The Gilded Age created a huge boom in factories, corporations, and wealth. With these advancements came corruption, exploitation, and a gaping lack of regulations. The Progressive Era was a period of time where people were going out of their way to reform society for the better. People began attempting to fix the problems that had formed during the Gilded Age.
Before we begin discussing how people were fighting for change, we first have to understand what problems were left over from the Gilded Age. Please read The Roots of Progressivism from Digital History to get a base understanding of what people wanted to change.
As we saw from the reading, some of the issues left over from the Gilded Age were:
political corruption
stock market manipulation
fake advertising
vices
impure food and drugs
racial discrimination
lynching
With a partner or on your own, please pick one of these topics to explore in more detail. As you research, please keep notes that you will share with the rest of the class. In these notes you should include:
A description of your issue.
Where your issue stemmed from.
How people were attempting to expose the issue.
Some proposed solutions to the problem.
Any pictures you can find that connect to your issue.
When you are done we will share your notes with the class.