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Progressive reformers were successful in producing reform and receiving national attention during the early stage of the progressive movement, but as America entered into the Great War, the government ceased to aid the movement, hence ending the era of reform from 1900­ 1920. Up until 1917, the progressive movement was successful in bring federal attention to issues such as monopolies and trusts, the working conditions in factories and the women’s rights movement. Strong reformers and the support from active presidents like Roosevelt and Wilson encouraged the progressive movement to flourish and pass bills and amendments, but when Wilson declared that America was to go to war against Germany in 1917, the movement which should have continued was ended because of the aftermath of the war. Because of the war, the Progressive Era reformers and the federal government were moderately successful in bringing reform to America, but they were prevented from being truly being successful. The Progressive Era brought trusts and big businesses into the public eye and with the help of reformers and Teddy Roosevelt; bills were passed to limit the power of the big businesses that were dominating the American economy. With the help of the muckrakers who were journalists who uncovered the corruption in corporate America, the public got to see how exactly the big business capitalists were making their money. As more and more Americans realized that trusts were manipulative, there was more public outcry for reform. The election of Theodore Roosevelt also aided the crusade against trusts. Roosevelt was one of the first presidents who enforced the Sherman Anti­Trust Act and who wanted to

limit the trusts to some extent. Obviously, Roosevelt couldn’t abandon all of his connections with the robber barons’ who owned the trust, because then he would lose all of his diplomatic standing with the more conservative republicans in congress, but Roosevelt showed America that he would