The progressive movement was an early twentieth century reform movement seeking to return control of the government to the people, to restore economic opportunities, and to correct injustices in American life. The progressive movement was effective because it improved the political, social, and economic ills of America. Progressives were middle-class city dwellers such as writers, teachers, and scholars. They sought to cure the many social problems caused by industrialization. They had four goals. The first was to protect social welfare. The second was to promote moral improvement. The third was to create economic reform. And the fourth was to foster efficiency. Progressives worked for reform and a change for the better. They succeeded.
Third, the progressive movement worked to create economic reform. In 1893 the economy was in question. Americans wondered about the capitalistic economic system. Some American workers preferred socialism. A labor leader Eugene Debs began the American Socialist Party in 1900. He said that with capitalism the people‘s voice was not equal to the big business’ voice in the government. Big business did get special favors from the government. Progressives did not agree with socialism but they did agree with how politicians looked to the big business’ opinions and not the people’s opinions on economic policy. Journalists called muckrakers wrote in newspapers and magazines about the corrupt big businesses. There was a need to have economic reform in that the people needed their say in government ov
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