The Progressive Era

1359 Words6 Pages
The Progressive Era began as a social movement, which shortly grew into a political movement in the United States, from the 1890s to the 1920s. The main goal for the Progressive Era was to eliminate corruption in the government, outlaw the sale of alcohol, regulate child labor and sweatshops, manage natural resources, and restrict immigration. People believed that society faced issues that could have been resolved by providing a good education, a safe environment, and a professional workplace. By the 20th century, journalists were calling attention to the use of child labor, corruption in city governments, and the terror of lynching. Many Progressives wanted to hold back red light districts, expand high schools, and build playgrounds. At the…show more content…
The government has eliminated a tremendous amount of corruption in order to make a safe and equal country. They also have worked hard in order to improve our society. During the Progressive Era, progressives took the approach and ran for public office, to change city political institutions and to fight corrupt political machines. “The city reformers changed the urban political institutions to combat the corrupt political machines” (apstudynotes.org). The government started to crack down everything that needed improvement and set new laws in order to keep the country well maintained. At this time the government passed the city manager system, which let cities gain control of their electric and waste system. “Under the direction of progressive leaders, some cities also regained control over the power and water systems and operated them as departments of the city government” (apstudynotes.org). Control was now being given back, making it easier for cities to have control over their own city. At the time Governor Robert La Follette wanted to really put a stop to corruption. La Follette believed that knowledge was key to stop corruption and created the Legislative Reference Bureau. The Legislative Reference Bureau, created direct principals like railroad regulations, state income tax, and workers compensation. “If people are well informed, they will choose to do the right thing. Democracy, he claimed, was based upon knowledge, which is why political machines relied on misrepresentation and fraud to gain control” (apstudynotes.org). La Follette, really followed in making the government honest. Many laws at this time were being rewritten to reasonable standards, making life easier on

More about The Progressive Era

Open Document