progressive era essay question

Home — Essay Samples — History — History of the United States — Progressive Era

Essays on Progressive Era

How to write a progressive era essay, choosing progressive era essay topics.

• What specific aspect of the Progressive Era am I interested in?
• How can I relate the topic to contemporary issues?
• How can I use primary sources to support my argument?
• How did Progressive Era reformers attempt to address the problems caused by industrialization and urbanization?
• What were the most significant achievements of the Progressive Era, and what were its most significant failures?
• How did Progressive Era reformers view the role of government in American society, and what kinds of reforms did they advocate for?
• How did Progressive Era reforms affect the lives of ordinary Americans, particularly those who were marginalized or oppressed?
• What was the relationship between the Progressive Era and other social and political movements of the time, such as suffrage and labor movements?

Writing a Thesis Statement

• Addresses the prompt or the question you are answering
• Provides a clear argument or perspective
• Highlights the significance of your essay.

Conducting Research

Organizing your essay.

• Introduction: Start with an attention-grabbing statement that contextualizes the Progressive Era and leads to your thesis statement.
• Body paragraphs: Each paragraph should address a specific aspect of your argument and provide evidence to support it. You can use primary and secondary sources to support your argument.
• Conclusion: Summarize your main points and restate your thesis statement. Offer some reflections on the significance of the Progressive Era and its relevance to contemporary issues.

Progressive Era Essay Examples

Prompt examples for progressive era essays, goals and reforms of the progressive era.

Discuss the goals and key reforms of the Progressive Era in the United States. What were the main issues and injustices that progressives sought to address, and how did they advocate for change?

Muckrakers and Investigative Journalism

Analyze the role of muckrakers and investigative journalism during the Progressive Era. How did journalists and writers like Upton Sinclair and Ida Tarbell expose social and political problems, and what impact did their work have?

Women's Suffrage Movement

Examine the women's suffrage movement as a significant part of the Progressive Era. How did women activists like Susan B. Anthony and Alice Paul contribute to the fight for women's right to vote, and what were the challenges they faced?

Labor and Workers' Rights

Discuss the labor movement and efforts to improve workers' rights during the Progressive Era. How did labor unions advocate for better working conditions and fair wages, and what were the outcomes of their actions?

Environmental Conservation

Explore the conservation movement and its impact on environmental policy during the Progressive Era. How did figures like Theodore Roosevelt contribute to the preservation of natural resources and the establishment of national parks?

Legacy of the Progressive Era

Analyze the lasting impact of the Progressive Era on American society and politics. How did the reforms and changes implemented during this period shape the nation's future, and what lessons can be learned from this era?

The Different Changes in Effect During The Progressive Era

The main improvements made during the progressive era in america, made-to-order essay as fast as you need it.

Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences

+ experts online

The Progressive Era: Woman Suffrage, African American and Immigration

The long term impact of the progressive era's changes in society today, major changes that impacted the united states in the progressive era, major achievements of the progressive era in america, let us write you an essay from scratch.

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Overview of The Major Problems During The Progressive Era

Review of the issue of constraints against progress of a society, the birth of the progressive era from the flaws of the gilded era, the contribution of booker t. washington during the progressive era, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

Expert-written essays crafted with your exact needs in mind

American Privateers in The Revolutionary War

"biopower today": an outline, the machines have arrived: possible future of robots, analysis of all in the family television show, the first transcontinental railroad of 1869 in the progressive era.

United States

Trust-busting, Women's Suffrage, Initiative and Referendum, Spanish-American War

Theodore Roosevelt, Charles Evans Hughes, William Jennings Bryan, Woodrow Wilson

The Progressive Era with intense social and political reform aimed at making progress toward a better society across the United States of America that spanned the 1890s to the 1920s. During this period, reformers worked to improve American society and counteract the effect of industrialization. The main purpose of the movement was eliminating corruption in government. Many progressives were also concerned with the environment and conservation of resources.

Progressive Era movement targeted the regulations of huge monopolies and corporations, that was done through the Sherman Act of 1890, the Clayton Act of 1914, and the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914. The main purpose of the Progressive movement was the eliminating of corruption in government. The leaders of the era worked on the issues such as labor rights, women’s suffrage, economic reform, environmental protections, and the welfare of the poor, including poor immigrants.

Many Progressives supported prohibition in the United States in order to destroy the political power of local bosses based in saloons. In 1918, Congress passed the Eighteenth Amendment established prohibition of alcohol in 1920.

