Progressive Era
...th and early 20th centuries to control, limit, or prohibit the use of alcohol. Thousands of women would go into saloons and break the containers which the alcohol was held in to stop the men from drinking. Many women were victims of abuse from their husbands because they had been drinking and came home intoxicated. So women were at the forefront of the temperance movement to stop these acts of violence. Also saloons sold liquor which was a common meeting place for political machines and bosses which woman were excluded out of. The temperance reform sent a message that woman could lead a reform and they did have a voice in the country even if it was a political voice. In 1980 congress passed the Sherman-Anti Trust Act, the first federal law to regulate large corporations and trusts and eliminate monopolies. It was the first of many laws passed to limit the amount of trusts and monopolies in business. The act outlawed any contract, combination, or conspiracy that restrained trade or monopolized any market. This act was implemented to help make the market of the United States a more equal and fair place where there was no unfair prices on goods and only one company making a good so the prices were unreasonably high and unmoral .The Sherman-Anti Trust Act laid down the groundwork for trust busting and the end of monopolies. There was a vast and fast moving movement that involved working conditions and working wages. This movement involved both men and woman and adults and children. Working conditions were very poor and it took a very big event for people?s eyes to open and realize how bad it actually was. The Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire started an outrage among the working class. A fire started in the upper levels of a factory and hundreds of people were trapped inside of the building because the owners had locked the fire escapes because they thought the workers would steal stuff. Young woman mostly occupied the building and many jumped out of the windows and fell to their deaths. After this event the working class demanded much improved working conditions, better wages and shorter work days. Children were also forced into the working mix and were subjected to very low wages and unmoral working conditions. Congress took a step to improve this by passing the Keating Owen Act which tried to discourage child labor by proh...