What you’ll learn to do: describe the role that muckrakers and reform leaders played in catalyzing the Progressive Era

Figure 1. Protesters in the streets demonstrating against racketeering.

In its first decade, the Progressive Era was a grassroots (composed of common, everyday people) effort that ushered in reforms at state and local levels. At the beginning of the twentieth century, however, Progressive endeavors captured the attention of the federal government. The United States was facing numerous challenges: fast-growing cities that were ill-equipped to house the industrial working poor, disengaged or corrupt politicians, and rural Americans who were struggling to keep their farms afloat.

The muckraking journalists of the era published books and articles highlighting the social inequities of the day and called on everyday Americans to help find solutions. Educated, middle-class, Anglo-Saxon Protestants dominated the movement, but Progressives were not a homogenous group: the movement counted African Americans, women and men, and urban as well as rural dwellers among its ranks. Progressive causes ranged from anti-liquor campaigns and higher wages to the enactment of child labor laws and the establishment of women’s suffrage. Together, Progressives sought to advance democracy, improve efficiency in government and industry, and promote social justice.