Weibe
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America in the late nineteenth century saw vast changes. It was time to move from the classic style of life to a more modern. Many factors led up to the start of changes in American society. The United States was in chaos and need to seek order. With the help of Robert H. Wiebe and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the factors that led to the need for change will be examined, in addition to the movement of change itself, progressivism.
“Some social workers quite literally called for a new American society. Expansionists in business, labor, agriculture, and the professions, in other words, formulated their interests in terms of continuous policies that necessitated regularity and predictability from unseen thousands.” Progressivism is as one believing in moderate political change and especially social improvement by governmental action. Wiebe defines it as the ambition of the new middle class to fulfill the destiny through bureaucratic means. In order to compete effectively, members of the new middle class organized to ensure continuity of influence. Where respectable citizens in the eighties typically had called a conference, passed resolutions, the new breed around 1900 formed associations with long-ranged policies, and delegated one or two officers to act for the entire body.” The changes first began at the lower levels of society where the voice was small from a few but large groups made it heard. “It was in the major cities that a fair number of citizens first gained a sufficient grip upon their lives to look anew at the society around them. Making sense out of impersonal world had been a slow, painful process that the depression of the nineties had seriously retarded.”
Humanitarian progressives,”united the campaigns for heath, education, and a richer city environment, and he dominated much of the interest in labor legislation. Now laws established an outline for management, a flexible authority to meet and follow the major issues of urban living.” The new movement had effect of several big aspects of society. People demanded a new structure within the government. Progressivism was the central force in a revolution that fundamentally altered the structure of politics and government early in the twentieth century. . . In fact, the major corporations tended to move somewhat ahead of the reformers in attempts to extend the range and continuity of their power through bureaucratic means.
The factors that led to the rise of the new middle class were the beginnings of progressivism. Some broader factors are focused on and their role. The American west had a hand in what was causing this need for change. When the government began to push Americans west, they ran into the problem of the Native Americans who had previously inhabited the land. A progressive solution was formed. The government tried to assimilate the Natives via the Dawes Act of 1887. Something else was peculiar about the west. It was the home to an abundance of natural resources. The natural resources are one of the catalysts that sparked the rise in new technology.
The innovation of railroads was a key contributing factor of the progressive movement. It allowed for production that is much more efficient and distribution. This destroyed the old way of island communities. Before industrialization came about, the artisan system was the style of work. Skilled small shop workers supplied there trade to the community they belonged and had a trained apprentice working under him. This was the system of the island communities. A small group of people each had one source of each good. For example, each community has one shoemaker that takes care of everything related to shoes.
The rise of big business brought a new structure; division of labor changed the way Americans would live. It required a higher capital requirement, high fixed costs, and impersonal ownership. Factories and assembly lines led to mass production of goods. Technology advances also brought to onset of trade. Cities were accessible to exchange good.
The new opportunities that arose brought a new wave of immigration. Millions of immigrants came over from Europe seeking work, land of their own, and a place of equal opportunity. What they got was overcrowding, low wage, long working, hard work and disease. This gave businesses the opportunity to take the driver seat and set the standards of work. The positives to the increased numbers of Americans are population that is more diverse and segmented societies, which were similar to island communities.
Literature still shows instances of progressivism today. Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a writer who displays progressive thought. Two of her short stories in particular are good examples of progressive behavior. “Making a Change”, is one of her short stories told through the view point of Julia. Julia is the mother of a little boy and the wife to Frank. The central theme in the story is Julia and her struggle to change her family life. It seems as if her relationship