The Progressive movement (ca. 1900-1920) responded to an increasingly urban, corporate, and industrial American society, whose outlines alarmed the middle classes. In the view of reformers, political machines, ethnic enclaves, and social disorder threatened democracy and equality. Consequently, Progressives embarked on a drive to reform American life. Child labor laws, welfare benefits, factory inspections, restrictive immigration laws, Prohibition, trust-busting, and women's suffrage are just some examples of the contradictory yet historic reforms enacted by the Progressives. Historians view the American entry into the First World War as both the high point and the beginning of the end for the movement, but many Progressive impulses survived into the New Deal era. Help yourself & your classmates gain an even deeper understanding of the key aspects of this era by creating a study guide for your assigned topic. (16 points)
