Progressive Era Reforms by Khalina McLean

Tenement Act (1901)

20004215 — 2024-11-06 14:16:30 UTC

Despite the housing laws, tenement life remained dangerous and miserable. The most far-reaching bill was passed in 1901. The Tenement House Act not only required improvements on ventilation, toilets, and light but set standards that all but banned the construction of buildings on 25-foot-wide lots. Newly built tenements would have to be wider, with more space. The highly effective 1901 law required existing tenement buildings to upgrade to meet the new, stricter standards. With the passage of the law came the formation of the Tenement House Commission, a committee that inspected housing and ensured the laws were being followed.

Pure Food & Drug Act (1906)

20004215 — 2024-11-06 14:20:27 UTC

The combination of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act greatly extended the power of the federal government to regulate goods in interstate commerce, and concomitantly the two laws represented a decline in the idea that state governments alone could exercise police powers in the public interest.

Meat Inspection Act (1906)

20004215 — 2024-11-06 14:24:58 UTC

In the United States during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, food processing was becoming highly industrialized, with dubious chemicals used to preserve food and to improve its taste. At the same time, urbanization and the modernization of transportation were resulting in impersonal national markets without the personal contact between consumer and producer that was common in an earlier age. In response to these new conditions, an emerging consumer movement called for the federal government to regulate the purity and quality of food and drugs sold in interstate commerce.

Department Of Labor (1903)

20004215 — 2024-11-06 14:27:18 UTC

The Department of Commerce and Labor Act of 1903 created the Department of Commerce and Labor, a cabinet department within the executive branch of the U.S. federal government. The department included the Bureau of Corporations and the Bureau of Labor. The staffs of these bureaus were to investigate and provide information on corporations, industrial working conditions, and labor-management disputes.

Federal Reserve Act (1913)

20004215 — 2024-11-06 14:30:29 UTC

The Federal Reserve Act was intended to prevent a national financial crisis and promote economic stability. The legislation established a national system for governmental regulation of currency supply and federal distribution of currency to banks. The Act also relocated supervision of the banking system from the private sector to the federal government.

16th amendment

20004215 — 2024-11-06 14:32:37 UTC

Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. The Constitution was ratified, which required Americans to pay income tax. It took nearly four years of debate to get this amendment passed.

17th Amendment

20004215 — 2024-11-06 14:34:41 UTC

The law was passed after decades of insistence that the public should have the power to elect members of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate by popular vote.

Adamson Act (1916)

20004215 — 2024-11-06 14:35:35 UTC

This law was signed by President Woodrow Wilson and the goal was to establish an eight-hour working day for railroad workers.

Federal Trade Commission

20004215 — 2024-11-06 14:36:53 UTC

The Federal Trade Commission encouraged advertisers to mention their competitors by name to enable consumers to make more informed judgments about products

Clayton Antitrust Act

20004215 — 2024-11-15 14:14:44 UTC

The Clayton Act, in conjunction with other antitrust laws, is responsible for making sure that companies behave themselves and that there is fair competition in the marketplace

Keating Owens Act (1916)

20004215 — 2024-11-15 14:15:47 UTC

In the Keating-Owen Act of 1916, Congress restricted child labor through its power to regulate interstate commerce.

18th Amendment

20004215 — 2024-11-15 14:17:03 UTC

The 18th amendment banned the manufacturing of alcohol.

19th amendment

20004215 — 2024-11-15 14:17:47 UTC

The 19th amendment gave woman the right to vote.