HIST 2057 Chapter : History 2057 Textbook Chapter 24
Document Summary
Progressivism was less an organized movement than a multifaceted response to the problems created by unregulated industrialization, unplanned urbanization, and unrelenting immigration. Progressives believed that american life was threatened by social instability, economic injustice, and political corruption. They believed that society could be helped through creative initiatives and concerned action. The progressive impulse arose in response to many societal changes, the most powerful of which was the depression of the 1890s and its social unrest. The depression bought hard times to the cities, worsened already dreadful factory conditions, deepened distress in rural areas, and aroused both the fears and the conscience of the rapidly growing middle and upper classes. Many people began devising ways to fix the problem, leading to talks of a progressive era, a time of fermenting idealism and sweeping social, economic, and political change. Political progressives crusaded against the abuses of urban political bosses and corporate robber barons.
