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Activism In The United States During The 1920's

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Activists and reformers played a pivotal role in shaping the United States during the period from the 1860s and 1920s. They advocated for various social, political and economic reforms, bringing about significant changes in American Society unlike any seen before. These movements were led by many different people and organizations who demanded change through legal and social means.
During the 1860s, the United States was coping with the aftermath of the Civil War and the challenges of Reconstruction. Many northern activists were especially seeking to address social and political inequalities facing recently freed slaves. The most notable example of activism during the 1860s was the fight to give African Americans the right to vote. The passing …show more content…

Activists and reformers responded by advocating for labor rights and social justice. The emergence of the labor movement, exemplified by organizations such as the Knights of Labor who advocated for workers rights, better wages, better safety regulations and an 8 hour work day. KOL also tried to unite workers no matter the gender or ethnicity by including African Americans and female workers. Although a lot of effort was made by activists, the Haymarket affair of 1886, which resulted in violence and repression against labor activists, caused a setback in the overall movement as activists were blamed for the event. Additionally this decade saw many attempts to address corruption. At the time there was a lot of political machines and widespread corruption throughout the country; especially in urban areas. Activists challenged the corrupt political practices and promoted political reform. For example the Mugwumps, which was a group of Republican reformers, demanded civil service reform and an end to the spoils system. They were extremely important in passing the Reform Act in 1883 which greatly benefited United States society as a whole. Although activism in this decade had many positive impacts in society it was held back in some areas due to public backlash. It was still the start of a very important movement in United States history as it …show more content…

A lot of reform movements gained momentum during this era including: political corruption, economic inequality, labor rights, and social injustices. One example of political reform was the passage of the 17th Amendment, which called for the direct election of United States senators by the people rather than by state legislatures which increased the power the people had relative to the state. This reduced corruption in the selection of senators and made the process more democratic as a whole. This was heavily advocated by progressives at the time and was a good step in the right direction for the county. Another area of reform during this decade was labor rights and social justice. Labor Movements like Industrial Workers of the World, and the American Federation of Labor grew significantly during this period and demanded better working conditions, higher wages, and the right to organize. Multiple strikes occurred in this decade including the Lawrence Textile Strike and Mesabi Range Strike which drew a lot of attention to activists but led to greater government intervention to shut them down. During this decade the women’s suffrage movement gained a lot of momentum. They demanded the right to vote for women and would stop for nothing less. The National American Woman Suffrage Association campaigned for women’s suffrage using many different

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America moved towards a more modern America by introducing progressivism into the politics of the 1920’s for the first time in history. A dichotomy of the 1920’s was the labor versus capital movement. Laborists, usually people who were a part of the working class, advocated for higher wages, less hours, and overall better working conditions. Capitalists, usually people who were employers and big business owners, wanted to keep their old business practices in place, such as cheap working conditions, low wages, and as many hours as needed. The Labor movement would be considered a progressive ideology while the capital movement the traditional ideology.

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In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s reformers in the United States were trying different methods to advance the country. The reformers had different goals such as earning women suffrage and assisting the poor. The reformers had their methods to help bring about change in society. Reformers had different goals and methods to help change the society.

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Many reform movements between 1825 and 1850 sought to expand democratic ideals by advocating many social and political changes including movements to prohibit alcoholic beverages, to increase public education, and to support rights for women. Movements within society were encouraged through the church as well as harmony.

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In the 1840’s there was a wave of democratization created after Jackson’s presidency. It was created the value of the common man, and the importance of every person who was in the government. Of course, there were exceptions to this rule as there still certain groups like blacks or women that were viewed as inferior, but the majority of the population felt like they had worth. This led to series of reforms: hospitals for the mentally ill, schools for people with physical disabilities, the temperance movement, and labor unions. This movements fought a better society with better treatment even though there would be no economic incentives to do so.

