How progressive was the Progressive Era in American history?

How they were progressive

Child Labor Regulations - One of the most persistent causes of Progressive Era reformers was child labor reform. 
While the reformers had an ally in President Theodore Roosevelt, politicians with ties to industry voted against any long-term solutions to problems such as child labor. In February 1941 the Supreme Court overruled the 1918 decision against the Keating-Owen Act. As a result, businesses that shipped goods out of state had to abide by the ruling that children could only work outside of school hours and that children under eighteen were unable to work in jobs that were hazardous to their health. 


Growth in Technology - Technology changed the home environment, the workplace, and the roles of men, women, and children. It also provided opportunities for leisure.

Transportation – Transportation was advanced such as railroads and Pullman Cars.

Accessibility to Information - There was an explosion of information. Newspapers and advertising grew, and new communication mediums such as radio and the telegraph developed.


How they were not progressive

Child Labor - The 1890 it was revealed that more than one million children, ten to fifteen years old, worked in America. That number increased to two million by 1910. Industries employed children as young as five or six to work as many as eighteen to twenty hours a day. 


Poor Working Rights - Men, women and children worked long hours in unsafe factories to meet the insatiable American appetite for cheap, mass-produced goods.

Farmers lose their Jobs - Rural farmers struggled to keep their farms in the face of increased competition, costly machinery, and falling prices.

So even though the Progressive Era had its pros and cons, I believe that even thought it was a mutual phase, it was a progressive era. It was necessary for both the positives and negatives to take place or else we would not be advanced as we are today.