Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the Progressive era was in full swing. Many reformers drew from social aspects such as segregation and prohibition to motivate the changes that later took place. As is with any country, views were divided amongst the citizens of the United States when it came to hot topic issues. As the Progressive movement picked up, many reformers became prominent for their stances, such as Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois with segregation and how African Americans and whites should live together. Overall, the fundamental differences between reformers and the issues they attempted to change through various means led to the Progressive movement leading to reforms of the problems affecting the United States. …show more content…
The Niagara Movement, founded by William Monroe Trotter and W.E.B Du Bois in 1905, had a mission to develop an aggressive way of fighting racial inequality. Du Bois believed that African Americans should fight for racial equality through violence and other means to prove their race as equal to the white people. Though an aggressive way of fighting racial inequality would be to combat the violence demonstrated towards the African Americans, such as the lynchings in the South, which were famously reported by Ida B. Wells, many African Americans disagreed and thought that the best course of action was to attempt to be peaceful with the white people. The Niagara Movement eventually led to the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909 as an outgrowth. The NAACP, rather than fighting the discrimination through violence, chose to fight the social and racial inequalities through legislation, court cases and protests. One reformer, Booker T. Washington, believed that African Americans should learn trades and work with the white people who were oppressing them rather than use violent tactics. Washington and Du Bois famously disagreed about the course of action which should be taken to ensure racial equality amongst whites and …show more content…
Thousands of people lived in slums and lived desperately below the poverty line in cities. A photographer, Jacob Riis, captured the devastating effects of the population by photographing and publishing “How the Other Half Lives”. From the publication of his book, nationwide attention was drawn to the shoddy living conditions in which thousands of people were living. The formation of settlement houses, most famously Jane Addams’s Hull House in Chicago, began to help those living in slums become more financially stable while learning community values. Many other reformers also arose during this time, including Margaret Sanger, who educated the urban poor about their benefits of family planning through birth control by establishing Planned Parenthood. Another famous reformer of the Progressive era is Booker T. Washington, a former slave who founded the Tuskegee Institute. The Tuskegee Institute focused on teaching African Americans trade skills to earn a living and gain the trust of a white society. Although W.E.B Du Bois, a founder of the Niagara Movement, later an outgrowth into the NAACP, originally believed that violence was a valid means of ensuring racial equality amongst African Americans and whites, he later focused on the need for a traditional liberal arts education in which African Americans could use their education to insist on equal treatment and rights from a
In the Gilded Age, a massive wave of industrialization and modernization fell upon the United States. As a response to new opportunities blacks gained, Jim Crow and discrimination were created to suppress them. A collection of rules and anti-black policies became engaged in everyday life. Two key figures appeared to combat these issues: Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois. Washington’s plan to handle issues of poverty and discrimination were focused on the idea of community. His argument was to have whites support blacks in the workforce so that all of America’s economy would rise. He directed his idea to appease and welcome white folks since they were still far more influential in public policy, and said that eventually over time, whites would develop respect for blacks and provide them with civil rights. On the other hand, W.E.B Du Bois called for a more radical approach to gain civil rights. His plan advocated for an elite group of intellectuals in the black community to speak out and create social change. He
Cities and industry grew in growth on the first of January in 1900 which created an influx of the high classes. Andrew Carnegie is a factory owner who was about to sell his steel company, but ended up becoming one of the richest man in the world. However, there was an underside of this whole excitement to earn money and the hope of the American dream. Average earnings were less than $500 a year, but in the unskilled southern workers earned an average of $300 a year. The work hours were 60 hours a week, wages were strained, and horrible child labor. The question is what was the most important problems in America during the early 1900s that needed to be addressed by The Progressive Movement. There are three main reasons: the struggling child labor, women’s voting rights, and
The term Progressivism implies a philosophy that promotes change/reform in the current political, economic, and social aspects of society while conservatism stresses gradual change in society but promotes tradition rather than change. The Progressive movement from 1901 to 1917 worked to improve aspects of society that grew out of problems which occurred during the Industrial Age. The goals of the "Progressives" were to stop monopolies, corruption, inefficiency and social injustices. Both progressive acts and amendments were being passed to deal with social ills, corruption in politics and corporate America. The period from 1901-1917 was more a victory for liberalism, mainly "modern liberalism", than a triumph of conservatism due to the fact that multiple reform movements were occurring in this era changing political, economic, and social aspects in society to protect the rights of the common man.
In the beginning of the twentieth century, the economy was booming, new technology flourished. The rapid industrialization brought achievement to the United States, however, it also caused several social problems. Wealth and power were concentrated in the hands of a few, and poverty and political corruption were widespread. As people became aware of these problems, a new reform group was created. Unlike populism, which had been a group of farmers grown desperate as the economy submerged into depression, the new reform movement arose from the educated middle class. These people were known as the progressives. The Progressive Movement was a movement that aimed at solving political, economic, and social problems. The Progressives were people from the middle class who had confidence that they could achieve social progress through political reform. The Progressives sought after changes and improvements in the society through laws and other federal actions.
Within the period of 1900-1920, many national reforms were rising to the top as Progressive Era reformers and the federal government heard the voices of the people. The effectiveness of Progressivism is a controversial subject for some, but the future was changed through the events of any actions a president made, the rights of people, and unfair treatment and conditions. This era brings changes to our society that also changes the future of it. These two decades brought forth successful times in bettering America.
The scholar and leader for the black community wrote a discussion in 1903 with the title of, “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others.” Both Washington and Du Bois were leaders of the black community in the 19th and 20th century, even though they both wanted to see the same outcome for black Americans. They both ultimately had opposing thoughts on how to achieve social and economic advancement for the black community. Looking back on history, W.E.B Du Bois was correct in racial equality would only be achieved through politics and higher education of the African American youth.