Between 1900 and 1915, more than 15 million immigrants arrived in the United States. The U.S. population nearly doubled between 1870 and 1900. By 1900, 30 million people, lived in cities.

The cause of women’s suffrage became a priority for many during the Progressive Era. American women finally achieved the right to vote with Nineteenth Amendment, ratified in 1920, that granted women the right to vote and forbade any suffrage restrictions based on gender.

The Progressive movement fractured after America’s entry into World War I.

Relevant topics

• Civil Rights Movement
• Westward Expansion
• Industrial Revolution
• Manifest Destiny
• Boston Massacre
• Florence Kelley
• Philippine-American War
• Salem Witch Trials
• Hurricane Katrina

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

82 Progressive Era Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best progressive era topic ideas & essay examples, 📌 interesting topics to write about progressive era, 🔎 good research topics about progressive era, ❓ progressive era essay questions.

• The Progressive Era History The Progressive era in the United States which lasted from 1890 to 1920 was known for two things, namely that it was a period of progressive social movement and change that sought to reform many […]
• The Progressive Era and World War I To achieve the intended goals, many progressives began by exposing the major evils and challenges that were affecting the United States towards the end of the 19th century. We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• The Progressive Era and Its Technological Inventions Moreover, the period marked the shift from the agrarian to the urban society, and many critics referred to it as the age of reforms in American history.
• Women’s Movement Connected to the Progressive Era The objectives of the movement converged at addressing problems that women faced at the time as part of promoting the ultimate agendas of the Progressive Era as discussed in the next section.
• America’s Progressive Era and World War I This paper will outline the events leading to America’s entrance into the war, the obstacles faced by the U.S.military, and the role of American women and minorities.
• Progressive Era and Its Significant Interventions One of the most significant progressive interventions was the Nineteenth Amendment, through which American women got the right to vote. Besides, the right to vote guaranteed by the Nineteenth Amendment changed the social life of […]
• The History of Progressive Era in the US Progressivism it is a political movement supporting the ordinary people’s interests through their roles of consumers, employees, parents and citizens.
• Public Administration in the Progressive Era In the context of this video lies the idea that progressives fought for the rights of certain groups of people who were once deprived of them, the struggle for justice and for the eradication of […]
• Lack of Unanimity Among Black Constituencies During the Progressive Era While Du Bois criticized Washington’s approach and proposed to demand civil rights immediately so that black people could become equal and proper citizens of the U.S.
• The Progressive Era in the United States History The Progressive Era in US history occurred in the early 20th century, between 1900 and 1918, and comprised of a number of attempts to implement social and economic reforms in the country, to tackle the […]
• The Progressive Era Significance The progressives also considered the minimal salaries for females, provided the industrial accident insurance and created the limitations for the child labor at the state level.
• The Progressive Era in the US It is possible to single out a number of persons who can be regarded as symbols of the Progressive Era, symbols that contributed into development of particular areas in the US society.
• The Progressive Era in the United States The inequity and the deep class conflict were a result of monopolization, total domination of major businesses in the political life of the country, and their interpenetration with the government.
• Gilded Age and Progressive Era Freedom Challenges They used that fact in their attempt to argue that the slavery of African Americans was natural as well and that it should not be abolished.
• Progressive Era in United States The progressives also rooted for the adoption of laissez-faire and formation of labor unions in face of high rate unemployment in order to improve the working conditions of the workers.
• The Importance of the Progressive Era Reforms The importance of the Progressive Era reforms is in providing a lot of possibilities for changing different aspects of the political, economic, and social life for the benefit of the US citizens with references to […]
• Race Relations During the Progressive Era The need to solve the problems led to the emergence of pro-reform groups. During this era, the American constitution was amended several times to accommodate the reforms.
• The Politics of Urban Reform in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era
• Political Discord in the Reactive Progressive Era
• Academic Reform Thought in the Long Progressive Era
• Dealing With the Class Gap During the Progressive Era
• The Progressive Era’s Derailment of Classical-Liberal Evolution
• Lessons Learnt From the Great Depression and Progressive Era
• Comparing the Advancement Made in Progressive Era
• American Progressive Era, From the 1890s to 1920s
• How Did Theodore Roosevelt Contribute to the Progressive Era
• Political Ideologies and Policies in the Progressive Era
• Negative Aspects and Disadvantages of the Progressive Era
• Federal Legislations During the Progressive Era
• Effects of Food Regulation in the Progressive Era
• Efforts for Social Reform by Muckrackers and Progressive Era
• Education Reform Movements During the Progressive Era
• Changes That Came About During the Progressive Era in the U.S.
• Anti-semitism and Progressive Era Social Science
• The Progressive Era and Amendments of the US Constitution
• Curriculum Change From Common School Education Era to Progressive Era
• African American Population During the Progressive Era
• Progressive Era Success and Failures
• How Empowered Women to Work in the Progressive Era
• Progressive Era: The Era of Immigration, Race, and Women’s Rights
• Positive and Negative Aspects of the Progressive Era and Their Consequences
• Achievements During the Progressive Era
• Overview of the Major Problems During the Progressive Era
• Historical Turning Points Through the Period of the Progressive Era
• Government During the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era
• The Causes and Impacts of the Progressive Era
• African-American History From Reconstruction Through the Progressive Era
• Child Labor and the Progressive Era: 1900-1920
• Childhood and Child Welfare in Progressive Era
• Major Changes That Impacted the United States in the Progressive Era
• Progressive Era Reformers: Regulation of Industry and Trust-Busting
• Industrialization During the Progressive Era
• Eugenics and Socialist Thought in the Progressive Era
• The Long Term Impact of the Progressive Era’s Changes in Society Today
• Political and Social Aspects of the Progressive Era in the USA
• The Main Improvements Made During the Progressive Era in America
• Women’s Suffrage Movement During the Progressive Era
• What Is the Progressive Era Known For?
• What Major Events Happened in the Progressive Era?
• What Were the Progressive Era Reforms?
• How Did the Progressive Era Affect the Economy?
• What Was the Progressive Era Main Purpose?
• What Was the Most Important Reform of the Progressive Era?
• What Factors Led to the Progressive Era?
• What Was the Greatest Accomplishment of the Progressive Era?
• How Did the Progressive Era Lead to the Great Depression?
• Did the Progressive Era Improve Society?
• What Were the Main Goals and Beliefs of Progressives?
• Why Did the Progressive Era End?
• How Did the Progressive Era Help the Poor?
• What Inspired the Progressive Era Movement?
• Was the Progressive Era a Success or Failure?
• Who Benefited the Most From the Progressive Era?
• How Did Society Change During the Progressive Era?
• What Was Life Like During the Progressive Era?
• What Problems Were Solved by Progressive Era Reforms?
• What Were Some Negative Effects of the Progressive Era?
• How Did Government Change During the Progressive Era?
• What Did the Progressive Movement Achieve?
• What Was the Progressive Era Quizlet?
• Was Progressive Era Successful?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, September 27). 82 Progressive Era Essay Topic Ideas & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/progressive-era-essay-topics/

