The Progressive Era was a period between the 1900s and 1920s and marked a period in American history when society was overflowing with enthusiasm for improving life at home. industrial era by making political and social progress. changes through government action that ultimately led to a better quality of life for American citizens. Progressives were known for their belief in limiting the power of big business, strengthening state power, and were advocates against corruption and social injustice. These progressive reformers along with the federal government succeeded in improving the quality of life and setting a precedent for active government, although neither succeeded in solving the important problems facing the nation . of social conscience as muckrakers, investigative journalists who were reformers and generally wrote for popular magazines and newspapers that exposed the ills of society and corruption in government, opened the eyes of ignorant Americans to these issues . One of the first to strike was Lincoln Steffens, who exposed how city officials worked in concert with big business to maintain power while corrupting the public treasury. It became clear to the government that reforms were desperately needed, and that is exactly what Theodore Roosevelt provided for the nation as he sought broad reforms and regulations domestically during his presidency. Roosevelt used his domestic program, the "Square Deal", to take action against bad trusts or large monopolies like the Northern Securities Act, as well as to restrict good trusts. He distinguished between these trusts, describing "good trusts" as good services that provide... middle of paper... a vote. (DOC H) Eventually, women achieved their goal with the passage of the 19th Amendment, prohibiting denial of voting rights based on sex, but African Americans did not see a major change for decades to come . The Progressive Era marked an era. of change for America, as the lifestyle of millions of people has improved, but change has been slow in coming and in major groups in society no change has been seen. But it was a period in which the government worked with the people more than ever before, and the president took the concerns of his people and incorporated them into his policies. While many efforts have been made to regulate business, child labor, and sanitation laws, important issues such as the civil rights of African Americans and women's equality have not been effectively covered nationally by Progressive Era reformers and the federal government..