The Progressive Movement The progressive movement of the early 20th century has proved to be an intricately confounded conundrum for American historians. Who participated in this movement? What did it accomplish, or fail to accomplish? Was it a movement at all? These are all significant questions that historians have been grappling with for the last 60 years, thus creating a historical dialogue where in their different interpretations interact with each other.
In order to have a better America, The Progressive Era was a time where activist and reformers from various backgrounds, had various agendas and reacting to challenges which faced the country. These challenges were rapid urban sprawl, immigration, corruption, industrial working conditions, growth of large corporations, women’s rights, surging anti-black violence and white supremacy (KKK) in the South. Some positive results of progressive movement were for women given the right to vote, to remove alcohol from communities and the establishment of the democratic voting process. In addition, Progressive activist took up a cause for legislation to address some of the troubling industries in America such as child labor, anti-trust, big business break ups and health and
In an era of addressing social issues and inequality, many African Americans were segregated and divided; they fought for justice but racial tensions still formed. The Progressive Era: a time of major movements of the American population. During the decades between the 1890s and 1920, Americans were faced with many challenges and in turn, they entered a modern era of change. The states and cities were experiencing a newly diverse and urban society. There were new technological advances and industrial economics were growing rapidly since the Civil War. Although, not all innovations made during this time were beneficial. With the large innovations in society and the progressive mindsets, the lives of African Americans dramatically changed. The
Where did some of modern America's issues originate from? The answer to that is the Progressive Era. The Legislation of that era laid all of the groundwork for today, and much of it is still in public debate today. Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson, three of the presidents from that era, all played roles in the groundwork. These presidents passed acts, tariffs, and amendments that are still with us, and debated today.
From 1890 to 1920 was labeled the Progressive Era and responded to the social problems that arose from the Industrial Revolution that was sweeping across America. This social movement changed into to a political one and corruption ran high throughout the governments and political parties. Corporate greed was astounding and was keeping the general society at poverty levels. The wealthy Americans used their wealth to live lifestyles of lavishness that was being created from the modernization of America, while the poor had to sleep in the alleys and beg for food. Men and women were being worked 12 to 16 hours a day and children labor was rampant with no laws in place to protect the children workers. The Progressive Era sought to eliminate these negative impacts to society create solid education systems and safe work environments. Social reform was seriously desired and the progressives were destined to change the way society in America was being established by the Tycoons such as Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, and Cornelius Vanderbilt. Constitutional Amendments were added during the Progressive Era to create social change and correct the political interests of America. Woodrow Wilson views on the ‘literary theory’ of checks and balances is simply a consistent account of what our Constitution makers tried to do;” he stated, “and those checks
He did not experience the harsh conditions of slavery. Dubois was raised in a majority white community, and at Harvard University became the first African American to attain a doctorate degree. Like Washington, Dubois agreed that “blacks” needed to become economically independent and find civil equality. However, W.E.B Dubois was offended at racial injustice and inequality. Du Bois understood Washington’s program, but believed this wasn’t the solution Unlike Washington, he demanded that African Americans should immediately have the right to vote, equal rights, and be granted more equal educational opportunities to. WEB Dubois wanted educational reform in a way that fulfilled requirements for African American students. WEB Du Bois declared African American demands through his “Declaration of the Principles of the Niagara Movement,” in which he demanded social equality. This movement led to the creation of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The leaders of NAACP often criticized Washington. WEB Dubois opposed Washington’s methods regarding black discrimination. Washington believed the only way to end racial segregation against blacks in the long run was to gain support and cooperation with Whites. Dubois wanted full equality
Du Bois had a very militant approach to the problem with discrimination against black people. Du Bois campaigned for equal rights rather than attempting to earn them, and felt that a direct approach would be the best way to gain equality for black people. Du Bois’ book The Souls of Black Folk contains the following quote: “The power of the ballot we need in sheer defense, else what shall save us from a second slavery?” (Du Bois 1). This quote shows Du Bois felt there was an urgent need to attain the rights necessary to protect the black community, and that acquiring the right to vote would help ensure their protection. Du Bois also wanted to change the environment for black people, and he did so through agitation and protest. Du Bois disagreed with Washington and felt that submitting to the white people was wrong and would not get them the rights they need to ensure
“It should come as no surprise that Washington’s historical conflict culminated as a struggle between him and DuBois” (Gibson III 66). To say the least, both men were very active in the upbringing of African-Americans, but their differences in displaying out the solution was what brought them apart. Washington wanted the education system to enforce industrial teachings that started at lower economic power, while DuBois had more abstract ideas of equality and voting for African-Americans. Washington was conservative in the matter of African-American inclusion into society, hoping that given enough time and progress, people would learn to accept them, rather than fight for social power like what DuBois stood for. Despite Washington’s program that appealed to White-Americans, he was involved in politics and spoke about the disfranchisement of African-Americans. His idea of easing tensions with the superior gathered him more publicity, as to DuBois’s plan of protesting. As a result, DuBois’s idea became more prominent as it branches into what we know now as the civil rights movement. Historically, Washington and DuBois has made a name for themselves, through their intentions for the good will of African-Americans, and that is something that will always hold true in these two notorious
After doing some additional research it was apparent that W.E.B. DuBois lived an interesting yet controversial life. He was born in Massachusetts, excelled in academics and graduated as the valedictorian of his high school class. DuBois went on to earn two bachelor degrees and then became the first African American to obtain a PhD from Harvard University. His thesis, "The Suppression of the African Slave Trade in America," was the first book published by Harvard University Press. During his time as a college professor, DuBois came to the conclusion that housing and employment discrimination were the main obstacles to racial equality. In 1905, DuBois and William Monroe Trotter formed the Niagara Movement that went against Booker T. Washington’s