What was the Progressive movement?
In the United States the Progressive movement was a broad campaign for reform on social, political, and economic levels that reached its height in the early twentieth century. The movement was started in the decades after the American Civil War (1861–65) in response to the vast changes brought on by industrialization and an economic depression (a period of widespread hardship). In the cities, where the problems were most crucial, Progressives moved into slums and established settlement houses (institutions providing various community services). They were led by activists such as Jane Addams (1860–1935) in Chicago and Lillian Wald (1867–1940) in New York City. Other Progressives attacked corruption in municipal (city) government and fought against the government policy of noninterference, which had allowed for business monopolies (where one company has exclusive control over a…
