The Progressive Era reformers and the federal government did bring
about many reforms at the national level. The Progressive reformers
were able to bring issues such as women suffrage, and black rights into
the consciousness of Americans, but these two reforms were forgotten by
President Woodrow Wilson. The reformers were more successful with
improving working conditions in the meat packing industry. The more
successful reforms by the federal government were trust busting and the
passage of child labor laws, which was also brought about by the
Progressives.
One of the largest and most well known Progressive reforms was
women’s suffrage. In the late 1800s women became involved in
political issues such as the temperance movement by…
Child labor laws were another major reform for the federal government
as well as Progressive reformers. In the 1800s many children at very
young ages went to work to contribute income for their family. Many
people such as Jane Adams began speaking out for child labor laws. In
document D she talks about how, instead of going to school, children
were going straight into the factories. She asked why the government
was doing nothing to prevent this situation and help the children.
There was a setback in child labor laws with the case of Hammer vs
Dagenhart (Document G), in which stated that the federal government
couldn’t interfere in state child labor laws. While this was a
futile attempt by the federal government to control child labor laws,
it kept the ideas in the backs of people’s minds.
Between 1900-1920 the Progressive reformers were very busy. The
Progress Era reformers influenced the federal government and achieved
changes at the national level. Initially some of the reforms seemed
unsuccessful, but the more people heard about existing injustice, the
more the government began to reform. Because the reforms…
