The near-perfect Progressive Era essays

The near-perfect Progressive Era essays From the rise of the twentieth century until 1920, the Progressive Era took shape. The economy became dominated by corporate giants just as workers began to unionize. This reform movement known as progressivism arose in response to problems caused by industrialization. The Progressive Era shone at a time when America was battling social upheavals caused by industrialization, while having only a few coercive dimensions. Most of the progressives accepted the capital system, but only wanted to modify it. There was no unified movement, though, as everyone wanted to reform different things. Jane Addams was a pioneer of social work. She founded the settlement of Hull House in Chicago, Illinois. Margaret Sanger wanted to educate the urban poor about the benefits of family planning through birth control. She founded an organization that came to be known as Planned Parenthood. Booker T. Washington, a former slave, focused on teaching African-Americans trade skills to earn a living. He founded the Tuskegee Institute. Finally, W.E.B. Dubois founded NAACP. Dubois was a Harvard-educated professor who focused on a liberal arts education for African-Americans. Social reformers were widespread in their different reformation goals. Another major force in the Reformation was the muckrakers. Muckrakers was a term coined by Theodore Roosevelt to describe individuals who investigated corruption and other problems concerning the American people. Many of their novels were so moving that they brought about results. Jacob Riis was the author of How the Other Half Lives(1890). This novel described the living conditions of urban poor, and resulted in new building codes in NYC to promote health and safety. Frank Norriss The Octopus (1901) exposed monop olistic railroad practices in California. It led to the breakup of the holding company controlling the railroad in Northern Securities V. U.S. (1904). Finally, Upton Si...