A Very Different Age - Americans of the Progressive Era - Essay Example

A Very Different Age - Americans of the Progressive Era “The early twentieth century was a time of technological revolution in the United States. New inventions and corporations were transforming the economic landscape, bringing a stunning array of consumer goods, millions of additional jobs, and ever more wealth. Steven J. Diner draws on the rich scholarship of recent social history to show how these changes affected Americans of all backgrounds and walks of life, and doing so offers a striking new interpretation of a crucial epoch in our history” (back cover). Diner in his book highlights the most important period in American history known as Industrial Revolution. During this era, the American society experienced various changes socially, economically and politically. The bulk of the book deals with how American people felt during the revolution and to what extent their lives changed. The book focuses on society as a whole, and does not emphasize on a particular person or event alone, there was a lot of struggle and opposition between people, as Diner writes “living increasingly in an interdependent society comprised of large institutions, individual Americans made numerous choices and competed with each other as never before to control their lives”( 3). A very different age narrates the efforts of and lives of different groups of people during the progressive era, including, businessmen and industrial workers, small businessmen and big business men, industrial workers and farmers, European immigrants and African migrants, middle class women and men, industrial workers and middle class workers, businessmen and professionals. The reform included the growth of “labor unions joined mostly by businessmen”(47), but these unions removed the “African Americans” , women joined the workforce, immigrants accepted low paid jobs for the sake of improving there overall status, they were mostly employed in factories and mills. Inhabitants of America felt superior to the immigrants; farmers mostly had to depend on the vague capitalist system to earn a respectable income, “African American” had to fight for their rights for freedom, most of them flee the country, but it was the middle class that appeared to be the most powerful during the progressive era. According to Diner, despite of the progress there were many setbacks that occurred during the revolutionary era. Thousands of Americans still lived in poverty; African Americans struggled for their identity and “racism” (125) existed. The writer skillfully includes the work of many historians in his book; he praises some of the reformers of the time but criticizes many renowned progressives like “Teddy Roosevelt” (229) and “Woodrow Wilson (219)” who worked for their selfish motives instead of bringing change, Diner disparagingly asserts that “progressives, like other Americans, joined a contest for control under rules set by industrial capitalism” The author explains in his book that the “historians”(199) believe that the political behavior of many Americans during the progressive era changed widely as fewer votes were cast and citizens no longer remained linked to their political parties as strict laws prevented them to cast votes. Furthermore, many social historians believed that common people were victims of intolerance and inequality, and there were many people who faced the harsh circumstances bravely and traveled from place to place in search of better jobs. People who left were mostly farmers and industrial workers, whereas, most of the urban came to America and urban population in South increased by 900,000(131), “Midwestern farmer’s children went further west to buy more lands” and “African Americans” moved to rural areas. Diner is of the view that the progressive period though brought many gains but it at the same time ruined the lives of many. The “Industrial Revolution” had different impact on different people; with its many accomplishments it also created problems for many people. The revolution affected women’s lives most negatively and there life style changed significantly. Before the advent of Industrial Revolution women were supposed to stay in-doors and looked after their families, most housewives were dependent on their husbands for financial help; men were the bread earners and provided food shelter and clothing for their family. There were many restrictions for women before the revolution took place. Moreover, the divorce rate was very low, the reason was, that the women had no legal rights, there were no property privileges for her, when a husband divorced his wife, she obtained nothing, secondly the court trials were very costly, and unapproachable, even if a women obtained divorce all her property was transferred to her husband, and she was left with nothing. This created a lot of frustration, and as a result women became more suppressed and insecure. Men always accompanied their wives where ever they went and it was considered a norm. In short, women were considered as lesser and inferior by men. Women welcomed the advent of industrial revolution with open arms as they foresaw it as an opportunity to live an independent life they waited for as they had long been dependant on men for everything. Now they feel fortunate to come out of closed doors and become self-sufficient financially. Though women attained their independence during Industrial growth but their autonomy was accompanied by many hardships as well. Most women found jobs in factories, mills, coal mines and workshops; the factory owners hired them because they were more honest and reliable and worked on a low salary. Women had to face several challenges in the work place, firstly they were not highly paid as compared to men, secondly the working environment was unhealthy, and many women suffered ailments due to pollution and dirt. Women were under immense pressure as they were burdened with various tasks that included house hold work like cooking cleaning raising children at the same time looking after financial affairs too. Women were left far behind in education, as long working hours prevented them to acquire education, and as a result illiteracy rate went up. Men received high salary for the same work women performed. The only job for women that was worth doing at that time was of a governess or maid, those women who worked as governesses were fortunate as they did not face the suffering and pain that prevailed in factories and mills environment. Furthermore, Women faced several social pressures as well; they were expected to have children and were compelled to work even after child birth. A lot of conflict rose between men and women as a result of difference in working conditions and injustice against a single gender. “The Industrial Revolution” despite its draw backs brought good luck for women, as there were many feminist “reformers” who protested against women injustice and abuse they had to face daily at work place; many feminist workers raise their voice in opposition to the plight of women which was successful. As a result of the struggle of the reformers, men started to respect women more and gave them equal rights; they were no longer suppressed and were regarded as equals, moreover female literacy rate increased as more institutions were built that allowed women to acquire education. The formation of women rights movement also helped gain voting privileges for women, as earlier they were not allowed to vote. “Steven Diner, professor of history at George Mason University, is the author or editor of five other books, including A City and Its Universities: Public Policy in Chicago. He lives in Chicago” (back cover). The author is successful in providing the readers with in-depth knowledge on the subject his book is extremely useful, it act as an excellent guide for all those who desire to learn more. The writer is successful in achieving his goal, the way he analyzed the society’s dilemma is praise worthy, and he made his characters more human by showing how people viewed politics and discussed issues. The book reads like a story and explains the hardships and personal endeavors of various people in their own words. He details all happenings till World War One. All events are perfectly described. As Ernest R May praises Steven’s book in his words “A harbinger of a better day for readers interested in American History. Diner writes as a scholar but not as one concerned only about reactions among other scholars. This work may indicate not only a closing of the long-standing gap between popular and scholarly historical writing, but also that which has existed in the United States since the 1970s between the historical profession and the public potentially interested in what historians might say.” Works Cited Diner J. Steven. A very different age: Americans of the progressive era. New York: Hill and Wang. 1998. Read More