"82 Progressive Era Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." IvyPanda , 27 Sept. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/topic/progressive-era-essay-topics/.

IvyPanda . (2023) '82 Progressive Era Essay Topic Ideas & Examples'. 27 September.

IvyPanda . 2023. "82 Progressive Era Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." September 27, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/progressive-era-essay-topics/.

1. IvyPanda . "82 Progressive Era Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." September 27, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/progressive-era-essay-topics/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "82 Progressive Era Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." September 27, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/progressive-era-essay-topics/.

• Industrial Revolution Research Ideas
• Economic Topics
• US History Topics
• Environmentalism Essay Topics
• Utilitarianism Research Ideas
• Economic Inequality Questions
• Growth Strategy Titles
• Manufacturing Essay Topics
• Social Class Research Ideas
• Urbanization Ideas
• Social Inequality Paper Topics
• Libertarianism Research Topics
• Great Depression Research Topics
• Franklin Roosevelt Questions
• Political Parties Research Ideas

If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website.

If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked.

To log in and use all the features of Khan Academy, please enable JavaScript in your browser.

Course: US history   >   Unit 7

• Introduction to the age of empire
• The age of empire
• The Spanish-American War
• Imperialism
• The Progressives

The Progressive Era

• The presidency of Theodore Roosevelt
• Progressivism
• The period of US history from the 1890s to the 1920s is usually referred to as the Progressive Era , an era of intense social and political reform aimed at making progress toward a better society.
• Progressive Era reformers sought to harness the power of the federal government to eliminate unethical and unfair business practices, reduce corruption, and counteract the negative social effects of industrialization.
• During the Progressive Era, protections for workers and consumers were strengthened, and women finally achieved the right to vote.

