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Working And Living Conditions During The Progressive Era

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Working and living conditions during the beginning of the Gilden Age were often inadequate, leading middle-class and working-class individuals to push for change through the Progressive Era. Accidents resulting in injuries or death were led by poor sanitation in both the work industry and in the homes of low and middle-income citizens. Attention to workplace sanitation resulted from workers and other progressivists speaking up, and fighting for change. Different muckraking journalists such as Upton Sinclair and Lincoln Steffens spoke out against the government for corruption and unsanitary conditions in the workplace which persuaded the public to fight for change in sanitation. During the Progressive Era, epidemiologists and progressives created …show more content…

With an increase in the divide of economic equality during the Gilden Age, low-income individuals often lived in overcrowding housing, and “they were were served—if at all—by inadequate public water supplies and waste disposal”. These housing conditions were perfect for contagious diseases to spread and flourish. However, throughout the Progressive Era, germ theory rapidly improved as the United States became more aware of how germs and diseases spread through both people and contaminated objects. The average citizen, along with large corporations took precautions of sanitary methods “to insure cleanliness, fresh air, pure water, proper sanitary arrangements, etc,” along with detecting diseases early before they could spread. Sanitation for illnesses before the Progressive Era was often minimal causing the disease to rapidly spread. However, new sanitary precautions were able to minimalize the spread of disease, decreasing the number of lives lost due to illness. Throughout the Progressive Era, the care of illnesses in and out of the workplace greatly improved through an understanding of how diseases work and knowledge of ways to prevent …show more content…

Water pollution before the Gilden Age greatly impacted public health, but it was often ignored until progressives pushed for change. Sewage was the biggest factor in water pollution, and it “was primarily a public health problem, but it also damaged private property, recreation and fisheries”. The lack of waste disposal caused many people to be infected with diseases which led to progressive policies being formed to fix the issue of water pollution. In 1899, The Rivers and Harbor Act was passed which prohibited the discharge of waste into navigable waters, and the sanitation of water greatly improved after epidemiologists found the negative effects of waste disposal. The improvement of the sanitation of water impacted public health by decreasing deadly outbreaks of diseases like cholera. Throughout the Progressive Era, the cleanliness of water improved, creating safe water that is not polluted with waste, which is similar to the tap water people still drink

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