Progressivism Cace

PROGRESSIVISM

An early 20th century reform movement seeking to return control of the government to the people, to restore economic opportunities, and to correct injustices in American life. According to Roosevelt's speech "...There must be a realization of the fact that to waste, to destroy, our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children..." Three goals of the progressive era were to protect and preserve natural resources, reform labor laws, and to bring about moral reforms.

One significant area of reform was conservation (doc. 8), which came from Theodore Roosevelt's love of the outdoors. Roosevelt pushed for national parks that would be untouched by man. Even Woodrow Wilson spoke out against the wasting natural resources. In his inaugural speech he said: "...With riches come inexcusable waste. We have squandered a great part of what we might have, used, and have no stopped to conserve the exceeding bounty of nature..."

Another significant area of reform was moral reform. Anti-prostitution laws and prohibition (Doc 8) were some moral reform laws passed during the progressive era. Prohibition was the banning of alcohol; you couldn't sell it, buy it, drink it, or even possess it. Another moral reform was women's suffrage. (Doc 8) Women's suffrage is women's right to vote. The 19th amendment is women's right to vote.

A third significant area of reform was labor reform. Even the church (the Methodist Episcopal Church) supported labor reform laws such as a 6 day work week instead of a full 7 days, the abolition of child labor, women working in the workforce, and a minimum wage. (Doc. 9) U.S. senator Elihu Root said in a 1913 speech "The real difficulty appears to be that the new conditions [growing from] the ... industrial development of the last half-century are continuously and progressively demanding the readjustment of the relations between [society] and the establishment of new legal rights and obligations not [understood or anticipated in America's early years] when ... laws were passed or ... limitations upon the powers of government were [placed] in our Constitution."

Three goals of the progressive era were to protect and preserve natural resources, reform labor laws, and to bring about moral reforms. The first goal mentioned was completed through conservation laws and state/national parks. The second goal was completed through the abolition of child labor, a minimum wage has since been established, the work week for most people is now down to five days a week, and women are now able to do any job a man can do. And the third goal mentioned was completed through women's suffrage, and also through the abolition of child labor.