The problems of industrialization

The ideology and politics of progressivism, the dark side of progressivism, what do you think.

• For more, see H.W. Brands, The Reckless Decade: America in the 1890s (Illinois: University of Chicago Press, 2002).
• For more on the Progressive movement, see Michael McGerr, A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005).
• For more on Progressive ideology, see Shelton Stromquist, Reinventing “The People”: The Progressive Movement, the Class Problem, and the Origins of Modern Liberalism (Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2006).
• See Walter Nugent, Progressivism: A Very Short Introduction (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010).
• For more on Wilson’s racial policies, see Eric S. Yellin, Racism in the Nation’s Service: Government Workers and the Color Line in Woodrow Wilson’s America (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2016).
• Daniel J. Tichenor, Dividing Lines: The Politics of Immigration Control in America (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2002), 3-4.
• For more on eugenics in the United States, see Paul A. Lombardo, A Century of Eugenics in America: From the Indiana Experiment to the Human Genome Era (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2011).

Want to join the conversation?

• Upvote Button navigates to signup page
• Downvote Button navigates to signup page
• Flag Button navigates to signup page

Progressive Era Politics

• Progressive Era Politics /
• Discussion & Essay Questions

Cite This Source

Available to teachers only as part of the teaching progressive era politicsteacher pass, teaching progressive era politics teacher pass includes:.

• Assignments & Activities
• Reading Quizzes
• Current Events & Pop Culture articles
• Challenges & Opportunities
• Related Readings in Literature & History

Sample of Discussion & Essay Questions

Big picture.

• What sorts of divisions exist within contemporary American society?
• Do industrial workers make up a distinct class with a common set of grievance and goals?
• What about farmers?
• What do your conclusions suggest about American society?
• Who was excluded from the general prosperity of the late nineteenth century?
• If so, what explains their exclusion?
• Are the reasons similar to those explaining the exclusion of certain groups 100 years ago?

Tired of ads?

Logging out…, logging out....

You've been inactive for a while, logging you out in a few seconds...

W hy's T his F unny?

The Progressive Era

The Civil War increased the power of the federal government by forcing the Southern states to abolish slavery and paved the way for still greater increase in other matters after the war. People expected it to do more, and gave it more power so it could try. The defeat of the South, Reconstruction, and the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment gave the national government growing power over the states and the people. The great and long-overdue liberating qualities of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments came, ironically, at a price to liberty: the government would need much greater power it if was going to attempt to enforce equality.

Also important to the constitutional history of the United States during this time were developments on the world stage. The ideas of German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels captured the attention of intellectuals and many others concerned with the conditions of the poor in industrialized nations.

Marx and Engels wrote “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles” (Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Communist Manifesto , 1848).

They argued that capitalism should be replaced by socialism—a term that broadly refers to government ownership of industries and collective, rather than private, ownership of property. Eventually, Marx and Engels envisioned a classless society giving “to each according to his need,” and taking “from each according to his ability.” There would no longer be any unfulfilled need, or even a need for government itself in a future communist society. The individual person, with rights at the center of the American tradition, would be replaced by socialized persons called “species beings.” Until that time the Communist party would rule a “dictatorship of the proletariat,” the working class that the party claimed to represent.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, authors of “The Communist Manifesto” (1848)

Socialism appealed to some but not many in the U.S. The Socialist Labor Party was founded in 1877, with goals of a classless society and collective ownership of industry and social services. Woodrow Wilson, while not claiming the label “Socialist,” determined that democracy and socialism were not all that different.

Writing as a leading professor in 1887, he wrote: “In a fundamental theory socialism and democracy are almost if not quite one and the same. They both rest at bottom upon the absolute right of the community to determine its own destiny and that of its members. Men as communities are supreme over men as individuals” (Woodrow Wilson, Socialism and Democracy , 1887).

The idea that government or “the community,” has “an absolute right to determine its own destiny and that of its members” is a progressive one. The difference between the Founders’ and progressive’s visions can be summarized this way: The Founders believed citizens could best pursue happiness if government was limited to protecting the life, liberty, and property of individuals. They believed people were naturally inclined to favor themselves, and they structured government so that people’s self-interest and individual ambition would lead outstanding officials to check one another’s attempts to exercise more power than the Constitution allows. Unlike the framers of the Constitution, progressives believed that the ultimate aim of government should be promoting the development of all human faculties. Because “communities” have rights, those rights are more important than the personal liberty of any one individual in that community. Therefore, they believed, government should provide citizens with the environment and the means to improve themselves through government-sponsored programs and policies as well as economic redistribution of goods from the rich to the poor.

