Progressivism Era

Krista Hawkes

History 112

Bonnie Gilbert

16 January, 2018

Progressivism Era

        In 1980 the progressivism Era began in the United states. This Era was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States, from the 1890’s to the 1920’s. The main objectives of this era was to eliminate the problems caused by industrial urbanization, immigration, and corruption in government. During this era there were many different movements that people were involved in including,urban poor tenement housing conditions, woman labor unions, and factory conditions and safety.

        The main issue i will be covering is the factory conditions and safety. In this era factory workers had long hours, paid very poorly, and were placed in very unsafe conditions. “In the late 19th century more industrial accidents occured in the US than in any other industrial country.(Gale Encyclopedia)”  During the 19th century the US economy underwent a spectacular increase in industrial growth. Abundant resources, an expanding labor force, government policy, and skilled entrepreneurs facilitated this shift to the large-scale production of manufactured goods. The work was often monotonous for the workers because they would perform the same tasks over and over. All workers had an average of at least 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. Men and women from agricultural backgrounds seemed to have a harder time with the new working conditions since farm work tended to have more flexible and various tasks.

        Woman and children of all ages were put to work in factories. Due to lack of government regulation there were many unsafe and unhealthy worksites that these children were placed in. Rarely did a worker who was hurt/killed on the job receive payment. “By 1900 industrial accidents killed thirty-five thousand workers each year and maimed five hundred thousand others, adnt eh numbers continued to rise (Gale Encyclopedia).” There were all different kinds of work for the kids and women to do, some worked on railroads while others were machinists. The payment received for these terrible jobs was extremely low. Some women were paid as little as 6 dollars per week. The children were treated so poorly in these factories that many state legislatures passed child labor laws due to pressure from public. The Child Labor Laws limited the time a child could work to 10 hours a day, but employers often disregarded these laws. For example, in the southern cotton mills children were often splashed with cold water in their face to keep them awake throughout the nights.

        Workers responses to these changes in work were different for everyone. Some intentionally decreased production, or broke their machines. Others simply quit and went looking for a new job. Because of how these women and children were treated, memberships in the American Federation of Labor (AFL), a union for skilled workers formed in 1886 grew tremendously. “AFL grew from 256,000 members in 1897 to 1,676,000 in 1904 (Gale Encyclopedia).” More radical and politically active  trade unions often had even larger memberships due to the fact that they allowed unskilled labor as well as skilled. The most popular of these groups was the “the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) founded in 1905-popularly known as the wobblies. They recruited primarily among the unskilled immigrants but also competed with the AFL to attract skilled laborers.During the Progressive Era several states passed legislation helpful to labor, such as laws establishing a minimum wage for women, maximum work hours, and workman’s compensation, and abolishing child labor. “In 1916 senators Robert L. Owen and Edward Keating sponsored a bill that restricted child labor; the bill passed both houses of congress with the strong support of President Woodrow Wilson (Gale Encyclopedia).” Groups such as the National child labor committee, the Women's Trade Union League, and the National consumers league pushed for these changes. The bill that Robert L. Owen and Edward Keating sponsored only prevented the interstate shipment of goods produced in factories by children under the age of 14 and materials processed in mines by children under 16. Also, the bill limited work hours to 8 a day. In 1918 the Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional because it was directed toward the regulation of working conditions not the Interstate Commerce.