The Progressive Era.
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The progressive was a period that witnessed widespread social activism and political reforms. The progressive movement tackled problems that were associated with urbanisation, industrialisation, political corruption and immigration. The movement thrived from the 1830s to the 1920s. the fundamental principles guiding the movement was the need for efficiency and purging of corruption and waste (Power, 1932). The progressive movement was mainly concerned with the moral composition of society. It was characterised by; prohibition, women suffrage, purification of government, family and education and modernisation.
In regards to the moral reform, early reformers set up an organization, which was mandated to combat profanity and the breaking of Sabbath. One of the moral reforms taken up by the organization was between 1830 and 1840s. They rehabilitated prostitutes and also fought against male solicitation. The members lobbied for amendments of state laws that would make prostitution and male solicitation a crime (Power, 1932). Members also went into brothels to pray for prostitutes, male patrons were also publicized in the newspaper. The moral campaign against the consumption of alcohol was one of their most extensive. This is because alcohol was considered an integral part of American society (Gould, 1973).
Progressive Era was a period between 1890-1920 and marked a very important period in the United States where a lot of development took place. This period was characterized by economic development as well political reforms and there was an increase in social activism during this period. Progressive movement begun as a social movement but later it would advance to become a political movement that wanted changes in America. America during this period was undergoing so may problems the greatest being most leaders were corrupt and the economy was not really doing well because of the corrupt leaders. The progressive movement wanted to remove these leaders from office hoping that they would establish a more direct democracy that favored the people. This paper will examine the changes that took place during the progressive Movement including prohibition, laws on abortion and matters of social interest in a bid to promote morality.
Many members of the Progressive political movement were in support of prohibition as they thought this would be a measure that would help in dealing with the corrupt leaders. The movement also supported women suffrage movement in a bid to bring “purer” female vote to the voting field. It is these two key issues that resulted in major constitutional change. In 1917, the 18th Amendment was banned that banned the manufacturing as well as the sale of alcohol while in 1919, the 19th Amendment was passed and this would allow women to vote. Unlike other movements that had kept women aside when it came to matters of politics, the progressive movement embraced the output by the women’s movement.
The progressive movement was in full support of the prohibitions put in place. in the united states prohibition was a nationwide constitutional ban, that prohibited the production, conveyance, importation and sale of alcoholic beverages. This was after the passing of the eighteenth amendment in 1917. Herbert Hoover who supported prohibition termed it as a noble experiment; it was put in place to try and regulate people’s behaviour. The movement discouraged the use of alcoholic beverages; since the consumption of alcohol was associated with many social ills like poverty and insanity (Gould, 1973). The progressive movement also focused their fights against the drinking in saloons. Their fight as also focused on the immigrant communities, basically some of the cultures. The saloons were part and parcel of the migrant culture and they did not solely operate as bars but also hosted important social gatherings. Such gatherings were where most political machines conducted their operations. Many progressives, therefore, supported prohibition, since it was viewed as an important tool in curtailing the political power of local bosses. Prohibition was a success in rural southern and western states as compared to urban states.
Apart from moral reforms, the progressive movement also promoted, economic reform, social welfare and efficiency. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, there were many women national organizations; this included the women suffrage movement, the national association of coloured women and national association opposed to women suffrage (McCammon et al., 2001). During the progressive era, women’s suffrage became a key priority for women. This is because women were fighting for their much-needed right to vote and a wide-ranging political and economic equality. With the development of all these organisations, women of all kind participated. The women’s Christian Temperance Movement, had their first victory after prohibition took effect nation-wide. During the progressive era, women held leadership positions in both social and political movements. One of the essential surges of the progressive era is the suffrage movement (McCammon et al., 2001)
Progressives argued that women’s politics complimented the roles of women in society. During the progressive era, the number of women employed increased from 2.6 million to 7.8 million. Although there was a drastic change, most better-paying positions were occupied by men. Men were highly likely to get better-paying positions as compared to women. It is crucial to note that, in regards to politics, women were able to own property, gained the right to control their nettings (Gould, 2001). However, for women who upholder traditional gender roles, did not believe in equality for the sexes. They argued that women being involved in politics was quite improper.
