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The Progressive Era And Urbanization Of America

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The Progressive Era and the New Deal The reforms that occurred during the Industrial era and urbanization of America were mostly included in the numerous reforms of the Progressive Era. The Progressive Era in America encouraged the ideals of equality and greater power granted to the working class. The many reform movements such as women’s suffrage, workers’ rights, and the formation of a consumer culture made up the Progressive Era and continue to support the ideals that the era once promoted. The Progressive Era represented a new way in which Americans viewed the world and how each and every person fit into the world. The roles of women, African-Americans, immigrants, and children in America were all reexamined with the intent of creating …show more content…
One of the main changes that occurred during this time was the transformation of our nation into a welfare state, in which the government provides for its citizens basic needs. During the Great Depression Era, Franklin Delano Roosevelt took it upon the government to reform the nation and assist its people in recovery. He did this mainly by creating an abundance of government support programs. Among the programs included the Securities Exchange Commission, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Civil Works Administration, and the Civilian Conservation Corps (Jones et al. 2012, 547). Each of these organizations created by the government attempted to support the ideals of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal. These reforms gave the people more safety when investing, provided emergency aid in dire times, and gave people jobs so that they had a reliable income. The power that the New Deal attempted to give to the working class shined bright in Flint, Michigan in 1936, when the sit-down strike was utilized. Workers at the GM factory, upset with their poor working conditions and wages, decided to occupy and refuse to leave the factory until their demands were met. With the support of labor unions and the government, their strike was successful and the strike gained national media attention (Dollinger 2012, 189-193). The way that …show more content…
It seems like it has no impact on our lives today and the only people whose lives have changed because of it are those who were living when it happened. Although one hundred years sounds like a long time and is even difficult to compare to anything due to its seemingly incomparable length, it is not as alien as it seems. One hundred years ago, women could not vote, Jim Crow laws were being enforced, cars were just becoming popular, unemployment benefits did not exist, and there was no minimum wage. Thanks to the reforms of the industrial age, urbanization, the progressive movement, and the New Deal, a lot has changed in the past one hundred years. These reforms have reshaped America again and again, creating what we have now. The America we have now has undergone many changes through its dark times and through its prosperous times, always proving how quickly a nation can change and how effective reforms can be. While all that people see of those reforms now is in a history textbook, the way that people live would not be the same without

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