The Progressive Era

Context

• Followed the Gilded Age
• A movement from 1896 to 1916 addressing issues from industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and political corruption
• Driven by the American middle class

Key Reforms and Themes

Political Corruption

• Exposed by Muckraking journalists
• Targeted political machines and party bosses
• Aimed for direct democracy

Corporate Monopolies

• Federal anti-trust laws
• Leveled the playing field for competitors

Government Regulation

• Formation of oversight agencies (e.g., FDA)
• Higher regulations over manufacturers

Scientific Management (Taylorism)

• Applied to inefficiencies in society and industry
• Symbolized by the stopwatch

Prohibition of Alcohol

• Targeted political bosses operating from saloons
• Some support based on religious grounds

Women’s Suffrage

• Advocated for female vote to purify politics

Child Labor

• Highlighted abuses and advocated reforms

Higher Education and Social Sciences

• Applied scientific methods
• Replaced amateur academics with research-oriented professors

National Impact

Republican Policies

• President Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal
  • Trust busting
  • Regulating railroads
  • Establishing national parks and forests
  • Ensuring high food and drug standards

Democratic Policies

• President Woodrow Wilson’s New Freedom
  • Conservation
  • Bank reform
  • Tariff reductions
  • Regulation of trusts

End of the Era

• Progressive Era ended with WWI
• Re-emerged in the Roaring 20s
• Ended again with the stock market crash of 1929

Legacy

• Major turning point in American modernization