Purification of government was undertaken by cleansing the electorate, curbing government corruption and promoting efficiency. Their battle was against illegal voting, which was conducted by local bosses who were in conjunction with saloon keepers and precinct workers. Illegal voting took place by stuffing the ballot boxes. Prohibition was one of the measures adopted to curb the pandemic, this was implemented so that the saloons would close down (Gould, 2001). Voter registration was also taken up, to avoid multiple voting and literacy campaigns to educate voters. Progressives concentrated on city and state government, trying to find waste, and how things could be run more efficiently. Progressives were able to rally up newspapers, magazines and concerned middle-class voters, who would identify problems, who would deliberate on precise problems (Shefter, 1983). Government corruption was a never-ending epidemic, it epitomised a source of waste and inefficiency. Progressionist such as William U’Ren and Robert Follete worked on passing laws that would diminish the power of political bosses and machine politicians (Rice, 1998).
Education was also a key agenda in the progressive movement, a thinker such as John Dewey and Lester Ward argued that if the united states were to achieve success then its people needed a good education. Modernization of society included good education for all, they worked on improving both public and private learning institutions. The rapid growth in the field of education created job opportunities for its citizens (Gordon, 1990).
Progressive era resulted in reforms in government, business and social settings. One of its major gains was women being granted the right to vote (Power, 1932). Although a majority of its reforms were beneficial to white Americans, whereas the minorities continued to experience prejudice. Progressive era overlapped with the James Crow era which experienced extreme segregation and discrimination against African American.
A means of direct democracy could be developed by the efforts of the progressive to take down the corrupt officials. For the advantage of legitimate competitors, the progressive movement during the progressive era sought to regulate monopolies and corporations via the antitrust laws. Although the movement had started at the local levels initially it developed and expanded to state and national levels with the majority of their support being drawn from the middle-class individuals (Leonard, 2003). Progressive reforms projects were developed across the country that included black communities’ involvement across the south with the blacks in rural areas being actively involved in issues that concerned the environment.
It is in the progressive era that equality was achieved with the 14th amendments being declared allowing all people born and those who grew in America regardless of race to be accorded equal rights that would be protected by both the state and national governments. Although the amendment was ratified the period still saw many racism problems affecting people of colour as racial equality was not a prime concern showing the dark side of progressivism. The ideology and politics of progressivism were based on the assumptions of progressive reformers who believe that through enlightenment, application of incentives, punishments and regulations, human nature could improve (Leonard, 2003). They also thought that in improving individuals and society the power of the federal government could be harnessed.
The progressive reformers often exposed the corrupt business practises such as the Standard oil business showing the era that embraced investigative journalism (Rice, 1998). Substantive legislation was influenced by the progressive reformers such as the establishment of federal income tax. As much as progressive reformers achieved many noteworthy goals, they had a dark side that included the promotion of discriminatory policies and adoption of intolerant ideas that were demonstrated in the Wilson administration. Although they embraced modernity and progress, the administration pursued racial agenda that was at peak during the segregation of the federal government (Leonard, 2003).
References
Gordon, L. D. (1990). Gender and higher education in the progressive era. Yale University Press, 92A Yale Station, New Haven, CT 06520-9040.
Gould, L. L. (1973). Progressives and prohibitionists: Texas Democrats in the Wilson era (p. 28). Austin: University of Texas Press.
Gould, L. L. (2001). America in the progressive era, 1890-1914. Pearson Education.
Leonard, T. C. (2003). ” More Merciful and Not Less Effective”: Eugenics and American Economics in the Progressive Era. History of Political Economy, 35(4), 687-712.
McCammon, H. J., Campbell, K. E., Granberg, E. M., & Mowery, C. (2001). How movements win: Gendered opportunity structures and US women’s suffrage movements, 1866 to 1919. American sociological review, 49-70.
Power, U. F. (1932). the Progressive Era.
Rice, J. A. (1998). Ida M. Tarbell: A Progressive Look at Lincoln. Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association, 19(1), 57-72.
Shefter, M. (1983). Regional receptivity to reform: the legacy of the progressive era. Political Science Quarterly, 98(3), 459-483.
