The Progressive era lasted from 1900 to 1920. There was a great deal of change in everything. The economy changed, politics changed, and even society and the way that people interacted with each other changed. Some people think that this was a retrogressive era, where racism flourished against African Americans and immigrants, and foreign policy was too aggressive. Others think that this was a progressive era, where equality was finally given to women who had waited for it for so long. Even with this disagreement, overall the 'Progressive' Era was a combination of both. Though racism flourished and foreign policy was overly aggressive, there was an increase in political equality and an economic boom.
The first example of how the United States retrogressed socially was the fast increase in racism and xenophobia across the country. From 1900 to 1909 the number of immigrants who came to the United States an astonishing 9 million and from 1910 to 1920 was still at a very high 6 million. These were large numbers compared to that of the Gilded Age, which averaged about 4.5 million. White Americans were proud of how the United States was and wanted to defend it and keep it the same.…
