History 202 Midterm Exam Paper Throughout the semester we have studied several extremely influential time periods in American history. We have studied the post-Civil War tension between the Republican North and the Democratic South. We traveled through the rise of the railroad and the 2nd industrial revolution in America. We witnessed the taming of the West and watched American ideals spread to the wild lands and people’s there. At the turn of the century, we read how Progressivism and Imperialism conquered the minds of the American people (and the eyes and attention of the rest of the world). We reviewed the war and savagery destroyed the civilized world during the Great War. Finally, we took part in learning about the Roaring Twenties and …show more content…
The Progressive Movement fought against all forms of injustice. It came to be to fight against corrupt politics, political machines, “robber barons” and big business, poor working conditions in the more industrialized America, poor living conditions for the poor and middle class in the more urbanized society, etc. Women’s Suffrage, child labor reform, social reform i.e. discrimination, banking and labor reform, and the desire for prohibition helped promote and influence this movement as well. Their goals were aligned with said causes. The movement’s eyes were set on the destruction of political machines, the breaking apart of big business and the power of the “robber baron”, the curbing and end of social injustice (in some forms), the end of child abuse and child labor, illiteracy, alcoholism, and crime, the improvement of the overall health, welfare, and safety of the country’s people, and the conservation and protection of natural …show more content…
That sort of political influence (especially one so set on not being corrupt) caused a domino effect of political and social reform across the nation. Laws to protect public health and welfare emerged, anti-trust legislation destroyed existing monopolies and helped prevent future monopolies, big business lost power, unionization of most industries, and dissolving of political machines helped relieve the nation from oppression. Reform against social injustice, child labor laws, environmental protection laws, the 17th, 18th, and 19th amendments, and many more Women’s Suffrage ideas were other important changes made during this time. Speaking of Women’s Suffrage, another incredibly important group/movement that took place in this period of time. The Women’s Right Movement came to be due to the lack of voting rights, unfair wages, and unfair hours. They fought against the oppressive traditional social structures created in America. Their goals were to gain even voting rights for all women, to create laws to safeguard against unsafe hours and working conditions, protection against unfair wages, the end of domestic violence, the prohibition of alcohol, and the overall collapse of the oppressive social structure generated for women in
The early twentieth century was a time of major change in the United States. These changes were caused by the progressive movement where individuals and groups aimed at changing American society and values. As written in The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People, "The progressive movement began as preachers, novelists, journalists, photographers, and painters highlighted appalling conditions in America's cities and factories. Intellectuals offered ideas for reform through the creative use of government. Primarily middle class, progressives sought to improve urban life and working conditions, eliminate political corruption, and curb the excesses of the new urban, industrial society."
After World War 1, American society was rife with both conflict and opposing ideals. By this same token, traditional Americans had still stubbornly clung to their old puritanical traditions and small town life as manifested in the K.K.K. However, a new generation of Americans had reacted to the Great War with new political doctrines, debatable views of religion, and emerging social and artistic movements. New Heightened tensions had demonstrated how this new generation of Americans had reacted to the Great War. Disputes over religion, politics, and the arts had highlighted the division between modern and traditional Americans.
From the title, “West from Appomattox: The Reconstruction of America after the Civil War” we are met with the deals of conceptive reconstruction during the time after the Civil War. A time in which the country formed ideals of citizenship and the role of the government. The title is devoted to the theme of Heather Cox Richardson’s illustration of Western influence on this period of reconstruction post-Civil War. This view of post-war reconstruction is formatted in a timeline to include many of the political debates of the late nineteenth century. She shows an effective examination of how the post-war reconstruction, has produced a modern day construction that sits behind concepts of individualism, the middle class, and governmental influence.
The 1900s was a time period filled with political corruption, social inequality and injustice, discrimination, poor working and living conditions. The progressive movement resulted in response to these issues. Members and advocates of this movement were usually white (some blacks too), middle-class, Christian, college educated women (and men). They sought to achieve social justice through equality and enhance life in America for everyone. To further the nation’s democratic ideals, they hoped to incorporate reforms based on the expectations of the majority public.
