Progressives essay
Answering the question about the Progressives, it is good to note that the Progressives present a specific group of people who were inspired by ideas of reformation of the country, so they tried to implement their ideas into practice in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Plunging into the history of the country’s development, we see that only a limited group of people owned the wealth in America, while others were experiencing hardships on their way to better life, having low wages, dangerous working places and long working hours. Thus, the Progressives saw their main goals in changing the situation in the society, helping ordinary people (laborers) and providing the growth of American industry. According to Zinn, representatives of the Progressives made all possible to “stabilize the capitalist system by repairing its worst defects and restore some measure of class peace in a time of increasingly bitter clashes between capital and labor” (Zinn 354).
Exploring historical evidence, it can be said that the Progressives “offered an impressive array of reform proposals” because the country needed changes and reforms were the only way to success and further development. The society needed redistribution of social goods because laborers, who worked all day long, have had very low wages and they were barely able to “kept their families alive” (Zinn 257). In such a way, people were forced to spend all their time at the work for low wages, while employers received very good profits, improving their life and becoming richer.
In the Gilded age and Progressive Era, even week-ends were canceled, and laborers toiled for up to 80 hours per week. It is important to note that working conditions were very bad and people died at their working places on many reasons, including fires as it had happened at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory. The fire was caused by violation of simple safety rules, and 146 women were killed in a raging fire (Loewen 205). So, the Progressive Era was the period of many tragedies because people needed to survive, and they had no choice in choosing working places. Moreover, the government was heavily corrupted at all stages, and bribes solved many issues during the Gilded Age. To illustrate this fact, Zinn wrote the following: “Corruption dominates the ballot box, the legislatures, the Congress, and touches even the ermine of the bench” (Zinn 288). So, the quote illustrates that all branches of power were corrupted and were not able to provide their direct functions in protecting people and working for their wealth and prosperity.
Having the above mentioned in mind, the Progressives were tried to change the system of power, to transform it, and they were fought for the centralization of authority. Moreover, the Progressives pushed for several Constitutional amendments for the purpose of changing the life of laborers and protecting people from violation of their basic human rights. For instance, the 18th Amendment allowed beginning of the period of Prohibition, while the 19th Amendment promoted women’s suffrage. Thus, it can be said that the Progressives really influenced the life of ordinary people and fought against poverty, sexism, racism and large corporation which use people only for gaining more profits.
In summary, the Progressives were rather successful in their reforms and they changed the society making Americans a little bit kinder and gentler nation. Of course, it was hard to change everything in a fast period of time, so factory conditions stayed at the same level but even all those reforms that were implemented into practice greatly influenced the life of American citizens, especially nowadays. Owing to the Progressives, American laborers received a hope for changes, they received new forces to continue their struggle against the existing regime and it was a good sign for further development and prosperity.
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