The Gilded Age and the Progressive Movement

After the Civil War, American society shifted from farming (agriculture) to industry (manufacturing).  Being factories were located in cities, people moved from the farms to those cities and urban life exploded.  Historians call this "industrialization and urbanization."  

Industrialization = the shift from a society focused on agriculture to one focused on industry, or manufacturing. 

Urbanization = the resettling of individuals in city environments. 

When a large amount of people settle in a small geographic area, what do you see as some potential problems?  

Because of Urbanization and Industrialization, social problems existed in America - mostly in urban areas.  This is largely a result of overcrowding and poor business practices.  Social Problems include:

• Poor sanitation 

• Poor working conditions

• Child Labor

• Increased immigration resulting in social conflict (sound familiar?)

• Long work days/weeks

• Poor living conditions (mostly overcrowded).  

The Progressives of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were individuals who identified problems within society and took steps to fix them.  In most cases, the Progressives were not politicians but rather private citizens who worked for the public good such as:

• Upton Sinclair - Author of The Jungle

• Ida Tarbell - Author of The History of Standard Oil Company (1904)

• Jacob Rees - Photographer and author of How the Other Half Lives. 

These authors and journalists were called "Muckrakers"