Progressive Movement In The 20th Century

The 20th Century saw several changes take place in all sectors in the United States. Fields like science, technology, mass communication, and the economy made great improvements in this century. The 20th Century also witnessed the struggle for freedom by minority races and slaves and their liberty. These innovations, change in governance and certain ideologies transformed America into something similar to what the country is now. One of the most significant movement/ideology was progressivism. Progressivism is often used to describe a number of reactions to the economic and social problems and the political, social, moral and economic reforms that came with these responses. This essay focuses on the progressivism, the progressive era and the changes that the movement brought to America.
Progressivism was started as a social movement and later turned into a political movement. Progressives were people who believed that the issues and problems in the society were solvable through enabling a safe environment, good …show more content…
They wanted a better America that included all citizens in the activities of the country. They fought for the equality among genders. Women progressives wanted to vote and have equal working opportunities as men. All workers were being exploited by companies that wanted profits in whatever way possible (Zinn 11). This led to several strikes and demonstrations by laborers. Also, black people and immigrants wanted racial equality. Slavery was over, but people were still not equal. White people remained privileged over all other races and progressives wanted this gone. They often used the constitution to fight for equality especially after former slaves had become citizens of America. The overall agenda for the progressives was to change the society in a positive way and solve the problems that caused suffering for a lot of