US History Essay: The Progressive Era The Progressive Movement was initiated as a response to political and corporate abuses at the turn of the Twentieth century. The era was notable for the attempts of its most influential thinkers and activists to improve U.S. society by the changes brought by industrialization and urbanization. Religious groups, members of the press, and radical political groups all cried out for reform, with solutions ranging from subtle reforms of the American capitalist economy, to a call for the creation of a socialist government. The main goals of progressivism was to protect social welfare, promote moral improvement, create economic reform, and fostering efficiency. All these goals were succeeded and society was changed socially, culturally, politically and economically, mostly due to the publicity generated by the muckrakers. The success of Progressivism owed much to publicity generated by the muckrakers, writers who detailed the horrors of poverty, urban slums, dangerous factory conditions, and child labor, among a host of other ills. Jacob A. Riis published How the Other Half Lives, in 1890, which exposed the living conditions of the urban poor and focused on tenements. Tenements were crowded and people were exposed to unsanitary conditions. The book was seen by Theodore Roosevelt, and he had the city police lodging houses that were featured in the book closed down. Also NYC passed building codes to promote safety and health. This was a lasting social change. Another muckraker who exposed dangerous conditions was Upton Sinclair, with his book The Jungle, published in 1906. He investigated the dangerous working conditions and unsanitary procedures in the meat packing industry. Due to his book, the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act were passed in 1906. This was a lasting health change in society. Rapid industrialization and urbanization led to overcrowded immigrant neighborhoods and tenements. Jane Addams...