The Progressivism Movement

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Between the late 1890’s and world war one the progressive era took place. The progressivism movement was an era of reform that returned the control of the government back to the people. There were many causes and impacts of the progressivism movement. Without the progressivism movement America wouldn't be how it is today. The person who could be known as the biggest symbol of the progressivism movement is theodore roosevelt without him the movement wouldn't have been the way it was. Muckrackers helped pushed the movement as well revealing the dirty secrets of the food industry and political corruption. There were many causes for the progressivism movement. Some of theses causes include Bribery, corruption, political machines controlling towns…show more content…
Cities, Towns and lawmakers were often controlled by political machines.Bribery worked with corruption. Politicians often paid their way to their positions. Those who paid their way often did not know how to do their job well..Big businesses, railroad men and industrialists became known as robber barons due to their power and profit. Before change could happen the control big businesses had and the corruption in the government had to end. The women's suffrage movement was also a key part in the progressivism movement. The beginning of the 20th century was also the beginning of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), under the leadership of Carrie Chapman and the National Woman’s Party (NWP), under the leadership of Alice Paul. These groups goal was to get Wilson to pass a women suffrage amendment. In 1920 the 19th amendment was finally ratified. There were many goals of the progressivism movement, People wanted to curb power of trusts and big businesses and regulate them. They wanted to eliminate corruption of political machines, law enforcement, and in general the government. They also wanted to raise awareness of social injustices such as women's rights. Along with all of this they wanted fix health and safety…show more content…
Muckrakers were writers who wrote about the problems in society and tried to solve them. A famous muckraker was Upton Sinclair who was known for writing “The Jungle” . Sinclair wrote the jungle to show America the truth of the meat packing industry. “His description of diseased, rotten, and contaminated meat shocked the public and led to new federal food safety laws.” (crf-usa.org) . A book similar to “the jungle” is “Fast Food Nation” written by Eric Schlosser. This book examines the fast food industry such as the chemical coloring of food, the production of the chicken and cattle, and the working conditions of the beef industry. “the Jungle” and “Fast Food Nation” should be compared together because they are both novels that lift the veil between society and what is really going on with our food. The books do differ from each other in ways. “The Jungle” is more graphic in its nature. For example: :”one by one they hooked up the hogs, and one by one with a swift stroke they slit their throats.” In “Fast Food Nation” however they do talk about being drenched in blood. Another difference between the texts is simple the fact that “The Jungle: takes place in the early 1900’s while “Fast Food Nation” takes place in the early
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