1900–1920

Abstract

In reaction to the industrial violence and social inequities described in the previous chapter, political and social reform movements of many kinds dominated the Progressive Era. The scope of reform was ambitious and varied, encompassing voting reforms, labor legislation, industrial regulation, banking reform, environmental protection, prohibition of alcohol, and the introduction of the income tax. The new spirit of reform did not, however, extend to improving conditions for native-born minorities: this period marked the nadir of African-American rights, with a sharp rise in lynching and the consolidation of Jim Crow segregation, and health and living conditions on American Indian reservations declined. Immigration from southern and eastern Europe accelerated, surpassing the record rates of 1880—1900. The era ended on a wave of popular sentiment—at first divided and then vehemently patriotic—in 1917 as the nation entered World War I. Throughout the era reform movements expanded as what began as middle class economic and political reform spread rapidly to other groups, such as women and immigrants, who had their own agendas for social change.