Progressive Era Dbq

In the early 1900s, America was going through a Progressive Era that forever transformed the lifestyles of the middle and lower class citizens around the country. Reformers, usually politicians or writers, strived to improve the welfare and status of the United States locally and nationally. While some of the reforms, like the Drug and Food Act and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, tremendously improved the life and well being of American citizens, others fell drastically short. The federal government’s political, economic, and social efforts to reform the lives of American citizens were successful in theory, but often times were executed poorly and had little impact on the country as a whole. During the Progressive Era, it seemed that the political

In 1912, Roosevelt declared that the Americans deserved the right to vote directly for the senators that represented them [Doc D]. After long, strenuous debates and thorough consideration, the Seventeenth Amendment was ratified and passed by Congress and the House in 1913. This achievement was a milestone in politics, being one of the first elections that directly came from the sovereign people. This also took the influence away from the corrupt and prejudiced “Millionaires Club”, which was a powerful political entity that practically bought senate seats for esteem and authority. While Roosevelt utilized his presidential power to aid the citizens of America, Taft focused all of his energy on “trustbusting” and not on political reform. It also seemed that

Child labor was a continuous problem in factories and warehouses during the 1900s. Children were often times forced into dangerous, low-paying jobs by their own parents in order to support and provide for their families. When Congress attempted to limit the interstate commerce of products produced by children and shorten their workday, parents believed that this was abusing the authority of Congress by stretching it to local matters [Doc G]. This backward step in the prevention of child labor was nearly detrimental to the well being of the future generation. Socialists like Jane Addams rallied against child labor promoters and declared that children belonged in classrooms, not factories [Doc C]. In order to have a successful next generation, the children needed to be well-educated and intelligent human beings. Women activists and Muckrakers then publicized the mistreatment of children in the workplace and were able to evoke enough attention to persuade Congress to pass the Keating-Owen Act in 1916, the nation’s first law against child labor. As more and more attention was brought to child labor, women began to strive for attention and recognition of their own. As the World War progressed and moved its way into American life, women fought for the ability to govern and vote for themselves [Doc