Changes In The Progressive Era
America experienced many changes in the mid-1800s. Immigrants poured into the country at exponential rates to find jobs made by the growth of industry. As more and more immigrants came into large cities to find jobs, factories became very crowded and political machines took advantage of the new immigrants’ political power. The Progressive Era was a social movement motivated by muckrakers in the middle and upper class who sought to find and expose corruption in society. Rapid urbanization led to a corrupt political system and horrid industrial conditions that only wholesale progressive reforms could begin to improve.
In the late 19th century, political machines controlled much of the government by using the spoils system. William M. Tweed was the party boss of Tammany Hall, a powerful political machine in New York City. Boss Tweed would give jobs to any new immigrant who voted for his party. Voting booths during that time period were open so that members of the political machines could ensure that people voted for their party. In order to fix the corruption of political machines, progressive …show more content…
reformers urged for more actions to be taken by the federal government. They instituted the Australian ballot, a way of voting in secret booths so people were not as pressured to vote for a certain party. The federal government also passed the Pendleton Act of 1883. This required all applicants for government jobs to pass a civil service exam so that employees were chosen based on merit. These measures limited the power that political machines had in cities. Many changes were made to the state government as well to reduce corruption.
Prior to the Progressive Era, state senators were chosen by the legislators of their particular state. However, with the passing of the 17th Amendment senators were elected by the citizens of their state. The direct primary was established so that presidential candidates were chosen by the citizens rather than the Party Boss. The passage of the 19th amendment gave women the right to vote. This was the greatest extension of democratic suffrage in American history. Finally, initiatives, referendums and recalls gave citizens the ability to petition for new laws to be put on the ballot. These laws could then be voted on by the citizens of a state and approved or declined. The aforementioned reforms were the first steps of giving more power to people and lessening the power of political
machines.
Cities in the 1890’s were terribly crowded with very poor working conditions. Numerous reforms were made to mitigate these conditions. Child labor became regulated, limiting the hours that children at certain ages could work. Workers’ compensation was given to people who were injured at their jobs. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle told of the horrid conditions that workers in meat packaging plants experienced. Many workers lost fingers, hands, and hair which fell into the meat grinders. Unfortunately, readers were more concerned about the quality of their meat than the conditions workers, which led to the creation of the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act. A fire started on the ninth floor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, trapping many of the workers inside. The resulting tragedy forced cities to reconsider the infrastructure and safety of factories. As a result, fire escapes and elevators were required to meet standards set by the Department of Labor. While these reforms were a step in the right direction, they were not very successful. Workers were still very cramped, factory conditions were still quite dangerous, and child laborers were still neglected and overused. The Progressive Era was a very important period in America’s history. It addressed many issues that arose with urbanization and industrialization. The political reforms were quite successful at raising awareness of the corruption caused by political machines, although it did not immediately fix the problems. In the same way, industrial reforms were successful at making people aware of the terrible conditions prevalent in factories, but left many issues unresolved. Lots of changes were still needed in order to ensure equality for all the citizens of the United States.
In the late 19th century, political machines controlled much of the government by using the spoils system. William M. Tweed was the party boss of Tammany Hall, a powerful political machine in New York City. Boss Tweed would give jobs to any new immigrant who voted for his party. Voting booths during that time period were open so that members of the political machines could ensure that people voted for their party. In order to fix the corruption of political machines, progressive …show more content…
reformers urged for more actions to be taken by the federal government. They instituted the Australian ballot, a way of voting in secret booths so people were not as pressured to vote for a certain party. The federal government also passed the Pendleton Act of 1883. This required all applicants for government jobs to pass a civil service exam so that employees were chosen based on merit. These measures limited the power that political machines had in cities. Many changes were made to the state government as well to reduce corruption.
Prior to the Progressive Era, state senators were chosen by the legislators of their particular state. However, with the passing of the 17th Amendment senators were elected by the citizens of their state. The direct primary was established so that presidential candidates were chosen by the citizens rather than the Party Boss. The passage of the 19th amendment gave women the right to vote. This was the greatest extension of democratic suffrage in American history. Finally, initiatives, referendums and recalls gave citizens the ability to petition for new laws to be put on the ballot. These laws could then be voted on by the citizens of a state and approved or declined. The aforementioned reforms were the first steps of giving more power to people and lessening the power of political
machines.
Cities in the 1890’s were terribly crowded with very poor working conditions. Numerous reforms were made to mitigate these conditions. Child labor became regulated, limiting the hours that children at certain ages could work. Workers’ compensation was given to people who were injured at their jobs. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle told of the horrid conditions that workers in meat packaging plants experienced. Many workers lost fingers, hands, and hair which fell into the meat grinders. Unfortunately, readers were more concerned about the quality of their meat than the conditions workers, which led to the creation of the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act. A fire started on the ninth floor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, trapping many of the workers inside. The resulting tragedy forced cities to reconsider the infrastructure and safety of factories. As a result, fire escapes and elevators were required to meet standards set by the Department of Labor. While these reforms were a step in the right direction, they were not very successful. Workers were still very cramped, factory conditions were still quite dangerous, and child laborers were still neglected and overused. The Progressive Era was a very important period in America’s history. It addressed many issues that arose with urbanization and industrialization. The political reforms were quite successful at raising awareness of the corruption caused by political machines, although it did not immediately fix the problems. In the same way, industrial reforms were successful at making people aware of the terrible conditions prevalent in factories, but left many issues unresolved. Lots of changes were still needed in order to ensure equality for all the citizens of the United States.