The Pros And Cons Of The Progressive Movement

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The 1900s was a time period filled with political corruption, social inequality and injustice, discrimination, poor working and living conditions. The progressive movement resulted in response to these issues. Members and advocates of this movement were usually white (some blacks too), middle-class, Christian, college educated women (and men). They sought to achieve social justice through equality and enhance life in America for everyone. To further the nation’s democratic ideals, they hoped to incorporate reforms based on the expectations of the majority public. The Progressive Movement was a success because even though they lasted only for a short period of time, they achieved many things that today we are benefitting from, like for example …show more content…

The Progressives hoped to achieve a government that was more involved with the problems happening in America with the American people. They mostly focused on issues dealing with welfare, suffrage, immigration, and social legislations (“Social and Industrial Justice Progressive Plea” 5). In their platform, they clearly stated, “We propose to use the powers of the government to protect property rights no less than heretofore, but seek also to serve human welfare more.” (“National Progressive Party” 3), which in other words their main purpose was to have the government involved more with its citizens for their own well-being. Additionally, their platform was named “The Rule of the People” (“National Progressive Party” 3) which emphasizes that their working in favor of what the majority of the people believe (3); not to mention that the greater number of the people in America were mostly immigrants. In Roosevelt’s New Nationalism Speech, the president stated, “We grudge no man a fortune in civil life if it is honorably obtained and well used […] We should permit it to be gained only so long as the gaining represents benefit to the community […] This, I know, implies a policy of a far more active governmental interference with social and economic