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The Progressive Era

Accompanying with the growth of industry and the flourish of cities in the
nineteenth century, working and living conditions dropped. People worked for long
hours in bad working conditions, dangerous and harmful, and what they got for
payment were so little that most of their family members, including children, have to
go to work. The long hours of working usually resulted in the injury of workers and
therefore, the abandonment of their jobs. Also, the wages were distributed unequally.
Women who did the same task as men only got half the amount of mens salary. In
addition, living conditions were as bitter as the working conditions. People, usually
immigrants, were too poor to have their own houses. Thus, they lived in row houses
or tenements, which were crowded and with poor sanitation system, with other
families. Another problem was that African Americans were treated unequally,
prohibited from voting and usually subject to lynching.
To deal with the problems, workers usually went on strikes, seeking for better
treatments. However, only few succeeded. In the late nineteenth century, reformers
were working to improve the conditions. YMCA, for example, provided the poor
people welfare. By the muckrakers descriptions of the harsh working environment,
people started to pay attention to the unbelievable conditions and therefore forced
some employers to reform. In addition, women also formed unions to protect their
rights. NAWSA was a womens group that demanded for women suffrage, and in
1919, finally achieved their goal--- allowing women to vote. For African Americans,
NAACP strived to gain their rights, but was avoided by the progressive presidents.
Businesses usually traded unfairly with big firms forming trusts to create monopoly.
Although Sherman Antitrust Act made forming a trust illegal, it did not clearly define
a trust. During President Wilsons admission, the congress passed the Clayton
Antitrust Act, which served to strengthen the Sherman Antitrust Act. It defined what a
trust was and made strikes and boycotts legal.
Before President Roosevelts admission, only a few people paid attention to their
natural resources. Forests were largely logged and plains were overgrazed.
Conservationist John Muir and Gifford Pinchot both advised Roosevelt to conserve
their resources. Roosevelt established several national parks and kept a large amount
of federal land exempt from private sale to conserve the land.
In the early days, corruptions were rampant. Politicians usually grafted to become
millionaire. To prevent corruption and improve the US government, Robert La Follete
proposed state reforms. Initiative allowed people instead of lawmakers to originate
bills; people could reject a bill by referendum; recall enabled the voters to vote
officials out of office before their term were out.
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair described the terrible condition of a meatpacking
factory, exposing the dirty and shocking process of the meat products. After reading
the news, Roosevelt immediately took action to reform it. Meat Inspection Act was
constructed in 1906. The act forced strict cleanliness requirements for meatpackers
and created the program of federal meat inspection. Also, to deal with the exaggerated
advertisement and toxic medicines, the congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act,
which halted the sale of contaminate foods and medicines and forced truth in labeling.
It protected consumers.

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