The Progressive Movement Of The 1920s Essay

The Roaring Twenties was a decade known widely for its flapper girls and jazz music, but it was so much more. For the first time, more Americans were living in cities rather than farms, women had the right to vote, and it was becoming a consumer society. The decade also witnessed a time of prosperity; wealth was up and employment was down. The 20s saw some of the biggest social and political changes, changes that were very different from the ones desired the decade before. By failing to lessen corruption and lack of support for strong government, the dominant politics of the 1920s represent a retreat of the Progressive era ideals. When the 1920s began many progressives hoped their goals would continue, but in most cases it didn’t happen. One goals of the Progressive movement was to lessen corruption, but the 1920s witnessed more government corruption. In 1921, on a promise to return to “normalcy”, Warren G. Harding became president of the United States. “Reflecting the prevailing get-rich-quick ethos, his administration …show more content…
However, during the progressive era the government passed acts that went against the peoples’ freedom. The Espionage Act made it a crime for citizens to say anything negative about the draft. The Sedition Act made it a crime for citizens to say anything bad about the government. Sparked by fear of steel strikes being related to communism, along with these acts came Palmer Raids. Labor organizations were raided. “More than 5,000 persons were arrested, most of them warrants, and held for months without charge” (Foner, 760). By the 1920s, people had faced many thing that went against freedom, strong government was not very popular. “In the name of a ‘new freedom for the individual,’ the 1920s saw the birth of a coherent concept of civil liberties and the beginnings of significant legal protection for freedom of speech against the government” (Foner,