Question

Progressive era reformers pushed for the passage of the 18th Amendment prohibiting the sale of alcohol. (Unit 8 lesson 6 p. 5)Identify and explain at least two other reform movements of the era. Include the effects of the movements.(For example: Child Labor, Labor unions, Food processing, 19th Amendment. ) (Unit 8) Remember that your response must be a minimum of three sentences!

Answer 1

1) Child labor reform: Progressives exposed dangerous, long-hour work by children in factories, mines, and mills and pushed for laws to restrict it. Activists and groups (like the National Child Labor Committee) promoted state laws and federal proposals (the Keating-Owen Act of 1916, later federal protections in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938). Effects included rising school attendance, fewer very young children in hazardous jobs, and the creation of legal age and hour standards that protected child welfare and set precedents for broader labor regulation.

2) Food-processing and safety reform: Upton Sinclair’s novel The Jungle and investigative journalists revealed unsanitary conditions and unsafe practices in meatpacking and food production, prompting public outrage. In response Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act in 1906, and regulatory activity later grew into what became the FDA. Effects were safer, better-labeled food and medicines, mandatory inspections, greater consumer protection, and increased public trust in processed foods.