Essay on "Era According to Lecture?"

Essay 4 pages (1365 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Era according to lecture? Which of the themes do you think had the most impact on American society?

The five major themes of the Progressive Era were democracy, efficiency, regulation, social justice, and active government. Democracy refers to the fact that the democratic form of government was increased during the Progressive Era because of the institution of the direct primary, initiatives and referendums, and the 17th Amendment, which provided for the direct election of U.S. senators. Efficiency refers to the idea that governments became more efficient and were characterized by budget control, and the institution of the commission system and the role of the city manager. Regulation refers to the increased amount of governmental regulation of business, most notably the Sherman Anti-trust acts, trust-busting, and a turning away from laissez faire business policies. Social justice refers to the idea of ending the practice of the wealthy profiting from the mistreatment of the poor, and was characterized by protective legislation such as child labor laws and workers compensation. Finally, an active government refers to the idea of a government working to promote the needs of its people by focusing on education, infrastructure, conservation, public health, and welfare. While all of the themes of the Progressive Era had an impact on American society at that time, many of them were abandoned in the years following the Progressive Era. However, Americans have clung to the idea of an active government. While the government may not always get it right, it still tries to play a very active role in education, infrastructure, conservation, public health, and welfare. For example, the United States has a highly-developed infrastructure which permits extensive private land travel over a vast amount of space. Furthermore, even with the MMR-autism scare, the U.S. vaccination program has greatly reduced public health epidemics in the United States. Those are just two examples of how an active government has impacted life in America.

2. What are the 4 major groups of reformers in the Progressive Era? What are their goals? Which group 'wins' out in the end?

The four major groups of reformers in the Progressive Era were the middle class, the upper class, the working class, and the socialists. The middle class pushed for reforms that actually cemented the place of the middle class in U.S. society, which marked a significant change from other nations, especially young nations, which had traditionally been characterized by a two-class system. The upper class wanted to limit reforms, because those reforms generally had a negative impact on the upper class. The working class pushed for reforms that would elevate their socio-economic status and place them in a better financial position. The socialists pushed for reforms that would call for an overall more equitable distribution of resources. It is difficult to determine which group of reformers won out in the end. Clearly, it was not the socialists, because the United States is still characterized by a tremendous disparity in wealth, with something like the top 5% of people controlling 99% of the resources. However, while that would make it appear that the wealthy won out in the end, that answer would only be correct if the only goal of the Progressive Era was the equal distribution of wealth, but that was not even the primary goal of the Progressive Era. If the goal of the Progressive Era was to improve overall quality-of-life, then it is fair to say that the middle class and the working class both experienced significant victories. Both the middle and lower classes have experienced an almost continual climb in quality-of-life since the Progressive Era, so that the middle class is wealthy by global standards and even the poorest members of America's lower class live in conditions superior to the majority of the inhabitants of the world.

3. Briefly describe America's territorial gains from the Paris Peace Treaty of 1898. What did the conclusion of this war do for the American people at home?

The treaty of Paris in 1898 ended the Spanish-American War, ended the Spanish Empire in the Americas, and opened up the… READ MORE

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