Progressive Era Photography

Lisa Calabrese

The Progressive Era consists of a time period in which there was a series of responses to problems in American society that had emerged from the growth of industry. Progessives believed they could improve society was their faith in science and technology. Many problems needed to be solved during this time including working conditions, women’s right, and the banning of alcohol. Another major activity was attempting to make government more efficient and responsive to citizens. The country was in a terrible state and needed reform.

Progressive Era Definition

In this photograph, two childrenare stepping on a machine barefoot. What are the childrenworking with? The children seen to be working with yarn or string. Sewing was how clothes were made and yarn was in major demand. Child labor is the theme of this photo, in the 20th century children were paid extremely low for a strenuous amount of hours. This caused the government to create child labor laws, such as a maximum amount of hours a child could work.

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma01/davis/photography/images/hinephotos/slideshow2.html

This photo demonstrates how bad the country was doing. This man is sleeping on two barrels and some wood, and a blanket.It seems to be cold outside because of the way he is bundled up. Why is he sleeping in these conditions ? During this time in America work was grueling and barely paid anything. Working conditions were bad, but so were living conditions of the poor. The theme of this photo is corporations and labor.

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA01/davis/photography/images/riisphotos/slideshow1.html

In this photo, women are protesting about their rights. They are holding signs and walking to show their strength and belief in women’s rights, especially women suffrage. Where are they walking too? There destination is probably somewhere with strong government presence, like Washington D.C. During this time, the government was being more efficient and responsive to citizens. The theme of this photo is women suffrage.

http://www.loc.gov/collection/women-of-protest/about-this-collection

In this photo, the street is crowded with people and many horse and carriages.This photo was taken of New York because of the tall buildings and overpopulation. Why is the street overcrowded? It is due to the immigration and industrialization. The growth of industry brought people to the cities, which lead to the growth of cities. The theme of this photo is urbanization and immigration.

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma01/davis/photography/images/riisphotos/slideshow1.html

In this photograph, a barrel of alcohol isbeing dumped down the sewer. A government official and police officers watch over the men. Why are they doing this? This is being done because alcohol was being moderated and becoming banned during the Progressive Era. The theme of this photo is the temperance/prohibition.

http://stevenjohnhibbs.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/the-us-government-poisoned-alcohol-during-the-prohibition-era/