Introduction The Declaration of Independence of 1776 asserted that all men are created equal and are endowed with certain unalienable rights among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, the exhaustion of farm land by poor agricultural planning and the introduction of the assembly line reversed the flow in the 1920s. They helped to turn the migration of the people back to the city. Many farmers returned to the cities to work for such leaders of industry as Ford and Rockefeller. The American Dream indicated not about a better life but about wealth.
The Progressive Era from the 1890s to 1920s was a period that experienced extensive social activism and political reforms across the United States. This movement was spurred by the heightened level of corruption and injustice of large corporations and in government at that time. The movement primarily comprised of “liberals who wanted to reform and regulate their capitalist society and not destroy it. " There were several pushes to make the political process more open and transparent. One of which was the adaptation of the direct primary elections and to grant the Presidents more powers to regulate new laws.
World War I was a war that Americans entered reluctantly, and a war which led to the replacement of progressivism by liberalism. Liberalism arose from a feeling of entrapment brought by the various regulations on industry and society, and embraced individualism to create a sense of liberation. Cars, especially the Model T, played a massive role in this by giving mobility to men and women, and creating a sense of freedom and independence (McGerr 228). The phonograph, psychotherapy, sports, amusement parks, dance, and music were other individualistic concepts, which provided pleasure. African Americans of the period began migrating to cities like Chicago, and enjoyed certain individualistic freedoms like music and boxing (McGerr 257), but were also banned from many theaters and places of leisure, and often created their own theaters.
Progressives strived to improve the quality of urban life through parks and recreation, housing, poor relief, work safety, health care, etc. For example, Johnson, a mayor of Cleveland, reformed the police department
The 19th century was a period of widespread social, economical and political problems in the United States, from the 1890s to the 1920s in need of reform. Both parties were created by the people’s dissatisfaction with the government and its ability to appeal to the majority. The Populist movement was founded my farmers, laborers and middle class civilians that wanted government regulation in the economy, more authority in the government, educating immigrants, to prevent government corruption and high positions to be based on experience.
America experienced a sudden disregard of Victorian values following World War I, causing the generation of the 1920s to dramatically contrast the previous. This severe degree of change produced three major manifestations of the contradictions in the twenties. There were massive conflicts to the Jazz Age, technological advancements, and Black Migration. The contradictions of the 1920s reflect America’s conflicted state between advancement and convention, as the cultural and technological developments of the era coincide with the inability of individuals to stray from traditional norms and racist attitudes.
In the time between the 1890s and 1920s, America experienced a massive amount of growth. People in poverty-stricken, overcrowded cities suffered greatly. In big cities, politicians kept power using several political machines. Companies created monopolies and controlled the nation’s economy. Many Americans were concerned about this, and believed that great change was needed in society to protect everyday people.
The progressives, wanted to create a society that acted as one. The idea of being an individual was something to be forgotten in order to create a more perfect civilization of order and pureness. During this time of the progressive movement, the rest of society began to reject it ideology of their message and goals of nonpleasure and work. Especially around the Carina Arreola History 1302 W.Wooten time of World War One, the Great depression, and the New Deal.
According to the S&P Dow Jones Indices, the Dow Jones industrial average increased from 914 to 5423 during the Roaring Twenties. The explosive expansion of U.S. industries caused prosperity of the stock market. The rising share prices encouraged hundreds of thousands of people, who were unprofessional, to invest heavily in New York Stock Exchange. In 1920s, when investors bought a huge amount of stock, they could only pay 10% by themselves and borrow the rest from their brokers. Before the stock market crashed, more than two-thirds of the face value of the stocks was borrowed from brokers.
The progressive movement was a reaction of wanting to see the government stop being bribed by the monopolies. Anything that is deemed to make progress in America was apart of the progressive movement. The progressives were looking for better working conditions, minimum wage, shorter work hours, and a shorter work week. They were also pushing to achieve the ending of child labor, government corruption, imperialism, and the consumption of alcohol. Trust busting was another big part of the progressive movement.
The Progressive Era began in the 1900s and “ended” in 1917 . During the Progressive Era, many steps were taken to correct the problems facing an industrial America. In this era groups, the old and new working class, sought to reshape the government due to urbanization and industrialization. Industrialization led to the rise of big businesses at the expense of the worker. Factory workers faced long hours, low wages, and unsanitary conditions.