DBQ: The Progressive Era

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The Progressive Era of the early twentieth century proved difficult for many and beneficial to some. Those who suffered suffered on many different levels for many different reasons. Those who flourished did so either dishonestly or at the expense of another. In this time, discrimination and corrupt government proved to be the biggest fight for many Americans. Moreover, most Americans in the Progressive Era, though boxing from different corners of the ring so to speak, were all fighting for equality in their social, political, and work lives throughout such an unbalanced and discriminatory time. Given that the Progressive Era was a hard time for many, the purpose behind this hardship must be questioned. George Washington Plunkitt, a business …show more content…
Throughout the Progressive Era, unlawful and unjust lynching, or the hanging of untried men of whom were usually black, had occurred. Victims of these hate crimes, such as Tom Moss who “begged for his life for the sake of his wife and child and his unborn baby”, were hanged by the neck for supposed crimes they’d committed. In rebuttal, the African peoples “offered no violence” but in some case were still shot in cold blood for malfeasances undisclosed to the offender (Doc 3). The African American people, though, were not the only victims to this discrimination, as the Jewish population faced economic affairs that were damaging to their everyday lives. “I suffered a great deal…because I am a Jew,” stated one young man who was fired or asked to leave many, if not all, of his past jobs, eroding what little income he could receive (Doc 5). Many of the afflicted were placid despite their hardship, realizing “their helplessness and submitting to outrages and insults for the sake of those depending upon them” (Doc 3). Furthermore, battles for other justices raged in a much less violent fashion. The development of National Parks in the Progressive Era was a high point for success through peace. Preservationists fought to perpetuate the beauty that remained in America. “Can’t something be done to