Progressive Movement

The progressive movement was a movement which was formed by the educated and the elite in the United States, who believed that the issues of poverty, racism, greed and violence, could be dealt with through the provision of better education, good working conditions, and a conducive environment. These intellectuals new the atrocities which had been taking place, thus limiting the workers from being able to achieve certain goals (McElvaine, 2009). The rich continued being richer, through oppressing the poor through forcing them to do a lot of work for a very low pay. In addition, due to greed, the elites consequently oppressed the poor through punishing them in case of any issues. These punishments included being laid off or receiving reduced salaries.

The progressive movement was consequently born, in order to change the type of lives which the poor used to lead. These was a movement which aimed at improving the living standards of the Americans, through providing education as a means of balancing social lives in the country. In addition, the movement aimed at bringing to an end the issue of racism, since the African Americans had been sidelined by the rich, and they could only work as potters (McElvaine, 2009). They were not given the chance to be able to work in other sectors. This was consequently a strategy by the rich to make the African Americans poorer, since they could not be able to do high paying jobs, thus remaining in their poor state forever.

The Movement worked very hard in advocating for constitutional changes, which helped in allowing the African Americans to be allowed to go to school. In addition, the working conditions were also improved in order to make sure that the rich do not exploit the poor (McElvaine, 2009). President Roosevelt, who was the party leader of the Progressive party, really helped in advocating for the grievances of the progressive movement. In addition, the movement called for a national insurance, which would cover all workers, a minimum wage law for women, and the removal of the political leaders who were not hard working from office before the end of their term. In order for the progressives to try and confront this issues, they went forward to give their recommendations to the party leader, President Roosevelt.

The movement had its own successes and failures, the following were the successes of the movement. The growth of the living standards of those in the middle class (McElvaine, 2009). The improvement of the laws protecting women’s rights, and the rise in the minimum wages for the poor. In addition, the levels of corruption also dropped in the country and in the government. The following were the failures of the movement, the levels of racism further increased, and the lack of equal rights among the people of color. The successes of the movement were clearly visible, since the president had done what it takes in order to make sure that such laws were implemented. On the other hand, the failures of the movement were as a result of the Jim Crow, which consequently segregated the blacks and the people of color from being able to access certain amenities and jobs.

The progressive movement consequently came to an end in 1920, after the rise of consumerism in the country, a move which made manufacturers to unite with the consumers in order to improve the sales of their products. On the other hand, the World War I helped in uniting the country, thus leading to the reforms in the government (McElvaine, 2009). These reforms led to better treatment of people in their working place. The World War I allowed the progressive movement to be able to learn a lot of things, hence incorporating them in order to ensure fair treatment of all citizens in the country.

Reference

McElvaine, R. S. (2009). The Great Depression: America, 1929-1941. New York: Three Rivers Press.