Reforms in progressive era - Essay Example

People in progressivism believed that problems within the society such as violence, poverty, racism, poor health, class warfare, and greed could be addressed through the provision of a safer environment, good education, honest government, and efficient workplace. Progressives were people living in cities, had a college education, and were of the idea that the government could be an agent of change (Schlesinger, 2003). Key reforms One of the areas that were of target for reforms by the progressives was the direct or indirect impacts of the high wave of immigration and industrialization in the 19th century.

From 1900 to 1910, about 8.8 million immigrants entered the US, many of whom were from regions, religions, and ethnic groups that were different from American immigrants from Western Europe. Those coming from southern Europe offered cheap labor that supported the rapid growing industries and were in their high numbers in densely populated urban areas. Politicians and political parties started to target these immigrants to pursue their own goals. On the other hand, the poor health care, housing, and sanitation, as well as the increased use of child labor in factories and homes became a focus for reformers (Schlesinger, 2003). . As a result of this, legislation establishing minimum safety and housing standards were introduced (Schlesinger, 2003).

One of the most dominant people of the progressive era was Theodore Roosevelt. He is on record for bringing reforms that changed people’s welfare and the economy at large. One such reform is the expansion government powers within the economy by creating new power for organized labor to manage and exert leverage against employers. By doing so, Roosevelt played direct roles in ending labor disputes, and in some occasions threatened to use the army to settle disputes between coal mine owners and miners (Schlesinger, 2003).

The new deal The new deal was an idea created by Roosevelt when he started expanding the government in order to come up with institutions that would protect different groups of citizens such as farmers and workers. This was mainly to protect people from the great depression and material crisis by enabling citizens to question the powers of corporations. In doing so, Roosevelt strengthened the executive, influenced political formation and defined agendas for future political debates (Schlesinger, 2003).

Reform in the new deal Social security Act This was a legislative act, which formed social security system in the US. The act was signed into law by Roosevelt in 1935, and it created a social insurance program meant to pay retired works aged 65 years or older some income after retirement. The act formed a system of insurance for the unemployed, disabled and the aged based on the employer and employee contributions. Much of the funding came from taxes existing workers (Schlesinger, 2003). Tennessee valley authority This is a federally owned corporation