Women and the Progressive Movement, Essay Example

The progressive movement in America from 1890 to 1920 involved a call for solutions to social problems that the society was facing. Women activists were actively involved in the movement together with other professionals, American politicians and journalists who came out to address the need to involve women in tackling social problems that the people were facing associated with industrialization. Some of the problems the progressive women focused on include child labor, women working in dangerous and unconducive environment, and public health and safety (Cohen,1). The activists also focused not only on issues affecting women in the work industry but also on their concerns as wives and mothers in what was called maternalist politics. Between 1890 and 1920, during world war I, women activists had already created positions for women in the government even before getting the right and privilege to vote. The women reformers emphasized the need to give women an opportunity to work in better and paid professionals such as the health sector and social work while stressing the need to build welfares to support poor women and children’s needs.

However, activists, regardless of their gender, had different ideologies and philosophies on the reforms and the nature of problems. The ideologies and philosophies though different, had some basic common characteristics based on three distinctive clusters. The first cluster was associated with the increasing distrust in the growing sense of monopoly in the corporate world. The second cluster involved the popular notion that for a society to progress, the sense of individualism and social bonds had to be tampered with. The third cluster of ideas believed that the solution to the social problems that people were facing would be the modern techniques of social planning and efficiency (Cohen, 2). Though the ideas did not add up to the same ideology, they were a wakeup call on the need to regulate individual power and not to rely on the workings of the free market for social and economic progress.

The panic in 1893 and the rapid growth in urbanization and industrialization accelerated the pace of social problems faced by the working poor and immigrants. In the 1890s, urbanization and industrialization occurred rapidly in America. The new technologies and available electric power made it possible for factories to run for more hours, requiring many people to work extra hours. Many Americans left behind agricultural works for industrial labor in the cities while the number of immigrants from Europe increased. The migration to urban cities led to an explosion in the population growth in the cities with the hope to work in the industries, which contributed to low wages, poor living conditions and long working hours. Other social problems arose from industrialization and urbanization, such as the growth of slums, high crime rate, diseases such as cholera due to poor sanitation and pollution.

Settlement houses and women’s clubs provided progressive women with an outlet for social work and involvement in various types of progressive reform efforts. Local women’s clubs became platforms for women to learn about the social problems caused by urbanization and possible solutions to the problems. Several clubs were formed, such as the General Federation of Women’s Club (GFWC), National Association of Colored Women (NACW) which focused on the welfare of black women and their struggles with racism and poverty. The clubs focused on improving social amenities such as schools in poor neighborhoods and the crucial role of women and mothers in addressing social needs. Settlement houses had women volunteers committed to bettering the communities by participating in public health activities, teaching in schools and kindergartens and even advocating for milk stations to reduce infant mortality rate (Cohen, 5). The houses were a platform for women to carve out of the traditional lifestyle and participate in meaningful activities while creating a network of friendship and contact with the real world.

The National Women’s Trade Union League (NWTUL) played a key role in ensuring government support and state funding for financial relief for the needy. NWTUL campaigned on behalf of single and widowed mothers who were sole breadwinners for their families to receive given jobs and financial support. With time managed to convince welfare experts that children of widowed mothers should not be taken to orphanages as it was the norm before; rather, they should stay home. NWTUL also campaigned heavily for mothers’ pension, which led to enactment of mothers’ pension programs and the celebration of the first mother’s day in the US (Cohen, 11). NWTUL campaigns, as mentioned above, generated support with the American public due to their address of issues affecting the poor and middle-class societies.

The juvenile justice system reform was another area of emphasis for progressive women to prevent poor children from being taken to adult jails and other government institutions for crimes such as shoplifting after being tried in adult courts. Women reformers such as Julia Lathrop were able to persuade lawmakers in Illinois to form a juvenile court where children would be tried and provided flexible sentencing and rehabilitation rather than punishment, as was the case in adult courts (Cohen, 14). Class and racial norms were a hindrance to progressive women in their efforts to combat social ills because of the attitude white women had towards European immigrants and African American women. There was disunity among the groups of women where each group formed their own Associations based on race and social class. The progressive women’s organizations were also accused of being a conspiracy to bring communism to the US.

This article is relevant to history 203 because it shows how the women progressive reforms influenced the social, economic and political cultures that exist today. This section is particularly important because it provides clear knowledge of how women organizations and involvement in social, political and work activities began curving out the traditional lifestyle and beliefs on women. It also shows how some systems came to change, such as the juvenile system, mothers’ pension and mothers’ day through reforms and Acts influenced by women progressive movement.

Work cited

Cohen, Miriam. American reform movements; women and the progressive movement. 2012. Available at: https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/women-and-progressive-movement#copy_link