The twentieth century saw continued unrest over the conditions of workers in all industrial countries.

In the U.S., some organized labor demonstrations became violent. When more than 100,000 workers protested pay cuts in the 1894 Pullman strike, disrupting all rail service west of Detroit, President Cleveland eventually used the U.S. Army to break the protests. Many believed socialism promised the relief they sought. The Socialist Party of America was formed in 1901. International Workers of the World, a union that called for the end of capitalism and wage labor, formed in 1905. Industrial tragedies like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, in which more than one hundred workers died, further incited those demanding reforms. In 1917, the drama erupted in Europe as well, when the Bolshevik Revolution established Soviet Russia.

Strikers confront the Illinois National Guard during the 1894 Pullman Strike.

Some saw the integration of some socialist party goals into the Democratic Party platform as a compromise. While the Socialist Party never captured the presidency in the U.S., Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs received almost six percent of the popular vote in 1912. Socialist ideas were clearly part of the national conversation, and found their way into Progressive reforms of the period. Progressivism was not Marxism, but the two schools did agree that the community and its purposes should come before the individual and his preferences. These progressive reforms included the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments.

Wilson, who served as president from 1913-1919, advocated what we today call the living Constitution, or the idea that its interpretation should adapt to the times. The Founders’ Constitution, in which ambition is set to “counteract” ambition, owes more to Newtonian mechanics than to Darwinian evolution, Wilson argued. As such, the Founders’ Constitution is outdated and needs improvement. The evolutionary adaptability of species identified by Darwin suggests a constitutional model. He wrote:

“Living political constitutions must be Darwinian in structure and in practice” (Woodrow Wilson, “What is Progress?” 1912).

Wilson oversaw the implementation of progressive policies such as the introduction of the income tax and the creation of the Federal Reserve System to attempt to manage the economy.

The Sixteenth Amendment authorized the national government to tax incomes. It was ratified in 1913, and Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1913 that same year. With a progressive income tax (where those who produce more pay more), the national government could now take wealth from some who had more and redistribute it to others who had less.

President Woodrow Wilson, a leading Progressive in the early twentieth century.

The Seventeenth Amendment, providing for the election of senators by the people of each state, was approved that same year. This amendment provided for the direct election of U.S. Senators. This change to the Constitution was a challenge to the principle of federalism. The Founders had carefully structured the two houses of Congress and given them different powers based on those differences. For example, representatives were elected by the people of each state for two year terms, and had the “power of the purse.” Senators were selected by their state legislatures, had six year terms, and had the duties of ratifying treaties, trying impeachments, and approving executive appointments. As Madison had written in  Federalist No. 10,  the design of Congress was meant to strike a balance, allowing the people to govern themselves while still protecting individual rights and the powers of states (James Madison,  Federalist No. 10 , 1788). The Senate was, to put it another way, a “check” against democracy and the tyranny of the majority. The Seventeenth Amendment loosened this “check and balance.”

Prohibition of the sale of liquor was a drastic progressive reform for the improvement of popular morality.

While the Temperance movement began as a female-dominated attempt to persuade individuals to abstain from drinking, it later shifted to a campaign to use the force of law to ban the manufacture and sale of alcohol. The Eighteenth Amendment (1920) banned the manufacture, sale, or transport of intoxicating beverages and the Volstead Act codified it in U.S. law. A massive failure in every way, Prohibition was repealed with the Twenty-First Amendment in 1933.

The last of the progressive amendments to the Constitution, the Nineteenth Amendment barred states from denying female citizens the right to vote in federal elections. This amendment extended the right to vote to half the population which had, in most states, been denied the right to cast votes for their representatives. Interestingly, some woman’s suffragists campaigned for the extension of the franchise to women not on women’s equality, but on women’s claimed superior moral character, which was needed to guide the U.S. down the right paths. By acknowledging and basing their arguments on natural differences between the sexes, the suffrage movement differed from modern feminism which emphasizes the view that the sexes are essentially the same.

