The Progressive Era by Gavin Mitchell

The Working Class

ggavinmit — 2025-04-26 21:14:28 UTC

A majority of the working class throughout the 1800s were immigrants, children, and women. Almost all of these people are a part of the lower class. Primarily working in factories, mines, and railroads in major cities like New York. With the rise of industrialization, a lot of farm workers moved to these bigger cities to pursue jobs that were much more dangerous and paid low wages compared to the work they were doing. These working uprisings and protests are what led to the safer working conditions and better wages we see today.

The New Consumer Culture

ggavinmit — 2025-04-26 21:19:59 UTC

Due to industrialization, the middle class and working people were able to begin buying these goods that were being mass-produced, including clothing, furniture, and some foods. This led to a boom in the economy and created an entirely new culture around how the everyday consumer spent their money.

The Panic of 1873

ggavinmit — 2025-04-28 00:05:53 UTC

The Panic of 1873 was an economic depression that caused millions of Americans to lose their jobs. Many banks and factories were forced to close because of banking failure and poor/irresponsible railroad investments, and how they were taken care of. This depression exposed lots of weak spots in the U.S. economy.

Scientific Management

ggavinmit — 2025-04-28 00:07:36 UTC

Scientific Management was a new form of factory control. It combined setting stricter rules and finding the most efficient way to produce it. This made companies more profitable but the workers despised it due to repetitive work making them feel like robots.

The Knights of Labor

ggavinmit — 2025-04-28 00:10:08 UTC

The Knights of Labor were one of America's first big national labor unions. They strived to have no inequalities when selecting workers, regardless of race, religion, or gender. They fought for fairer working conditions and better wages.

American Federation of Labor

ggavinmit — 2025-04-28 00:11:33 UTC

The AFL focused primarily on wages and working conditions, improving the lives of workers. The AFL stayed out of politics, which led to their success in improving workers' lives.

2.10 The Progressive Era, Immigration, Unions, and the Labor Movement 2.10 The Progressive Era, Immigration, Unions, and the Labor Movement

ggavinmit — 2025-04-28 00:12:39 UTC

Child Labor

ggavinmit — 2025-04-28 00:21:10 UTC

Child labor was a massive part of the American workforce for most of the late 1800s, into the 1900s. Thousands of children worked in mines and factories that were extremely dangerous and not fit for children. These kids worked long hours to help pay the bills that their parents were already struggling to cover. Kids were unable to go to school under these conditions, and if they did, it was very limited. The reforms that followed required kids to go to school, and lots of laws were put in place to prevent these kids from being exploited for the good of corporations.