Progressive Era Dbq
The Progressive Era reformers and the federal government did bring about many reforms at the national level. The Progressive reformers were able to bring issues such as women suffrage, and black rights into the consciousness of Americans, but these two reforms were forgotten by
President Woodrow Wilson. The reformers were more successful with improving working conditions in the meat packing industry. The more successful reforms by the federal government were trust busting and the passage of child labor laws, which was also brought about by the
Progressives.
One of the largest and most well known Progressive reforms was women's suffrage. In the late 1800s women became involved in political issues such as the temperance movement by …show more content…
forming the
Women's Christian Temperance Union. Later more then 500 such clubs emerged with one million members by 1917. Women used the power of their numbers for suffrage. When President Wilson was elected, he didn't embraced suffrage as past presidents had. In fact he began to neglect most of the issues important to women. Document H illustrates the anger many women were feeling. They felt as if they were being cheated out of their right to vote and their right to participate in government. The same was true for African Americans' civil rights.
Document I, which was written by notable activists W.E.B. DuBois, discussed how African Americans were helping America fight in World War
I and shedding blood and yet not receiving anything in return. At this time President Wilson wasn't supporting these issues, and ignored them. The Progressive reformers brought civil rights to a national stage, but the president he chose not to help the cause. A more successful reform made by the Progressive that received much public notoriety was the reform of the meat packing industry. This was sparked by a novel called The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair. In this novel, for the first time, the horrors of the meat packing factories were made known to the general public. Other reports began to emerge about the industry such as the Neill-Reynolds Report (Document B).
According to Document B, "...we saw meat shoveled from filthy wooden
floors, piled on tables rarely washed, pushed from room to room in rotten box carts, in all of which processes it was in the way of gathering dirt, splinters, floor filth, and the expectoration of tuberculosis and other diseased workers". In response, President
Roosevelt passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, and he also pushed
Congress to pass the Meat Inspection Act. This was a successful reform both for the Progressive reformers and federal goverment. The federal government's major reform was trust-busting. President
Roosevelt was the most active in trust busting. Trust busting got to a point though where the government was just rendomly picking and choosing which trusts were good and bad. Document A illustrate this by showing Roosevelt shooting bears where one bear is a good trust and the other is a bad trust. There was no merit or system in choosing which trust was bad. Later the federal government wrote the Clayton
Antitrust Act (Document E). It states "That it shall be unlawful for any person engaged in commerce...either directly or indirectly to discriminate in price between different purchasers of commodities which commodities are sold for use, consumption or resale within the United
States..." This antitrust act the government to have a tighter hold on corporations and reduce monopolies and trusts.
Child labor laws were another major reform for the federal government as well as Progressive reformers. In the 1800s many children at very young ages went to work to contribute income for their family. Many people such as Jane Adams began speaking out for child labor laws. In document D she talks about how, instead of going to school, children were going straight into the factories. She asked why the government was doing nothing to prevent this situation and help the children.
There was a setback in child labor laws with the case of Hammer vs
Dagenhart (Document G), in which stated that the federal government couldn't interfere in state child labor laws. While this was a futile attempt by the federal government to control child labor laws, it kept the ideas in the backs of people's minds. Between 1900-1920 the Progressive reformers were very busy. The
Progress Era reformers influenced the federal government and achieved changes at the national level. Initially some of the reforms seemed unsuccessful, but the more people heard about existing injustice, the more the government began to reform. Because the reforms
achieved nationwide attention, the issues remained important to Americans, and the reforms were eventually achieved.
President Woodrow Wilson. The reformers were more successful with improving working conditions in the meat packing industry. The more successful reforms by the federal government were trust busting and the passage of child labor laws, which was also brought about by the
Progressives.
One of the largest and most well known Progressive reforms was women's suffrage. In the late 1800s women became involved in political issues such as the temperance movement by …show more content…
forming the
Women's Christian Temperance Union. Later more then 500 such clubs emerged with one million members by 1917. Women used the power of their numbers for suffrage. When President Wilson was elected, he didn't embraced suffrage as past presidents had. In fact he began to neglect most of the issues important to women. Document H illustrates the anger many women were feeling. They felt as if they were being cheated out of their right to vote and their right to participate in government. The same was true for African Americans' civil rights.
Document I, which was written by notable activists W.E.B. DuBois, discussed how African Americans were helping America fight in World War
I and shedding blood and yet not receiving anything in return. At this time President Wilson wasn't supporting these issues, and ignored them. The Progressive reformers brought civil rights to a national stage, but the president he chose not to help the cause. A more successful reform made by the Progressive that received much public notoriety was the reform of the meat packing industry. This was sparked by a novel called The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair. In this novel, for the first time, the horrors of the meat packing factories were made known to the general public. Other reports began to emerge about the industry such as the Neill-Reynolds Report (Document B).
According to Document B, "...we saw meat shoveled from filthy wooden
floors, piled on tables rarely washed, pushed from room to room in rotten box carts, in all of which processes it was in the way of gathering dirt, splinters, floor filth, and the expectoration of tuberculosis and other diseased workers". In response, President
Roosevelt passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, and he also pushed
Congress to pass the Meat Inspection Act. This was a successful reform both for the Progressive reformers and federal goverment. The federal government's major reform was trust-busting. President
Roosevelt was the most active in trust busting. Trust busting got to a point though where the government was just rendomly picking and choosing which trusts were good and bad. Document A illustrate this by showing Roosevelt shooting bears where one bear is a good trust and the other is a bad trust. There was no merit or system in choosing which trust was bad. Later the federal government wrote the Clayton
Antitrust Act (Document E). It states "That it shall be unlawful for any person engaged in commerce...either directly or indirectly to discriminate in price between different purchasers of commodities which commodities are sold for use, consumption or resale within the United
States..." This antitrust act the government to have a tighter hold on corporations and reduce monopolies and trusts.
Child labor laws were another major reform for the federal government as well as Progressive reformers. In the 1800s many children at very young ages went to work to contribute income for their family. Many people such as Jane Adams began speaking out for child labor laws. In document D she talks about how, instead of going to school, children were going straight into the factories. She asked why the government was doing nothing to prevent this situation and help the children.
There was a setback in child labor laws with the case of Hammer vs
Dagenhart (Document G), in which stated that the federal government couldn't interfere in state child labor laws. While this was a futile attempt by the federal government to control child labor laws, it kept the ideas in the backs of people's minds. Between 1900-1920 the Progressive reformers were very busy. The
Progress Era reformers influenced the federal government and achieved changes at the national level. Initially some of the reforms seemed unsuccessful, but the more people heard about existing injustice, the more the government began to reform. Because the reforms
achieved nationwide attention, the issues remained important to Americans, and the reforms were eventually achieved.