1. The Progressive
Era

2. Progressives Drive Reform

3. Uncovering Problems at the Turn of the Century

4. Problems of the Progressive Era
Poor living conditions
Poor working conditions
Unsafe products (meat & medicine)
Problems with the environment
Political machines, corrupt government
Social Differences among classes

5. Urbanization Evidence of progress: Census reveals diverse America
By 1900 forty percent of Americans lived in the city (rural to urban migration)
100 years earlier six percent lived in urban areas
What did the city offer?
Evidence of progress:
Skyscrapers
“Palaces of Merchandise”
Mansions
Census reveals diverse America
12 Million Immigrants in a 50 Year Span

7. Poor Living and Working Conditions
Many of the urban poor lived in slum tenements
90,000 people per square mile in New York City!
Infrastructure: Facilities and equipment required for a community to function
Roads, sewage, power systems, transportation, etc.
Very poor
Couldn’t support large numbers
Sanitation problems promoted disease

9. Problems in the Workplace
“Life in a factory is perhaps, with the exception of prison life, the most monotonous life a person can live.”
The workplace was unsafe and unsanitary
Many times whole families were employed
Injury only meant poverty