The Progressive Movement

The Progressive Movement

What, in your opinion, were the key principles of the Progressive Movement?

During this time, many great things came about; some of which are: expanding the people’s rights when it comes to voting and controlling the government such as recalls and pushing for allowing women and African Americans to vote, the wireless radio, assembly lines, efficiency in the workplace, federal government and regulation, and social justice for the society in the form of charities and a certain type of welfare for those who cannot work due to injuries or sickness. (Bowles, 2011) Also of note during this time, Prohibition came to the United States which ushered and whole new breed of criminal activities; as well as war was ravaging Europe and it was inevitable that we would become involved.

In your opinion, what were Progressivism’s most significant successes and failings?

Many of the successes from this time I have already mentioned above; from voting, to regulations, efficiency, social justice, and the wireless radio. The passing of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments were also successes to a point. The Sixteen Amendment allowed the government to implement income taxes much to the nation’s ire, and even today most citizens hate this form of taxing. The Seventeenth Amendment allowed the citizen to elect U.S. Senators, where the senators had previously been elected through state legislature. (Bowles, 2011) A huge success was the passing of the Pure Food and Drug and Meat Inspection Act in 1906; which came about from the book titled The Jungle written by Upton Sinclair. In this book, Sinclair outlines the horrifying living and working conditions for the immigrants that dealt processing our meat and foods. Sinclair himself was stated as saying, “I aimed at the