Study GuideU.S. History II–The Progressive Era, 1900–19201.Political and Social ReformsBetween 1900 and 1920, the United States went through major changes. Factories expanded, citiesgrew quickly, and more people moved to urban areas. While these changes helped the economygrow, they also created serious problems. Workers faced unsafe conditions, cities struggled withcorruption, and powerful businesses often acted without limits.To fix these problems, many Americans supportedProgressivism. This was a reform movement ledmostly by middle-class people living in cities. Progressives believed the government should take amore active role in protecting citizens and controlling big business.Many Progressive ideas were not brand new. They built on earlier reform movements. For example:•Thefederal income taxand thedirect election of senatorscame from Populist ideas.•Prohibitiongrew out of anti-alcohol movements that began before the Civil War.Although Progressives created their own political party in 1912, the movement included bothDemocrats and Republicans. PresidentsTheodore RooseveltandWilliam Howard Taft(Republicans) andWoodrow Wilson(a Democrat) all supported Progressive reforms.1.1Muckrakers: Exposing Problems to the PublicA major force behind reform was a group of journalists calledmuckrakers. Their goal was to exposecorruption, unsafe conditions, and unfair practices so the public would demand change.Some important muckrakers included:•Lincoln Steffens, whose bookThe Shame of the Cities(1904) exposed corruption in citygovernments.•Ida Tarbell, who wroteThe History of the Standard Oil Company(1904), revealing how JohnD. Rockefeller used harsh and unfair business methods.•Upton Sinclair, whose novelThe Jungle(1906) described dangerous and unsanitaryconditions in Chicago meatpacking plants.These works first appeared in popular magazines likeMcClure’sandCosmopolitan. Their impact wasstrong. In fact, public outrage overThe Jungleled directly to new federal laws regulating themeatpacking industry.Preview Mode
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