Progressive Era Midterm Essay In the late 1890s, the United States experienced widespread social activism and political reform aimed at combating corruption, monopoly, waste, and inefficiency. Child labor and women's suffrage were two major events that had both positive and negative effects on the progressive era. Eventually, during the Progressive Era, both women's suffrage and child labor came to an end when laws were passed and amendments were made to restore women's and children's rights. These historical events were and continue to be significant in today's world. Women's suffrage became a major priority for women during the Progressive era, from 1870 to 1920. The issue was having the right to live free from violence and discrimination, …show more content…
During this time, some children as young as six began working in factories and mines. Edgar Gardner Murphy founded the National Child Labor Committee in 1904 to organize mill operators' support for child labor restrictions. Then, many states across the United States legalized child labor, which forced children to do very hard work designed for adults, resulting in deaths and harming children in a variety of ways. This also had an impact on their education, as many children in the United States did not receive an education while growing up. Children frequently worked up to 18 hours per day, six days a week. Working conditions for children were frequently hazardous and unsanitary. As seen in document 2, the working conditions for these children in the factories were deplorable. They were filthy, dusty, and cramped, making them an unsuitable environment for children to spend so much time in every day. When forced to work in these factories, children faced numerous health issues, and some even died. Child labor began to decline as the labor and reform movements grew and labor standards in general improved, giving working people and other social reformers more political clout to demand legislation regulating child labor. The United States Constitution's Twentieth Amendment prohibited child labor. The proposed Amendment is as follows: " Section 1. The Congress shall have the authority to limit, regulate, and prohibit the