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At the beginning of the nineteenth century, American society began to focus on the welfare of minority groups. Women’s suffrage and abolition were rooted as deeply as the history of America, but asylum and prison reform sprouted with the Second Great Awakening, a movement that occurred in the early 1800s. The Second Great Awakening was led by religious leaders who advocated for changes in American society through the unity of the American people (Doc. Due to the Second Great Awakening, reform movements were established between 1825 and 1850 in order to represent the changes the people sought for in the issues of slavery, suffrage, and asylum and prison reform. The social aspect of the abolition movement led to the visible democratic changes in society and politics.

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Also, sought to give voters more direct control over politics. Progressive reforms fought to allow voters to propose legislation. They placed the idea of a referendum, which allows voters to vote on legislation that's on the ballot rather than letting legislators make that decision. Finally, fought and were successful

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The roles and ideas of the populist movement and progressives during the era of reform were to get reforms and other important things passed and to free corruption. This brought changes to political, economical, and brought social benefits. Progressives included both women and men from different ethnic groups and social classes. A lot of people believed that Industrialization and urbanization brought a lot of bad problems, including horrible treatment of the workers, which as we all know many people didn't like but not many people did something about it. Progressivism appealed lower class, middle class and upper class.

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Progressives sought to expand the role of government in reform while preserving a capitalist economy. They were urban, middle-class reformers. The Progressive Movement had a great impact on political

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Some of the significant reform movements of the 1900’s was the meat packaging movement that lead to better workplace conditions and better quality of food, the there was the suffrage which allowed women to vote, ten finally the reform of children at the workplace which exposed to the public what conditions were like for children in the workplace. Some significant activist were Upton Sinclair who wrote The Jungle and many other books that changed the face of the workplace and Elizabeth Cady Stanton who brought about the woman's right to vote. Tactics that activist used were peaceful protest such as with the suffragettes, then there was the spreading of information through books and newspapers like sinclair upton, and finally hunger strikes forcing

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Progressives pursued battles over issues like government regulation of the economy and democratic reform of the electoral process. Some of them worked for women suffrage, others for temperance, and still others for immigration restriction, government inspection of foods and drugs, or the improvement of wages and working conditions. Several politicians that occupied government offices also worked to end corruption in law enforcement, public transportation and other city services. Also, political powers of the voters were increased by legislation which gave them additional powers such as recall of a person from public office before his or her term ended. Under referendum laws the voters could pass laws without the need for the state legislatures

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During the early 1900’s there were significant reform movements. One of these movements was the Women’s Suffrage movement led by Alice Paul. The other major movement of the early 1900’s was the Child Labor Rights movement led by the National Child Labor Committee. These movements were started to improve the lives of women and children living in America.

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During the mid-1800s, the United States was experiencing several reform movements. But it was the abolitionist movement stood out from other movements in several critical ways. The abolitionist movement was distinctive in its unwavering commitment to ending slavery and its emphasis on achieving this goal through political action (Foner, 1995). One such differences between the abolitionist movement and other reform movements of the time was the focus of each movement.

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Forces such as immigration, industrialization, and the populist party during the time e=were the foundations that led to the progressive era reforms which impacted the American Government greatly in its democracy and in its activeness and involvement in businesses an so on. The progressive era reforms is quite similar to the New deal era in the 1930s, they each produced a record amount of programs and policies that worked to change the status of Americans living in poverty, which included their working

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Throughout history Americans have experienced many turning points that have influenced political and social change. Two turning points that influenced political and social change were the Women’s Suffrage Movement and the Civil Rights Movement. The Women’s Suffrage Movement’s main goal was to finally give women the right to vote. The Women’s Suffrage Movement can be compared to Prohibition, another movement that influenced change,  because both began do to the status of women in the United States, and resulted in a social change in the societal view of woman. The Civil Rights Movement’s effects can be compared to the Civil War, a war fought between the North and the South over the issue of slavery, because both resulted in a change in the social and political status of African Americans.

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In the intervening time certain existing institutions, notably religion and family had to be dismiss or changed. Reformist movements pursue limited changes in some institutions and values, commonly on behalf of some sector of society rather than all. The labor movement is essentially

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