Progressivism Dbq

Due to the rise of industries, a vast amount of jobs became available, especially for the working class, which paved the way for many issues among employers, their employees, the public and the government. In the early twentieth century, these issues started to affect the middle class’s views on the working class because they were concerned with the consequences of industrialization. The creation of the Social Gospel—a movement made up of middle-class Protestants—was meant to bridge a gap between the middle and working class. Many middle-class people were evolving new views on the causes of these social problems such as realizing that poor people weren’t poor due to sin, but due to circumstance. Not only were they concerned with the working-class and immigrants, but

This movement resonated with young women who felt that they should have a say in government due to the labor problems many working class women, children and families were experiencing at the time. The need for reform caused the new ideology of Progressivism to emerge. Therefore, one candidate, Theodore Roosevelt, was chosen to represent the Progressive ideals by running as a Third-Party candidate in the Presidential election of 1912. Although Roosevelt lost the presidential election, his speech, “The New Nationalism”, presented ideas that permeated with the American public due to his discussion of corporate corruption, government regulation, labor reform, and concerns over the public welfare, which reflected progressive ideals. One of the first major points covered throughout Theodore Roosevelt’s speech was corporate corruption. During the nineteenth to the early twentieth century, corporations had control over the government by using their wealth to obtain votes that favored their own needs. Many politicians helped to support big business and, for that reason, Progressives had to construct new laws that