Economic, Social, and Political Reforms by the Government during the Progressive Era

At the beginning of the twentieth century there was a great progressive movement. This time period is referred to as the Progressive Era. This era came about as a response to the great economic, social, and political inequality that was present in the United States. Many Americans became aware of this great poverty, due to, poverty pornography that exposed the horrors of the inequalities present in American society. These people that engaged in this poverty pornography were known as muckrakers. This brought in the Progressive Era which advocated for many necessary reforms in the governmental system. The government at the federal and state levels played a huge role in reforms economically, socially, and politically in the early twentieth century through the many laws passed to reform the horrible working conditions in the food industry, the efforts to end child labor and institute minimum wage and maximum work hour laws, and the efforts of the Wisconsin Senator Robert La Follete to help take the lead on serious political issues.

Many large businesses specifically the food industry was in need of economic reform. Meat packing factories in Chicago, in particular, greatly needed changing. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, an example of a muckraker, wrote about the horrors of the preparation that went involved into preparing the meat and the horrible working conditions that workers were exposed to in the factories. Governmental reforms surely did come in the form of regulations. Many were laws were passed by the federal governmental that required meat and working conditions to be inspected.

Child labor was in fact at large in America. Children often along with their parents worked long toilsome hours. Specifically, at the state levels many reforms, in the form of laws, were passed. This helped end abusive child labor many young children experienced. Workers also succeeded in receiving a decrease in work hours and an increase in wages through states helping to institute minimum wage and maximum work hour laws. President Roosevelt also brought about reform by negotiating with miners and mine owners to help bring shorter work days and a 10 percent wage increase.

Wisconsin was a great example of early political reforms in the beginning of the twentieth century. Specifically, at the state level, Senator Robert La Follete helped Wisconsin lead through example itself and other states through enormous political reforms. Arguably, one of the most notable of these reforms was giving the people the power to decide who their party’s nominee for political offices would be through direct election instead of corrupt party leaders picking the nominees themselves. Wisconsin also took the lead on essentially limiting how the amount political officials could spend for their own campaigns.

To conclude, the government helped bring about a multitude of political, social, and economic reforms. The government at the federal helped bring about economic reforms through passing laws that regulated the food industry. The state governments helped ban child labor, bring about a minimum wage, and put forth maximum working hours and Theodore Roosevelt at a federal level helped set the stage for reform with mining companies. The state government in Wisconsin helped bring political reform to America through example and the efforts of their Senator Robert La Follete. By and large, the government helped bring about many economic, social, and political reforms.