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Eras Of Government In The 1960s And 1970s

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Differing forms of government size and involvement in public affairs has shaped many eras in America’s history. Expanding the government has usually led to the creation of the programs and specific offices dealing with niche interests or offices targeted at helping specific demographics of citizens. When these programs are used to the benefit the disenfranchised and disadvantaged is when democratic government starts to become a better system for all instead of only benefitting those with power. In the following eras the government of the United States was altered in some manner; Progressivism, The Great Society, and social movements in the 1960s and 70s all impacted the existing ideals held by political leaders and constituents.
Progressivism is defined as a movement that was spearheaded by by white, middle-class white collar workers who desired solutions to urbanization …show more content…

Despite this time period being named the Progressive Era, it did not provide equality for all people (primarily people of color and women), and it occurred during Prohibition (Crash Course #27). The government was not a platform in which the most progressive actions took place,instead muckraking, a form of journalism intended to expose the abuse committed by industries and politicians (Crash Course #27). Jacob Riis, one of the most famous muckraker journalists, turned to creating books with photographs of impoverished people living in squalor after his articles did not stir up enough action to solve the issues he witnessed (The Mirror with a Memory). He partook in the medium of photography not as an art form but as a new manner in which he would make Americans face the truth of city slums and factory conditions. Another

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Catt explains the history of America’s democracy, political stand and goals through events and quotations of certain presidents. She states, “Abraham Lincoln welded those two axioms into a new one: ‘Ours is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.’” , she states another quote, “Fifty years more passed and the president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, in a mighty crisis of the nation,

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Political campaigns and elections in the United States changed dramatically between 1815 and 1840 due to large social and political changes, such as universal white male suffrage which caused caused more voters in the middle and lower classes, and the growth of the common man ideal which resulted in politicians that were voted into office based on their background rather than their actual political views and knowledge. The political changes that granted universal white male suffrage caused an increase in eligible voters (doc 1). This increase in eligible voters (mainly the middle class) led to a demand for politicians who were more inclined to push for legislation that would benefit the “common man”, this included topics such as child labor

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Progressivism Historiography Common Assignment The progressive movement was a great period of time in American History because it shows a time when not just one group but the entire country came together to cause real change across the nation. Each essay described the progressives and the reformed society, that they wanted, in their own ways. “Progressivism: Middle Class Disillusionment”, written by George Mowry- “Urban Liberalism and the Age of Reform”, written by Joseph Huthmacher-

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A mass body of people pointed out what they liked and disliked. Throughout history, one can clearly see change is made through citizen’s inputs that eventually makes an impact on the quality of life. During the Progressive Era, America was portrayed as the “best country” in the world. However, no one bothered to bring up the fact that one out of three people were starving to death or only six out of ten children were attending school due to financial instability in American households. The government was well aware of the poverty issues but they did not make an effort to help the people.

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3. The American people began to embrace the role of government during the progressive era to address poverty, poor health, violence, greed, racism, and class warfare. The American people came to understand that government was best positioned to improve education for regular Americans, protect them from street gangs and mobsters, ensure that that the workplace was safe, and that government was not rampant with corruption. As example, the FDA was created during the progressive era because of horrible things happening in the meat industry during this period in American

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In the twentieth century, America focused on responding to problems that emerged during the transformation from a rural agriculture society into an urban industrial one. A theme that sparked all Progressive reform was to use government for social welfare, rather than letting issues cure on their own. During this era, each state served as laboratories for democracy. By using government as an agent, reformers attacked child labor, corporate corruption, poverty, etc. Reformers attacked child labor, corporate corruption, over working etc.

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In American history, both the Progressive and the populist movement worked towards a common objective of making the government take up a more active and significant role in addressing nation’s social and economic concerns. The main difference was marked in the time they arose and the audience and issues they tackled. Populism arose in the late 19th century while progressivism movement was initiated in the beginning of the 20th century. Populists drew their strength and support chiefly from the poor sections of the society i.e... From Southern and Western farmers while the Progressives came from the educated urban middle class.

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For the first time in our nation’s short history, citizen’s voices were beginning to have more and more of an influence on our governing body. However, during this era, political freedoms were also being restricted. Despite the Fifteenth Amendment granting the right to vote to all male citizens, some—specifically those who were black or poor—were discouraged or even barred from voting due to “…literacy tests and residency and registration requirements” (Foner 701). Despite gaining political freedoms during the Progressive era, many were still restricted from doing so. Much like political freedoms, there were also expansions and restrictions of economic freedoms during the Progressive Era as well.

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Change takes places everywhere, everyday. If we as humans experience change on a daily basis, it should be no surprise that even “The Land of the Free” must eventually evolve. A Fierce Discontent by Yale alumni Indiana University historian and Michael McGerr documents this change that spread throughout America, which is known as the Progressive Movement. Michael McGerr believed that “the people and struggles of that age of “fierce discontent” a century ago still command our attention” (McGerr, xiii), which sheds a little light as to why he chose to write about the Progressive Era. It was social and political reform and activism that made up the Progressive Era and

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From 1896 to 1924, America went through a period known as progressivism in which people of all walks of life banded together to oppose conservatism and reform society. Progressives generally believed that government is necessary for change, however; it had to more significantly embody the ideals of democracy. Some of the specific changes that progressives wanted were regulating railroads, a direct election of senators, graduated income tax, limited immigration and eight-hour workdays. By supporting these changes, the progressives hoped to promote and expand democracy and thus give the people more power.

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Many people have often wondered how politicians would organize legislative activity if given the chance to start anew and make things the way they want them. The Progressive takeover of governmental activities in California in 1910 presented a unique opportunity to study such a phenomenon in its natural occurring state. The Progressives made it as hard as they could to crush the party system and to keep it from returning. In particular, “they made it nearly impossible for party activists outside government to organize, coordinate actions, keep informed about legislative activities, or, perhaps most importantly, influence party nominations to office.”

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The “Progressive Movement was an early-20th century reform movement seeking to return control of the government to the people, to restore economic opportunity, and to correct injustices in American life.” (Danzer R54). The Progressive Era marked the end of the “Gilded Ages” and a start of a new era. The Progressive Era started in 1901 in the United States (Fagnilli 26). There were many major reforms in the Progressive Era that altered and advanced American society.

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Today, liberal democracies champion the perks of democratization because of an axiom that is apparently self-evident: that all men are created equal. With this principle, a democratic state functions on behalf of all the people it serves, therefore it is fair to assume that it cannot function without securing the well-being of all its citizens, or the social good of all individuals residing within the state. The United States, as a trailblazing democracy, has a primary obligation to secure the social good of its citizens through democratic means, rather than through an obligation to enlarge the scope of it through superficial, utility maximization. Ultimately, when placed in a deceptively regressive system that facilitates abuse of the social

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Progressivism is the support for or advocacy of social reform. Progressivism was initially caused by the influx of the population, suspect government officials, and a plethora of people in the country wanting a change. People thought the solution to these problems could be solved by, upgrading education, safer environments or communities, and finally a smoother running workplace. The people that fought for progressivism, were usually from the city with college education. They were consistent with their beliefs that the government is the immediate solution in changing the challenges that existed in America.

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The second wave also encountered a reverse wave that lasted from 195-1975 (Huntington, pg.16). The third wave began in 1974 and has continued to present times. In each of these waves different forms of government were created and destroyed with many different paths being taken. Samuel Huntington has examined these waves, particularly the third wave and has come up with three different paths that democratization can follow, transformation, replacement, and transplacement. Through an examination of each of these pathways to democratization it can be shown that each path is unique and has its own mechanism, with each having their own potential of achieving democracy.

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