20th century social reforms

20th Century Social Reforms Kirsten Morris U. S History Period 4 March 22, 2013 Kirsten Morris U. S History Period 4 March 22, 2013 The Progressive Era, New Deal, and Great Society are similar in the terms of their origins, goals, and legacies to a mild extent. All three of the Era’s have similar origins, goals, and legacies. The Progressive Era was faced with the trouble of an economic collapse and had to find a way to dig the nation out of poverty and sorrow. That is where the New Deal Era comes along and helps the nation get back from the damage of the great depression. The Great Society continues to help the nation get back on track. Both the Great Society and the New Deal Era were created to help the people in our nation and not bring the down like around the Progressive Era. The Progressive Era was the turn on the 20th century where different groups wanted to reform our nation economically, socially, and politically. Many people were suffering from The Great Depression during this time. The progressives had four main goals; the government should be more accountable to its citizens, its should curb the power and influence of wealthy interests, it should be given expanded powers so that it could become more active in improving the lives of its citizens, and it should become more efficient and less corrupt so that they could completely handle an expanded role. Henry George proposed that the government should start charging landowners single taxes because he thought people were becoming poor because the would buy land and hold onto it until the price went up. Progressives sought more social welfare programs such as unemployment benefits, accident and health insurance, and social security systems for the elderly and disabled. Another big change in the Progressive Era was the Women’s Suffrage where women finally had the right to vote. Just like the Great Society and The New Deal Eras, the Progressive Era wanted to help people and provided the people with comfort they deserve by helping the citizens and businesses restore the economy and the banks. Unlike, the New Deal Era and Great Society Era, Progressives didn’t have the confidence they needed because the nation was still suffering from The Great Depression and The Progressive Era also focused on mainly improving the government only. The New Deal Era was a huge step from the Progressive Era. During The New Deal wanted to dig the nation out of the hole they were in and to complete this task it required small steps to get back on track to economic stability. Government roles expanded in society by providing federal funded jobs to help people who were out of work. There was also federal money put into public work programs to help build public facilities. During The New Deal, the unemployment rate went up. The civil works administration was set up to put the unemployed to work to build and improve roads, parks, airports, and more. The Civilian Conservation Corps put more then two and a half million unmarried men to work to maintain forests, beaches, and parks. There was an improvement in the system of the distribution of money, and there was a new protective feel with new unions, and powerful new union leaders helped increase membership of unions. Literature, radio, and movies became popular after The Great Depression because it kept the peoples minds off of sad things and put them in a better mood. The New Deal Era is like the Progressive Era and Great Society by trying to help the nation get out of the trouble. The New Deal is also different because their was a legacy of hope and some of the people thinking they were getting out of their personal suffering from The Great Depression didn’t get out of it. President Johnson started the Great Society and his plan was to help heal the wounds of the people in America. He helped the poor gain an education and provided aid to states for low income students, the government directly gave money to people in need and the elderly in need just like during the Progressive Era, the government watched out for elderly and they were protected with social security systems. Health Care was also a big change in the Great Society. There was free Medicare for the elderly sixty-five and over and Medicaid was free healthcare for the disabled or for anybody in need. The tax cuts during the Great Society raised the society, the tax cuts raised unemployment and the Gross National Product kept rising. The Great Society was the most successful era. Just like the other Era’s, The Great Society helped the society. The Progressive, New Deal, and Great Society Era’s all three in some way help the society, they improve the environment, they help people out of suffering, and pushed for rights. The Progressive Era was a depressed time for most people because of the economic collapse. The New Deal Era tried to get the nation back on track to economic stability and same with The Great Society. Citations Daccard, Tom. Best of History Websites. Ed. Justin Reich. N. p., 2001. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. . Cayton, Andrew, Elisabeth Perry, Linda Reed, and Allan Winkler. America Pathways to the Present. Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson, 2007. N. pag. Print.