The Progressive Era was the time period after the depression of the 1890s and before World War I. During this time the United States was going through a period of social change and political tumult. The American Society embarked on a journey of many reforms as a response to the diverse tensions and pressures presented by industrialization, urban growth, and ethnic tension. The roots of this reform clearly lay in the depression of the 1890s (1893 to 1897). The depression dramatized the problems in society, and raised the possibility of more violent upheavals if reform was not instituted. Major areas needing reform were poor public facilities, tax favoritism, corruption, environmental reform, and urban reform. This was a period of self-examination and renewal; it was a healthful contribution to the nation's history books. Even if the new regulatory agencies direct primaries, municipal reforms and conservation legislations may not have made all "wrong" things "right, they were able to make some significant change for the better. These new laws and commission's act had alleviated many citizens and had established the principle of government's responsibility for the general welfare of the
Bibliography: Gould Lewis L., The Progressive Era, Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, New York, 1974. Whitelaw Nancy, Theodore Roosevelt Takes Charge, Albert Whitman & Company, Morton Grove, Illinois, 1992. Auchincloss Louis, Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Holt and Company, New York, New York, 2001.