Essay On The Progressive Era

The Progressive era took place in the United States from the 1890’s until the 1920’s but was brought to end by the start of World War I. During this time many social and political reformers aimed to create a better society. Reformers yearned to get rid or harsh working conditions, child labor, fight corruption and get rid of big monopolies. Throughout the Progressive era many unions were made, labor laws were put into place, and women gained the right to vote. Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, and Woodrow Wilson were some of the leaders of the time. To bring their ideas to the public's eyes, some reformers chose a more laid back and tactical approach, while some made signs and had a large revolts. Because of the effective movements of the Progressive era, today’s society has gained ideas for how the US …show more content…
Many people were unaware of how their food was being processed until authors used their works to expose wrongdoings. In 1906, the Neill-Reynolds Report published a paper that exposed the unsanitary conditions where meat is processed. Meat was not ever sanitary or kept clean.The factories were supposed to be clean, safe and hazard free but they were the opposite, “ Meat scraps were also being shoveled into receptacles from dirty floors where they left to lie until again shoveled into barrels or into machines for chopping.”(The Neill-Reynolds Report” Doc 1). After this article was published, the public finally realized how the food they were eating was being made, and they wanted a change. Theodore Roosevelt issued laws prohibiting the sale of misbranded livestock to ensure meat was processed and packed in sanitary conditions. It took reformers going into the factories observing the working conditions, then publishing articles about it, to get laws put into place to make a change, but without the Progressive era, those laws that changed food for the better, would not exist