Bronson Methodist Hospital,…

Settlement Houses
Their Impacts on Immigrants in 19th Century

Amber

Settlement Houses were an attempt of socially reforming the society in the late nineteenth century and the movement related to it was a process of helping the poor in urban areas adopting their modes of life by living among them and serving them while staying with them. What today's youth would know as a Community Center, 'Settlement Houses' initially sprang up in the 1880's? At these facilities, higher educated singles would move to Settlement Houses and get to personally know the neighborhood and immigrant people that they were converting, studying, and/or teaching. Working together, they passed labor laws and changed the way the U.S. does business. Where these educated professionals stayed with the community and served them, the main intent of these reforms was to transfer this responsibility of social welfare to the government in the long-run.

An interesting fact…

Twentieth Century
The Gilded Age witnessed industrial progress and accumulated wealth that boosted the growth of the middle class, yet at the same time there was the spread of "appalling" conditions in the slum areas of the cities, the farmers were in desperate times, and factory workers and others were trampled upon by the wheels of progress (Progressive pp). The "war between capital and labor" demonstrated that Americans were willing to fight for their economic rights, and many historians believe that if the conditions of the working poor had not been addresses, the country very likely would have been thrown into another revolution (Progressive pp). Yet, a revolution did actually take place, just not on the battlefield (Progressive pp). It was called the Progressive Movement, and as a basic conservative movement, it was not meant to cause as stir, but to address the problems of society and find solutions in…

Inclusion Exclusion
Blassingame, John W. 1979. The slave community: plantation life in the antebellum South. New York: Oxford University Press.

The most overt explanation of the author's research problem is when he states: "To argue, as some scholars have, that the first slaves suffered greatly from the enslavement process because it contradicted their 'heroic' warrior tradition, or that it was easier for them because Africans were docile in nature and submissive, is to substitute mythology for history," (p. 4).

The struggles of African slaves are the topic for Blassingame's entire book, and it is impossible to indicate one page number describing all the travails that are detailed in the tome. However, the first chapter of the book does provide examples of the suffering of slaves in Africa, during the transatlantic voyages, and in the New World. Pages 6 and 7 describe in some detail the brutality of the slave boat…

" Prohibition, the Red Scare, and the Klan were responses to the flapper, reflecting anxieties about newly pluralistic demographics in the form of Mexican and Japanese immigrants as well as Africa-Americans and religious minorities such as Jewish people and Catholics. Many Americans saw modernity, as they conceptualized it, as a curse, not a blessing. The causes of the "Modern Temper were thus a culture clash of old and new, of a reaction to Progressivism as well as a desire to kick up the nation's heels at the end of World War I and a delight at the ability of more individuals to enter the more leisured consumer class. The national focus shifted to private solutions for social problems, such as women's interest in work rather than winning the vote, the Harlem Renaissance's emphasis on literature and newspapers to give Blacks a voice, and the retreat of organized labor and government's…

(235)
Conant challenged a very old standard with regard to education, as he identified that making decisions about who is given opportunity and who is excluded should be based on merit and ability rather than wealth, privilege and race. (235) His actions and ideals drive the continued utilization of federal student aide, even today, as well as the expansion of scholarship offering, both public and private as his work redefined the determination of who deserves education and who does not. (235-237) in a speech given by Conant he stressed that education in the past had fostered social stratification and in so doing created a potential situation of unrest among those who could not receive it. This Conant warned was the seed of revolution and the only manner in which to change this reality, he warned was through educational opportunity, "the chances of a nonrevolutionary development of our nation in the…

Hope Leslie Strong Female Characters of the 17th Century
Strong Female Characters in Sedgwick's Hope Leslie

The United States has not always been a free space for strong female characters. In fact, in its earliest stages, most women were confined to very strict gender rules and restrictions. That is definitely true in the case of the Puritan culture that settled in the North East in the 17th century. Catharine Maria Sedgwick's Hope Leslie presents a surprisingly strong and independent female protagonist who fights for what she believes in and against the constraining gender norms of the very conservative Puritan culture in the early days of the Massachusetts colony. This represents a connection between the American idea of independence and individualism and women's role in American history. Sedgwick is also standing up against the gender norms face d in her own era with such a strong female lead.

