iest targets: lower class citizens. Children and the conditions they were put in daily were the first change that occurred from a voice that rose to many. Progressivism was needed when the laws itself couldn’t protect someone from a struggle.
Children were forced into labor, working hard hours for low wage to help their parents receive more money since the wage for adults was often minimum. Labor forfeited a chance for education, yet children were ideal for maneuvering factories with their little hands and feet. The conditions of these factories were unsanitary and lead to frequent accidents and fatigue. The National Child Labor Committee sent investigators to study the issues of child labor and brought proposals to congress.
Jacob Riis described the condition of sweatshops which were a dominate workplace for women/children. “… There is no such thing as dinner hour; men and women eat while they work, and the ‘day’ is lengthened at both ends far into the night.” (“How the Other Half Lives.”)Eventually laws prevented child labor which allowed children an education. The fact that children of the 21st century are put in schools now proves that our economy differentiated for the better, when child labor ended.
(CHECKED)Another form of progressivism was during Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency. Roosevelt created the Square Deals which were an outstanding benefit. One square deal that stands out is the Food and Drug safety act. The purpose of this act was to prevent corrupted manufactured goods that were deleterious. Following the Food and Drug Safety act was the Meat Inspection Act. Roosevelt hired staff to inspect meat packaging. According to a slice of an Upton Sinclair except, one can get a feel of how disturbing the condition meat was in beforehand.
Sinclair explained that the beef was placed in tanks full of chemical and their form of transportation were trucks that took the meat to a cooking room to be treated in a way similar to garbage.After people found out the truth, there was the Meat Inspection Act, which ended all unsanitary conditions. Food and Drug Safety is only one example of all the amazing progress that occurred during Teddy’s presidency. Roosevelt also listened to what the people asked for when the coal miners went on strike. They wanted a raise in salary by 20 percent and a nine hour workday. Roosevelt came to a compromise so the coal miners salary is raised by 10 percent yet they still had a nine hour work day and could not go on strike for three consecutive years (526). Teddy was a true progressive and fought hard to give civilians a greater change in their economy.Throughout history, of course not all change brings great fortune.
Sometimes it brings suffering which is known looking back at the Great Depression. The Great Depression was an economic slump that lasted approximately a decade. America, along with other countries suffered a great inflation. While it may be said otherwise, the stock market accelerated the Great Depression, it never was the root of the economy’s dejection. The stock market did result however, in Americans buying on the margin constantly. With credit available, debt soon became an issue and caused an uneven distribution in income where the rich gained while the poor remained on the bottom. Over 70% of families made less than $2,500 a year, and the depression affected civilians equally.
From immigrants to the working class, people could not afford much more than one new outfit, electric lights or even basic necessities such as the refrigerator (672). The physiological effect that the Great Depression had on men was, they became homeless and were no longer able to provide for their families when “breadwinner” roles became unavailable. Meanwhile children had lost the one thing they needed to become a successful adult: an education. The government depended on tax revenue for schools which was lost during the depression. The children’s opportunity to grow as a human being was abandoned by adults and many were either put back in factories or grew up on the streets.
Woman were affected by t