A brief summery about american history

The progressive

The Progressives had a serious influence on the development of the entire society and politics in the United States of America. These people aimed at the elimination of enormous capability and financial margins between regular workers and their employers. Another intention of this enthusiastic group was to eliminate any acts of corruption prevalent among the country’s politicians back in the Gilded Age. The Progressives established all the most important values for American people of all generations, including equally worthy living standards and the increased governmental support.

The Progressives is a group of individuals with political views rather than a consolidated party. All participants of this ideological formation were fighting for significant reformations in the USA that they attempted to realize in the late nineteenth century and early periods of the following decades (DeWitt 49). According to many scholars, they disliked and thus wanted to change the society that was making entrepreneurs rich and obligated others work hard long hours to receive inadequate compensations. Such a situation was unfair in relation to the majorities as they did not have enough power to make their lives easier and happier (DeWitt 49). Therefore, the primary intention of the activists was to help the working class, make all people equal in their career opportunities, and develop national industries. A notable historian, Zinn, claims that representatives of this movement made everything possible to eliminate all the most critical issues in the capitalist system that were benefiting only separate population layers (354). Since then, the USA has been becoming a country where every citizen can reach any heights and goals, regardless of their origins, races, and ages.

The Progressives have been offering various sound solutions to the most prevalent sociological and political problems in the USA. Some scholars even claim that these activists offered an impressive array of reform proposals as the nation was craving changes in these spheres (Zinn 96). Moreover, the restructuration was the only possible method to reach true democracy and establish successful ways of the country’s future prosperity at that moment. The enthusiastic community was insisting on the proper redistribution of social resources and goods among all residents of the US (Zinn 96). Such a measure would have had positive impacts on those who have been working long shifts and could barely feed their families. Thus, this social class was obligated to work days and nights, whereas their employers had much better lives as they were gaining decent profits and increasing personal financial capitals (Zinn 96). Indeed, such a model was unacceptable for a rapidly developing and civilized society.

In the times of both the Progressive Era and Gilded Age, many business owners canceled days off for their workers. Moreover, they happened to extend daily shifts up to eighty hours per week (Zinn 292). It would be relevant to state that the working conditions and inappropriate environments adversely influenced the health of employees. Some of them were even dying in factories due to various fires and other potentially dangerous accidents (Zinn 292). During this period, most of the American populations had to survive and thus needed to deal with these circumstances close to slavery as there was no other choice. Back then, many politicians and representatives of the national government were participating in various corruption schemes (Zinn 292). Therefore, almost all influential businessmen had the possibility to solve regulatory issues contradicting their financial interests. According to Zinn, “corruption dominates the ballot box, the legislatures, the Congress, and touches even the ermine of the bench” (288). Hence, the high level of bribery was ruining all the political responsibilities and thus no one was thinking about the wealth of regular citizens, which was tremendously slowing the country’s development.

Due to the prevalence of the aforementioned issues in the USA, the Progressives wanted and tried to restructure the government and centralize the power to benefit every province in the country’s territory. Furthermore, this movement’s participants initiated a number of Constitutional amendments in order to improve the living standards of the working class (Beard 150). Additionally, they managed to establish and make politicians follow, respect, and protect the human rights of all-American residents (Beard 152). Consequentially, the Progressives have tremendously influenced the lives of the majorities in the USA as they were seeking better conditions and equality for all local populations.

Indeed, the Progressives managed to make the overall American population a somewhat gentler and much kinder nation than it was before by implementing the aforementioned reforms. Unfortunately, it was impossible to restructure the entire country and its political system at a glance of an eye (Beard 152). Therefore, working conditions remained the same in many factories. Nevertheless, many employers saw the benefits of being more loyal to the workforce and adjusted the salaries and safety requirements to the needs of people (Beard 152). Beard, a historian, said that this formation characterized the beginning of the American national identity as they have adopted all the principles of its Constitution (153). Certainly, all individuals living in the country today deserve the best working conditions and have to thank the Progressives for reaching this compromise (Beard 152). Modern citizens know their labor rights and always use the chance to protect those, which makes their working hours more pleasant every time.

The Progressives created all the important democracy factors that contemporary people value the most in their working lives as well as social statuses in the USA. This movement made the country look and act as it does today – equally loyal and tolerant to all residents. The organization also managed to make the local government as perfect as it was possible to complement all the primary needs of residents.

Works Cited

Beard, Charles. An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States. Routledge, 2017.

DeWitt, Benjamin Parke. Progressive Movement: A Non-Partisan Comprehensive Discussion of Current Tendencies in American Politics. Routledge, 2017.

Zinn, Howard, et al. Uncommon Sense From the Writings of Howard Zinn. Taylor and Francis, 2016.