The Effects of the Progressive Movement
The Progressive Movement encompasses reforms of political, social and economic issues; from the 1890s through the 1920s the movement was in full bloom. The movement dealt with issues including child labor, public health, voting rights and prohibition; it had a profound affect on the laws we see in government today.
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Child Labor Laws
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According to the website Shmoop, there were 1.7 million kids under the age of 16 working in factories in the year 1900 due to the industrial revolution in America. Progressives helped bring about legislation that would eventually lead to taxing business owners who employed young children, followed by legislation that would restrict the employment of children under age 14. Today child labor laws, specific to age and types of employment, apply to kids under the age of 18.
Women's Rights
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According to the National Women's History Museum website, many consider the achievement of women's suffrage the highlight of the Progressive Era. In 1920 towards the end of the movement, the 19th amendment was ratified, allowing all citizens of America the right to vote, regardless of their sex. Organizations such as National American Woman Suffrage Association and the National Woman's Party gave women a voice allowing them to lobby, as well as picket and take more radical actions.
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Public Health
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Due to the lack of regulations in the government, public health became an important issue for progressive reformers. Overcrowded urban areas and housing, pollution and disease were at the top of the list and still are today. Likewise nature conservation, smoke pollution, awareness of dangerous chemicals and sanitary and safe working conditions also became top priorities for environmental reformers, according to the website Pollution Issues.
Prohibition
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The Progressive Movement also rendered adverse effects on society through the Temperance Movement, discouraging the consumption and sale of alcohol. In 1918 congress ratified the 18th amendment which banned the sale, transportation and making of alcohol. This was the cause of an uprising of bootlegging, crime and trouble and the amendment was repealed 12 years later.
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