The Progressive era 1890-1920

By the turn of the twentieth century, many American cities had become crowded and had large, poor populations. This image shows a group of people on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City.

In the early 1900s, many people worked in unsafe factories or mills In the early 1900s, many people worked in unsafe factories or mills. This image shows the fire on March 25, 1911, at the Asch Building where the Triangle Shirtwaist Company had its factory. Many young women died in that fire.

It was common for children to work long hours at unsafe jobs in factories. This photo shows two young boys working on the spinning machine at the Bibb cotton mill in Macon, Georgia, in 1909.

Question? What do the problems illustrated in these pictures have in common? Why might it be difficult for the people exposed to these conditions to effect change on their own behalf?