Muckrakers Contribution To The Progressive Era

The late 19th century to early 20th century buzzed with new ideologies and ambitions. Followed by the gilded age in the 1980s, a period where powerful monopolies dominated the economy, the progressive era ushered in a period of reforms. Fueled by the flaws run by the laissez-faire economy, people start advocating for changes in society. Muckrakers such as Upton Sinclair, the writer of The Jungle; Jacob Riis, the writer How the Other Half Lives; and Ida Tarbell, who wrote about the oil industry all contributed to bringing awareness to the inhumane conditions of many in everyday lives and the creation of acts and organizations such as the FDA(Food and Drug Administration), ICC(Interstate Commerce Commission), and many more - many of which are
This era brought in many progressive and imperial actions due to domestic and international tensions present in society prior to and during this era. The increasing wealth gap between the rich and the poor, the frequent banking crisis throughout the decades, the looming presence of other countries overseas, and many more events all contributed to the social and political reforms happening in the US and involvement around the world. The single biggest factor that contributed to the progressive era has to be the era that came before it: the Gilded Age. Capitalism, more specifically laissez faire capitalism, has contributed greatly to the economy of the United States, making it one of the richest nations in the world. However, this method of unregulated capitalism soon proved to be a mistake, as more people started to notice the problems emerging as a result of the free reigning market. The gap between the upper class and everyone else widens to a point where the richest “4,000 families in the U.S” have as much wealth as “11.6 million
In fact, the women’s suffrage movement was in part inspired by the Australians and British. The National American Woman Suffrage association was created to fight for their rights using many of the same tactics as their Australian peers. The movement was an effort to reignite the fight fought by precedent women suffragists from with the Senera Fall Conventions back in 1848 and earlier. Suffragists combined the use of traditional methods of protest with more extreme forms such as hunger strikes. Some white supremacists would also support them because their addition would further offset the black voters. Eventually, due to WWI and their participation in supporting the war, they were able to gain leverage and ratify the 19th amendment. One of the biggest reasons a nation would want to expand its influence in other countries is economic interest, and that is certainly the case with America. For example, Hawaii is well known for its sugar production (and pineapple), which is a very valuable preservative. By becoming the sole importer from Hawaii, the US was able to extract a massive amount of wealth from