Era Of Progressivism

The Progressive Era was a time that began with realization and frustration by society, and resulted in activism and reform. Progressivism, in its inception, was strictly a social movement, but soon grew into an all-encompassing philosophy. Many different people from many different backgrounds added fuel to the fire that was progressivism. It’s accurate to say that local level reforms and the idea of power to the people were large aspects of the movement. But looking closely at the idea of progressivism from origin to the beginning of the next era, it is evident that small scale reform was not the main influence on the newfound philosophy. People like Theodore Roosevelt that added power to the presidency and expanded the government were the
poverty, division of the classes, racism, poor working conditions and violence, were not able to be addressed in a more activism oriented way than referring to life as “survival of the fittest”. This was originally a social movement with muckrakers taking lead, but it was soon realized that there was no feasible way to accomplish these lofty goals without the leadership of the government and the President. The Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902 is an example of people taking a stand because of their poor working conditions. At the time, Theodore Roosevelt intervened, neutral to the situation, and negotiated a ten percent pay increase as well as a shorter work day. The President had never before become personally involved in a labor strike. This led to many more steps in the right direction for improved working conditions. Furthermore in the subject of improved working conditions, in 1911, when Taft was president, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory caught fire. This led to many inspections of child labor practices and safety in the work environment in general. As a seemingly direct effect of the fire, in 1916, while Woodrow Wilson was in office, the Workmen’s Compensation Act was passed which ensured that workers would receive compensation after sustaining an injury at work. Prior to this act, workers who were hurt on the job had no way of collecting an
Roosevelt was president, a situation similar to the Progressive Era arose. This was called The New Deal. It included three main points, much like Teddy’s Square Deal, although the points are much less drastic: relief, reform and recovery. This compares to the Progressive Era because it was a period of time where the President was dedicated to making changes for the benefit of the country. It differs in the sense that this time was all about recovery, political peace and reverting back to how they were before 1929 as opposed to passing new acts, busting trusts and rapidly moving forward with new ideas. The New Deal, like the Progressive Era, would not have been possible without the leadership of a