"Industrialization and Urbanization in the United States led to the Progressive Movement (1895-1917). The Movement was a response to political and corporate abuses at the turn of the Twentieth Century
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.
Reforms were initiated by individuals at the city, state, and national levels of government. A number of social reformers also worked to reform what they viewed as the ills negatively impacting United States society."
The following factors contributed to the progressive movement:
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.
Reforms were initiated by individuals at the city, state, and national levels of government. A number of social reformers also worked to reform what they viewed as the ills negatively impacting United States society."
The following factors contributed to the progressive movement:
- Urbanization. The period between the Civil War and the Great Depression was the most rapid period of urbanization in the nation's history. In 1860, four times as many people lived in rural as in urban areas (25,227,000 v. 6,217,000). By 1930, the rural population had basically doubled, but urban population had increased more than tenfold (53,820,000 v. 68,955,000).
In 1860 only nine cities in the U.S. had a population of 100,000 or more, by 1930 the number had grown to 93. - Industrialization. Beginning in the 1850s, the United States began to rapidly industrialize. After the Civil War this process accelerated. In 1860 about half of all the nation's work force was engaged in agriculture, by 1930 this number had decreased to around 22 percent. The gross national product had increased, in constant 1929 dollars, from $9.11 billion to $104.4 billion. And, industrial union membership grew from an estimated 300,000 workers to 3,393,000 (down from a 1920 high of 5,048,000).
- Immigration. Prior to 1890 most immigrants to the United States came from England, Germany, Ireland, and Scandinavia. During the forty years between 1850 and 1890, about 13,550,000 immigrants came to the United States. During the thirty years between 1890 and 1920 the number of immigrants coming to the United States increased to 18,218,761. ... by 1900 a third of the nation was either foreign born of the children of foreign born—in many cities immigrants and their children were a clear majority.