The novel itself…

Aldo Leopold and Environmental History
In answering the question of whether the United States has improved on environmental policy since the 1930s, the cyclical nature of the political system must be considered. A generational reform cycle occurs every 30-40 years, such as the Progressive Era of 1900-20, the New Deal of the 1930s and the New Frontier and Great Society of the 1960s and early-1970s. All of the progress that the United States has made in conservation, wilderness preservation and other environmental issues has happened in these reform eras. Barack Obama represents yet another reform cycle and his environmental record is better by far than any other president over the last forty years, although much of what he attempted to accomplish has been blocked by the Republicans and the corporate interests that fund them. In conservative eras like the 1920s, 1950s and 1980s and 1990s, almost nothing worthwhile happens with…

Amendment XIX Enactment of Amendment XIX and its contribution to the achievement of equal female rights

The enactment of the 19th amendment empowered women on many fronts. They were allowed to vote and consequently seized the opportunity to influence political decisions. The enactment saw the legalization of contraception and even abortion. There was economic empowerment too in the process. The more common availability of reproductive services and education doors increasingly opening up, more women enrolled in education institutions sought higher education. These developments also ushered in an era in which women began to occupy sensitive professional positions in the society. The amendment aimed at giving hope to all women. African-American women sought to link suffrage to race and gender across the country; so as to make sure that the benefits were not just paper-based policies, but practical processes for actual empowerment. Indeed, the African-American women believed that taking part in…

Whatever biases remain in public education can be removed, because the belief in equal opportunity has prevailed.
Standardized testing offers the only known way to ensure admissions to universities are based more on merit than on social class. In spite of their limitations, standardized tests do offer the only means to assess scholastic aptitude. A merit-based admissions procedure contributes to the betterment of society by offering educational opportunities to citizens who would be otherwise denied them. Upward social mobility and the ability to participate fully in the political process are possible outcomes of a merit-based educational system.

Effective educators understand the cultural contexts in which they work. In "Culture of Youth and How it Affects Learning," we saw how educators need to work hard to understand youth culture. To relate to their students, teachers must find common ground. Learning the language and values their students use out of the classroom…

"Divorce mediation confronts one of the most difficult conflicts that exist on earth, the breakdown and ending of the intimate, complex marriage relationship." The desire of individuals to remove divorce from the adversarial legal arena is fundamental to the growth of conflict resolution options for couples leaving a marriage. There is nothing more frightening than change, especially when the emotional stakes of the outcome of such change are so engendered in the emotions of the individuals involved, seeking a non-adversarial approach, is foundational to managing the situation effectively while attempting to avoid the pitfalls of making life altering decisions in a highly charged emotional situation, while still maintaining a sense of voice and control, a possibility the legal system does not usually allow as once again the individual must appoint a spokesperson and then trust that this spokesperson has the interest of all as their overriding goal.
Business

The types…

Liberal philosophies of criminal justice and conservative philosophies of criminal justice are often compared. In general the two philosophies are associated with the purpose and therefore type of result one might expect from arrest, prosecution, conviction and sentencing. In the liberal philosophy of criminal justice the general idea is that any sentence that is handed down to the offender should be one that supports reformation and rehabilitation while in the conservative philosophy the ideation is that sentences should be punishments with an emphasis on protecting the public and making sure the offender feels the repercussions of his or her actions. This can also be applied to juvenile justice and has since its inception near the time of the civil war in the U.S. (Tanenhaus xiii-xvi)
The early inception of this separate judicial system is that children who fall in the category to end up in juvenile court should in fact…

