In the period between 1900 and 1920, the federal government and reformers were very successful in bringing social, economic, and political reform to the federal government. While not every aspect of it was successful, the rights of women, fighting against child labor and limiting the control of trusts and monopolies were three distinct successes of that time. Even before the progressive era, women challenged their place and articulated new visions of social, political and economic equality. The progressive era was a turning point for women as organizations evolved fighting for equal rights. Woman began to become very involved in a variety of reform movements. Women began founding their own political organizations such as the National American …show more content…
Trusts, or large monopolies, were corporations that combined and lowered their prices to drive competitors out of the business. This infuriated many americans at that time because it allowed such a small number of people to become wealthy, or even successful at all. When Theodore Roosevelt became president, he sympathized with workers unlike most of the presidents in the past who usually tried to help the corporations. As illustrated in Document A, Roosevelt wanted to hunt down the bad trusts ad put a leash on the good ones in order to regulate them. However, it only had a limited effect because the government was unable to control the activity of banks and railroads which were two of the most powerful industries in the world. Other presidents were also able to establish antitrust reforms. President Woodrow Wilson established the Federal Trade Commission Act, aimed to prevent monopoly, and the Clayton Antitrust Bill. As Document E illustrates, the Clayton Antitrust Bill claims it unlawful to "lessen competition” or “tend to create a monopoly in any line of commerce". Although Presidents Roosevelt and Wilson established reforms to stop monopoly, they still had many holes in their trust-busting campaign which severely limited the full effects of