The Progressive Movement
In the Time between the Civil War and the Great Depression America went through many social, economic, and political changes. America around 1930 was urban, industrial, and becoming more and more populated by immigrants from everywhere but Northern Europe. This transformation caused many social and political problems. The three main things that contributed to the Progressive Movement were: Urbanization, Industrialization, and Immigration.
Between the Civil War and the Great Depression was the most rapid time of Urbanization in the Nations history. Four times as many people lived in the rural rather than urban areas. By 1930 the rural population nearly doubled. The urban Americans did not want to lose political power to the new people. Out of these concerns the progressive error was born
In the beginning of the 1850's the United States began to really industrialize. In 1860 about half of the Nations work force worked in agriculture.
Immigration Debate at The Weissberg Forum For Disc...
Immigration Vocabulary
United StatesThis caused major confusion among the middle protestant class, because it introduced disturbing changes in their society. Immigrants were running for the major industrial areas, and competing for the low waged jobs, and settling in the poor areas.
Immigration was a major contribution to the Progressive Movement. Before 1890 almost all of the immigrants came from England, Germany, Ireland, and Scandinavia. Between 1850 and 1890 about 13,550,000 immigrants came to the United States. Between 1890 and 1920 the number of immigrants coming into the United States increased to 18,218,761. Beginning in the late 1880's the number of immigrants coming into the U.S. from Southern and Eastern Europe increased dramatically. In most cities immigrants were the majority. Advanced industrial Nations were able to maintain population densities because of railroads, the increase in agricultural yields, and the use of mechanical power instead of horse power. The growing population...