What Was Progressive America

Progressive America One could say many things to describe the American experience from 1914 to 1992. But interestingly enough, it can be depicted in one word. That word is “progressive.” Out of all the words that could have been chosen, “progressive” is the one? Well, what is progressive?Progressive is an adjective with a definition of “of, relating to, or characterized by progress” but it can be explained very simply. Something that is progressive, is “moving forward”. And if one looked at everything that happened in the United States from 1914 to 1992 they would come to the conclusion that it was doing exactly that. The American experience from 1914 to 1992 was progressive because of the technological advancements and inventions that occurred,

Before the early 1900’s, women and African-Americans or blacks in general were typically looked at as powerless and as white men were thought to have much greater authority in society, the women and all blacks had less rights. But between 1914 and 1992, that had drastically changed for the better. Examples of progression in equality for women included the first woman elected into congress in 1916, first woman elected as governor in 1925, and a series of many new rights and acts. Some of the acts and even amendments included were the 19th Amendment in 1920 granting women the right to vote, the introduction of the Equal Rights Amendment to the Senate in 1923, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 that aimed at abolishing wage difference based on gender, and much more. Apart from women gaining equality, there was also a very big rise in racial equality. The greatest example of this can be taken from the Civil Rights Movement starting in 1955 that sparked from the death of Emmet Till and the Brown vs. Board of Education case that established segregation between blacks and whites in public schools. Through the perseverance and suffrage by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, and the population of African-Americans, the progression of equality erupted. America saw the Civil Right Acts of 1957, 1964, and 1968 that focused on voting rights, de-segregation, and equal housing

In fact, 1914 to 1992 saw ten amendments to greater the freedom of “we the people.” Out of the ten, four of them stand out the most to me in order of importance and effect on the country as it stands now. To begin, the fourth most important was the 22nd Amendment in 1951. This introduced the two-term limit for presidency that we see today. The third most important was the 21st Amendment in 1933. With this, the prohibition of alcohol (18th Amendment) that is now known as an utter failure, was repealed. The second most important was the 24th Amendment in 1964. This prohibited any poll tax being placed on federal elections allowing more freedom to vote without obstruction. Last but not least, the most important of the ten is the 19th Amendment in 1920. This granted the right to vote for women by stating that the right to vote should not be denied by account of sex. This Amendment was the greatest in terms of freedom of equality. These four Amendments from the time that had the greatest effect on society and bettering the freedom of the United States. Apart from these four, there were six more that included the 18th, 20th, 23rd, 25th, 26th, and 27th Amendments. All of those Amendments prove to be a huge example of America