Goals Of The Progressive Era

The Progressive Era was an important period in the history of the United States of America between 1890 and 1920. Industrialization, urbanization and waves of immigration brought significant changes to the country, some were good and some were a challenge for the country. The major goals of the progressives were to promote the ideas of morality, economic reform, efficiency and social welfare. The Progressives and reformers had many different methods and ideas for solving social problems, both challenging and beneficial. These reformers were responding to the difficulties that confronted the nation at the end of the nineteenth century, namely quick urban sprawl, modern working conditions, women’s rights, and racism in the South. They also

For instance, there were politician reformers who regulated monopolies and trusts, protestant Church leaders demanding temperance on alcohol, women who claimed their rights to vote, African-American seeking for more equalities and rights. But despite its mixed makeup and incoherence, the progressive movement did mark one thing across the entirety of the country. From California to Long Island, people’s attitudes were changing from those of the Gilded Age. More so than any other point in history, the Progressive Era marks a clear departure from the people and attitudes that came directly before it. As such, the Progressive Era marked a monumental change in the nation from the social, political and economic beliefs of the Gilded

The movement culminated with the emergence of Theodore Roosevelt as a the most progressive president in American history. Roosevelt believed in something that he referred as the Square deal, this was his new progressive belief, and one which he pushed for on multiple fronts. Roosevelt took a look at the Sherman anti-trust Act that was passed in 1890, and he realized that it was ineffective into reducing the powers of trusts, in fact it was sometimes used against Labor unions. As a result he broke up the Northern Securities companies (Railroad monopoly). He was also be known for his Trustbusting, and take on anti-trust actions, he distinguished the good ones (which gave consumers advantages) from the bad ones (which crushed the competition and harm consumers). These pro-consumer actions were held up as a bastion of progressivism. After so many years at the mercy of large corporations, the country was finally shifting to be much more consumer friendly. Consumer protections were set up to combat the few protections that were in place which did little to prevent food provoked illnesses. The meat inspection Act (1906) was passed and federal officers were sent to meat industries to check the quality of the meat. Conservation of the environment and its natural resources became a national issue. Roosevelt passed the Forest reserve Act to protect about 150 million acres of federal land. And the Newlands Reclamation