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Social Activism And Political Reform In The 1890s-1920's

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The Progressive Era was a period where the United States went through widespread social activism and political reform during the years of 1890s to 1920s. It started as a social movement but as it gained momentum and supporters it grew into a political movement. Progressives sought to give control of the government to the people so they could develop social improvement and equality, they wanted to correct failings of the government. This took a series of movements, that’s aim was to renovate and restore American society, values, and institutions. Leaders of the movement made an effort to resolve the issues created by the upsurge of industrialization. This included reform laws regarding child labor and workers compensation, safety in the workplace, …show more content…

This attracted more people to move to cities. By 1900, thirty percent of the U.S population lived in citiess. However this urbanization came with many problems. For many of the people living in the cities, they had an extremely low quality of life. Another result that came with America’s industrialization and urbanization was capitalism. The federal government accepted a laissez-faire approach towards businesses, so large corporations controlled the American economy. This lack of government regulation led to the progression of monopolies and …show more content…

Despite the plainly unhealthy environment, her landlord was unwilling to invest in repairs to the basement. If the Gordons left, he knew that another poor family in need of low rent would replace them. Racism on the part of landlords presented an additional hurdle to African Americans families, like the Gordons, who wanted to find decent places to live.”
Around 1890 most Americans worked jobs that were tireless and dangerous. Twelve hour workdays in hazardous, and unsanitary environments were common. The working class had no choice but to labor long hours for low wages in conditions that were unregulated and hazardous. Child labor was also very common, so were accidents and death. The United States of Labor site quoted The Factory Inspector, an unofficial journal of the Inter­national Association of Factory Inspectors that frequently published accounts collected by state labor bureaus of industrial accidents, that shows how bad these conditions

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