Answer: The early 20th century was an era of business expansion and progressive reform in the United States. The progressives, as they called themselves, worked to make American society a better and safer place in which to live. They tried to make big business more responsible through regulations of various kinds. They worked to clean up corrupt city governments, to improve working conditions in factories, and to better living conditions for those who lived in slum areas, a large number of whom were recent immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe.
Some areas of reform that interested Progressives include women's suffrage movement, returning control of the government to the people of the United States, and eliminating waste and corruption. In the early 1900's, women started to create women's clubs to call for the right to vote. A major change in society in the early 1900's was that the 19th amendment was passed which gave women the right to vote. Without the help of Progressives, the amendment wouldn't have been passed. Citizens of the US also noticed that government was taking control of their country and they wanted the control back. Most importantly, many people wanted to eliminate waste and corruption. To do this, many cities in the US adapted a new form of government created in Galveston called the commission form of government. This type of government helped stop bribery and city governments started to hire professional planners in their local governments.
