Social activism is a fairly new concept. Throughout most of history people have tended to mind their own business and not pay much attention to the plight of people they didn't know. The workers themselves accepted their conditions and believed they could do nothing about them.
It took strong leaders and dedicated workers to bring about the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Most white people weren't very aware of the plight of blacks until their attention was caught by the Civil Rights workers and the excesses of Southern segregation and brutality shown on TV.
Why do you think it was that people did not pay attention to the conditions in the factories and political corruption until the progressive movement?
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