ipl-logo

Eras Of Government In The 1960s And 1970s

1243 Words5 Pages

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

Open Document