Women During The Progressive Era

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The Progressive Era occurred in the United States between the 1880s and the 1920s, and it was a period in history when Progressives exposed corruption in the government and social structure. Millions of Americans organized associations to come up with solutions to the many problems that almost everyone was facing, and many of these problems were staring American women right in the face. Women took on very many big roles, they created many different organizations to help ones in need. They helped change the social structure for women and by doing so, made them able to receive major support in government about women’s rights. This ultimately led to significant political changes to the treatment and rights of women in societies. Women increased …show more content…
During the Progressive Era, middle-class women fought to raise wages and improve working conditions. Young professional “New Women” made careers within the reform movement, as settlement workers, social workers, and public health nurses. The Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL) represented a partnership between middle-class reformers and working-class women to raise wages and improve working conditions. In the early 20th century, it focused on unionizing women workers and supporting women’s strikes. Rose Schneiderman, the renowned feminist and labor activist, became an important member of the WTUL. Not only was Schneiderman important in the working conditions but Lewis Hines and Jacob Riis also played a very important part in bettering the working conditions. Lewis Hines demonstrated the cruel and harsh conditions of the lower working class women through pictures. Words could not define the pictures of the cruelty that women were put through. Jacob Riis on the other hand was a very famous muckraker who helped with the WTUL to show the inhumanity of the working conditions. These organizations and reformers all were very influential in making working conditions safer for