The Progressive Era was the period of American history between the 1890s and 1920s. It was movement dedicated to political and social reform largely driven by the middle class. In a world that was dominated by wealthy industrialists and threatened by radical ideas of laborers, the middle class strived for order.
Inside you will read about...
✓ Stirred to Action
✓ Women’s Suffrage
✓ Temperance and Anti-Alcohol Campaigns
✓ The Dark Side of Progressivism: Forced Sterilizations and Eugenics
✓ The African-American Experience
✓ Progressive Presidents and the Start of WWI
And much more!
Women played a prominent role in the movement. Their main objective was gaining the right to vote, but they also worked tirelessly on temperance, urban reform, and other social reforms. Women gained a strong influence even before they achieved suffrage.
Progressivism was dominated by optimism for the future and the ability of civilization to find solutions to age-old problems. Those in the movement had an overriding faith particularly in Western civilization and its apparent greatness. The end of the era embodied a severe questioning of that faith. Ultimately, the Progressive Era left a legacy of hope, but also a warning against hubris.
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