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Education: The Progressive Era

Spanning from the turn of the 20th Century to the 1920s, the Progressive Era left a lasting impact on the United States and New York City. During these years the nation experienced an increase in reforms meant to alleviate the suffering of the working classes. In order to accomplish this goal, Progressives believed the government needed to accept greater responsibility for its citizens' well-being.

The Progressive ideals of greater government involvement and regulation was a reaction against the policies of the Gilded Age. During this period in American history, wealthy business owners and corporations accrued vast fortunes, often at the expense of working class people. Many believed something had to be done.

Following the Civil War, The Gilded Age contributed to the rapid urbanization and industrialization of the United States. While both of these processes created enormous wealth for some, it also worsened the plight of many people. Urbanization and industrialization transformed both the physical landscape and the experiences and expectations of Americans.

During the Progressive Era, many municipal services, like the police and fire departments, were established or expanded. School reform and increased access to sanitary living conditions improve the lives of poorer Americans. To many, the Progressive Era provided a much needed antidote to the societal ills of Gilded Age urbanization and industrialization.

New York Social Studies Scope and Sequence Standards: 8.2e & 11.5.

For Teachers: The Progressive Era in New York Lesson Plan

ByUrban Archive logoUrban Archive
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Gotham Court icon

Gotham Court

One of the most shocking aspects of industrialization to someone today was the use of child labor. Many children of poor immigrant families were forced to work to help support their families. From very young ages, these young people went to work in different factories or sweatshops. Sweatshops originated in tenement apartments. In these small spaces, workers, including young children, worked for several hours a day doing tedious work. Many of these sweatshops existed to create clothing for the garment industry. Children would get paid only pennies for each stitch or piece of clothing made. Perhaps the worst aspect of child labor was the fact that most of these children were unable to attend school. Many of the Progressive Reformers understood that without an education, these children would never rise out of poverty. Part of the Progressive Era reforms helped to make school mandatory and more accessible to all people.
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New York City Hall icon

New York City Hall

A crucial part of the solution to the overcrowding that came with industrialization and urbanization in the United States was improvements to transportation. With better transportation people could live farther away from the industrial centers of a city. In New York City, the opening of the Subway System in 1904 alleviated some of the overcrowding in the tenements. It was now more affordable to live uptown in neighborhoods like Harlem, or across the East River in Brooklyn and Queens and commute to work in Manhattan. While many newly arrived immigrants still moved into the tenement housing in Lower Manhattan, second-generation Americans and some immigrants managed to move into newer and less-crowded housing in the outer-boroughs. The subway, while not an obvious part of the Progressive Movement, did make important contributions to the quality of life for many New Yorkers.
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144-07 Rockaway Boulevard icon

144-07 Rockaway Boulevard

As mentioned, the process or urbanization transformed New York and many other cities in the United States. From the 1860s through the Progressive Era, New York's population continued to grow. More and more people left their families and lives in the country to find new economic opportunity in the nation's cities. In fact, the 1920 census reported for the first time in the nation's history that a majority of Americans lived in urban areas. The advent of new transportation methods, like the subway in New York, further expanded the nation's urban footprint. Pictured here is the neighborhood of South Ozone Park in 1912. With the expansion of subway and trolley lines, the rural scenery of neighborhoods like Ozone Park transformed into the urban and densely populated communities that they are today.
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FDNY Engine 273 icon

FDNY Engine 273

As cities grew so did the need for expanding municipal services. During the Progressive Era it became standard practice for governments to regulate the health, safety, and well-being of the people. Services, which used to be provided by private organizations or volunteers became official departments or government agencies. As cities grew and industry increased, the threat of fire became more serious. In 1865, New York established the Metropolitan Fire Department. In 1870, the department was renamed the Fire Department of New York (FDNY). As the population of New York grew during the Progressive Era, FDNY service followed the expanding city population.The city-run FDNY replaced the volunteer fire departments that existed in many communities throughout the city because they were more effective and Progressives did not want to leave such essential services up to untrained volunteers.
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Public Bath House at The Battery icon

Public Bath House at The Battery

Progressive Era reformers also believed the government should do more to promote sanitary living conditions. It was during this same time that the Germ Theory, which stated that microscopic organisms which grew in unsanitary conditions caused disease. Progressives reasoned that improved sanitation would lead to improved health. To help people stay clean the cities across the country began offering access to free public baths. In an age before widespread indoor plumbing, many people could not bath regularly. The original bath houses, like the one pictured here, were temporary structures built on and along New York's rivers. As pollution increased however, it was no longer sanitary to bath using the river water. Beginning in the second half of the 19th Century and continuing throughout the Progressive Era, New York constructed several bath houses that made bathing accessible to thousands of New Yorkers.
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Battery Weed icon

Battery Weed

The Progressive Era left long-lasting effects on New York City and the nation. During this period, national and local leaders promoted policies that broke up monopolies, increased the safety and well-being of the working classes, and conserved and protected the natural environment. President Roosevelt, for example, established the National Park Service, which protected natural landmarks and spaces. Decades later, the effects of this Progressive Era policy were still being felt when the Gateway National Recreation Area was established in New York City. This allowed places like Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island and Fort Tilden in Rockaway to become protected parkland. Many other policies and initiatives started during this era continue to influence the city and nation alike. The city continues to expand essential services, like the fire and sanitation departments. New York operates eleven public hospitals, offers public housing for low-income people, and continues to provide free education to over one million students. Fire safety regulations, child labor laws, and minimum wage rules which first started in New York continue to protect working-class people throughout the city and nation.
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