Progressive Era Dbq

The Progressive Era was a period in the United States that changed the way people thought about things including labor and voting rights, politics, education, industry, etc. A vast amount of policies and laws came out of the Progressive Era that improved the lives of individual people and society. The policies that were established then continue to shape the U.S. government and economy today, including child labor and education laws, food-safety requirements, and granting women’s rights. Workplaces and other environments throughout society began to be perceived as humane, having no children working and no undesirable bones in the meat sent to be sold. Without such laws progressives and muckrakers pushed to achieve, America would certainly not

Specifically, women gaining the right to vote, free education, right to work, to divorce, own property and wages, and the right to have custody over their children helped build America to be the country that it is today. Economically, women’s rights increased labor force participation and created “meaningful participation in economic decision making” (“Facts and Figures: Economic Empowerment”). This participation ensured economic progress. Women’s rights provided increased educational opportunities which benefited the economy in the same way child labor laws did. These opportunities gave women the skills people needed to become a significant part of the community, having a job and earning a reasonable amount of money. This alone is beneficial for the economy, but additional factors have also contributed to building the economy. Women’s suffrage gave women an opportunity to speak out and advocate for what they wanted to improve their individual lives along with the government (Jones). Women used their suffrage for many economically beneficial things such as economic security which promoted a stable economy and protected Americans. Economic security is the ability of people and communities to meet their basic and essential needs. Women’s rights also included higher pay which boosted the economy. This was because women gained the ability to handle their own money, so they could now buy products and services. Them buying and spending their money helped drive the American economy. Women’s rights strengthened the American economy in a vast amount of ways, including through voting and through education. Women’s rights, specifically women’s voting rights, being granted played an immense role in shaping the American economy existent