The Day Nursery Movement In her article “‘Of Women, by Women, and for Women’: The Day Nursery Movement in the Progressive-Era,” Anne Durst describes the Day Nursery Movement that got underway in the early 20th century as a result of progressive-minded women looking to help single mothers who needed someone to watch their young children while they went to work to earn a living for their families. The purpose of Durst in writing the article was to highlight Day Nursery Movement in America and show how women worked together to help one another at a critical time in Progressive America. Durst’s article is well-researched and information and sheds light on a subject that is usually off people’s radar. Durst’s main thesis is that the Day Nursery Movement held women come together for one of the first times in American history and create a real social movement designed to be by…

Accordingly, the ties between the psychological aspects of learning and the social aspects tend to be quite strong. Since the student's early social encounters take place within the classroom, he is learning far more than the step-by-step processes of test taking. Knowledge of his social conditions is necessary for the proper development of the student's abilities. Social and psychological features of education are so fundamentally related that they cannot be separated from each other without a sufficient loss of understanding concerning the other.

Primarily, the purpose of education is to produce functional members of society who value both each other and the work they perform. As simple as that may sound, it is an exceedingly difficult goal. In the United States the philosophical basis outlined by the Constitution demands that public institutions not only be employed, but also that they provide an equal level of schooling across geographic and social…

Human esources: Fair Labor Standards Act
An Examination of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and Its Implications for American Workers Today

Although most Americans take for granted the wide range of social programs that are in place for their protection, many of these initiatives are fairly recent in origin, but one that has been around for quite some time is the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The legislation established a minimum standard wage and a maximum work week of 40 hours in industries that were engaged in interstate commerce. The implications of the Act were profound, and today, in what has become a classic pattern over the years, calls for increases to the federal minimum wage are followed by impassioned cries from industry leaders that such an initiative will do more to harm business than it will to help minimum-wage workers. ather than routinely bankrupt America's businesses,…

The National League was formed in 1876 and enabled spectators to observe touring athletes play the game. The first World Series was played between the National League and its rival, the American League, in 1903. The popularity of baseball allowed for the financing of large baseball fields such as Fenway Park, Shibe Park, and Wrigley Field (Sports and Leisure, 2011). This era also saw the rise of collegiate football, boxing, and basketball.
The rise of entertainment was meteoric in the Gilded Age. With Americans working less and having a higher expendable income, they were able to enjoy entertainments such as expositions, amusement parks, vaudeville shows, sports, and music. To this day, the influence of these innovations and pastimes can still be seen in modern entertainment outlets and continue to amuse audiences everywhere.

Jim Crow Laws:

Jim Crow laws were state and local laws that were enacted between 1876 and 1965…

Second Reconstructions
One of the most dramatic consequences of the Civil ar and Reconstruction was that the South was effectively driven from national power for roughly six decades. Southerners no longer claimed the presidency, wielded much power on the Supreme Court, or made their influence strongly felt in Congress But beginning in the 1930s, the South was able to flex more and more political muscle, and by the 1970s some began to think that American politics and political culture were becoming 'southernized'.u How did this happen and what difference did it make to the development of the South and the United States?

Under segregation most blacks in the U.S. still lived in the South and were employed as sharecroppers, laborers and domestic servants, but the system of segregation and discrimination was also found everywhere in other sections of the country. Certainly virtually nothing was done for civil rights during the…

By 1935, during the Presidency of Franklin oosevelt, the Social Security Act, "one of the great landmarks in the history of healthcare legislation in the United States" (Couchman, 2001, p. 245), prompted the government to accept some responsibility for the future security of the aged, the handicapped and the unemployed as it relates to healthcare needs. In 1939, the oosevelt Administration also introduced the Wagner National Health Act which "gave general support for a national health program to be funded by federal grants to states and administered by states and localities" ("A
Brief History," 2009, Internet); however, due to a rapid decline in progressivism and the costs linked to World War I, this act failed to create a national healthcare agenda.

In 1943, the federal government finally came to acknowledge that healthcare was a major national priority which soon led to the Wagner-Murray-Dingell Bill which called for "compulsory national health…