Between 1890 and 1920, the forces accompanying industrialization sent the familiar 19th century world plummeting toward extinction. The traditional countryside with its villages and family farms was eclipsed by giant corporations and sprawling cities. In this book, the author incorporates the social, cultural, political and economic changes which produced modern America. He illuminates the experiences of blacks, Asians, Latinos, as well as other working men and women in the cities and countryside as they struggled to improve their lives in a transformed economy. This book contains many of the prominent individuals who shaped the attitudes and institutions of modern America: Jane Addams and the origin of modern social work; and the radical labour challenge of ""Big Bill"" Haywood and the ""Wobblies"". While recognizing a ""progressive ethos"" which dominated the mainstream reforms that characterized the period. The author eaborates the role of civic volunteerism as well as the state in achieving directed social change. He also emphasizes the importance of radical and conservative political forces in shaping the so-called ""progressive era"".

Book Information
ISBN 9780813527994
Author John Whiteclay Chambers
Format Paperback
Page Count 350
Imprint Rutgers University Press
Publisher Rutgers University Press