The Progressive Era represented a dramatic shift when it came to many peoples’ understanding of democracy, the purpose of government, and the role it should play in our lives. It also set the stage for the New Deal, and a definition of “rights” that was also a dramatic break from tradition.

Suffragettes march in New York City in 1912 for the right of women to vote.

Related Content

Part of the Civil War’s legacy was a shift in the role of the national government. The defeat of the South, Reconstruction, and the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment gave the national government growing power over the states and the people. The Fourteenth Amendment gave the national government power (though exactly how much power was still being debated) to ensure state laws did not violate the rights of the freedmen. Additional amendments during the Progressive Era (the 1890s - 1920s) continued this transfer of power to the national government. In the name of giving power to the people, the national government was given power to tax incomes; states lost their representation in Congress, the manufacture and sale of alcohol was banned, and women achieved the right to vote.

AP US History Sample Essay Questions

Ultimate study guide to getting a five on the AP Exam. This blog includes a key terms for every time period in US History. It also has Sample Essay Questions with information that should be use while answering. Please use the Table of contents using the side bar on the right. This will be extremely helpful because there is a lot of information

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Progressive era sample essay question.

• Curriculum Development Team
• Content Contributors
• Getting Started: Baseline Assessments
• Getting Started: Resources to Enhance Instruction
• Getting Started: Instructional Routines
• Unit 9.1: Global 1 Introduction
• Unit 9.2: The First Civilizations
• Unit 9.3: Classical Civilizations
• Unit 9.4: Political Powers and Achievements
• Unit 9.5: Social and Cultural Growth and Conflict
• Unit 9.6: Ottoman and Ming Pre-1600
• Unit 9.7: Transformation of Western Europe and Russia
• Unit 9.8: Africa and the Americas Pre-1600
• Unit 9.9: Interactions and Disruptions
• Unit 10.0: Global 2 Introduction
• Unit 10.1: The World in 1750 C.E.
• Unit 10.2: Enlightenment, Revolution, and Nationalism
• Unit 10.3: Industrial Revolution
• Unit 10.4: Imperialism
• Unit 10.5: World Wars
• Unit 10.6: Cold War Era
• Unit 10.7: Decolonization and Nationalism
• Unit 10.8: Cultural Traditions and Modernization
• Unit 10.9: Globalization and the Changing Environment
• Unit 10.10: Human Rights Violations
• Unit 11.0: US History Introduction
• Unit 11.1: Colonial Foundations
• Unit 11.2: American Revolution
• Unit 11.3A: Building a Nation
• Unit 11.03B: Sectionalism & the Civil War
• Unit 11.4: Reconstruction
• Unit 11.5: Gilded Age and Progressive Era
• Unit 11.6: Rise of American Power
• Unit 11.7: Prosperity and Depression
• Unit 11.8: World War II
• Unit 11.9: Cold War
• Unit 11.10: Domestic Change
• Resources: Regents Prep: Global 2 Exam
• Regents Prep: Framework USH Exam: Regents Prep: US Exam
• Find Resources

Students will use evidence from the documents to discuss the conditions that led Progressive Reformers to address their goal and the extent to which the goal was achieved.

Teacher Feedback

Please comment below with questions, feedback, suggestions, or descriptions of your experience using this resource with students.

If you found an error in the resource, please let us know so we can correct it by filling out this form . 

Progressive Era: Muckrakers Short Essay Question (New Regents Style)

• Word Document File

Description

This Short Essay Question follows the new style used by the NYS US History and Government Regents. Students have a wide variety of acceptable responses to the prompts. Students need to make a logical and historically defensible claim based on their analysis of the documents and their understanding of US history.

This essay question asks students to analyze an excerpt by Lincoln Steffens describing urban machine politics during the Gilded Age/Progressive Era and an 1871 political cartoon by Thomas Nast criticizes Boss Tweed's corruption and voter fraud.

Students must write a 2-3 paragraph short essay providing historical context for the documents and explaining how audience , or purpose , or bias , or point-of-view affects the reliability of Document 2 (the Nast cartoon).

This is good for a homework assignment, test section, quiz, or in-class assignment. The questions are open ended and there are many possible correct answers. I included a simplified version of the NY State rubric on the final page as a grading tool.

Please leave a review if you like the assignment

Questions & Answers

Peter greene.

• We're hiring
• Help & FAQ
• Privacy policy
• Student privacy
• Terms of service
• Tell us what you think