FREE ESSAY ON PROGRESSIVISM

PROGRESSIVISM

The Progressive Era
The Progressive Era initiated reforms that benefited the individual and the whole
society. Industrial and social reforms were launched to benefit the individual and the
whole society. Movements were begun to help the individual benefit from the corrupt
industrial system . Major reforms were instigated to enhance and preserve the social
institution in America.
Social reforms were thought needed in order to preserve the social institution in
America. The fight against alcohol was a social reform that was begun to help protect the
social structure from collapsing. Document 19.5 (Reform as Social Control: Prohibition
and the Progressive Movement) stated that alcohol creates disorder in American life. This
would support the creation of the Prohibition movement. Also Document 19.5 said that
alcohol leads to immoral situations and reforms must be made to preserve values which
could sustain the family as a vital social institution. This movement was initiated in
order to protect the social structure by keeping the family intact and realizing that the
family is the main component of the social system. Women's suffrage was another reform
sought by progressives to keep the social system from corruption. Document 19.6 (Women's
Suffrage and the Working Class) depicts a poster stating that in order to protect the
family and social system the homemakers (women) must be given a voice/a right to vote.
Document 19.6 supports the views that the progressives believed necessary in order to
protect the great American society. Industrial reform is another issue that the
Progressive Era touched on.
Reforms and movements were established to help the individual in the society benefit from
the corrupt industrial system. Progressive believed that the industrial system must
reformed in order for the individual in the society to be benefited. Document 19.2 (An
Industrial Utopia: Looking Backward) supports this idea. The document stated that power
in the hands of few, irresponsible men are corrupting the industrial system. A single
corporation and one trust should be established in order to protect the common interest
and receive a common profit for all individuals in the society. The benefits of the
industrial system in the Progressive Era are seen in Document 19.3 (The Changing Economic
Order: Shifts in the Work Force). This document shows the increase in the employment rate
from 1890-1920 is almost tripled. The area in which a major increase in employment has
occurred is in the Manufacturing and Construction. These positive changes support the
progressives views and provide evidence of progression. Document 19.4 (Varieties of
Progressivism: T.R. and Wilson) states that even the two major different progressive
leaders support the same views in the topic of industry. They both believe that
government should regulate corporations for fair competition and in affect will benefit
the society by limiting large number of monopolies. 
The Progressive Era initiated reforms that benefited the individual and the whole
society. The Progressive Era's main goals were to protect and preserve society and to
reforms the industrial system as to promote fairness to all. The need to improve America
internally was found in progressive reforms. The progressives looked domestically and
corrected the problems internally before looking outward at the rest of the world. The
Progressive Era was mainly concerned in depicting America as a dominant nation and the
progressive knew that is not possible unless the domestic situation was in good status.