Question

The growth of cities, the corruption of government, and industrialization altered American life from the end of the Civil War through the Great War. How did reformers try to clean up politics , the society, and the economy from the late 19th century through the end of the Great War?

Answer 1

The reform movement in politics, the society, and the economy was known as the Progressive movement.

This movement took several different steps to change American society. This included

A) The development of anti-trust laws- This would clean up the economy and stop monopolies from cornering markets and participating in price gouging.

B) Muckraking- Journalists exposed social ills in American society by writing influential books and using photographs to show things like the horrible working and living conditons of American citizens. This lead to changes in law (like the Meat Inspection Act) that increased consumer and worker safety.

C) 17th amendment- This lead to citizens voting directly for their US Senators instead of having them picked by members of the state legislature. This helped to stop political corruption.