Progessives and The Pure Food and Drug Act Essay - 862 Words

At the turn of the century America entered a new age that many historians call the Progressive Era. During this time period, the American Political system changed its view on how America should be brought about. It provided a purification of the American government through direct democracy. This era included many social and political reforms, which were brought about due to monopolies, and trust corporations. One the key pieces of legislation that was a prime example of the progressive era, was the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. This law came about due to muckraking, and also because of public and political interests. Muckraking, such as Upton Sinclair’s piece, â€Å"The Jungle†, helped in the timing of the adoption of this legislature.†¦show more content†¦These articles shifted the popular opinion in favor of a law being made to protect the regulation of food and prescription drug production. There were other measures that formed this bill, but it was the muckraking that pushed for the timing of the bill. One measure was public interests. During this time period many people began to question the quality of their food and how it was being processed. Also locals would write about such instances, such as when Adams wrote about the quality of the machines that came in contact with the meat. This outraged many citizens causing many groups to bombard Congress with their concerns. Also during this time, there were certain advances that labeled the food market during this time one of which is the development of cheaper food products. These cheaper products allowed for more competition between these cheaper brands and the more dominant more expensive brands. However, these cheaper brands did provide stiff competition for the dominant brands, but in this case was not necessarily a good thing. While the cheaper products did save those companies money, it hurt them in the public inte rest in the long run. This was because there were no regulations and the companies could alter the food and deceive the consumer, because of this. There was also the fear of the unknown, such as what the company has to done the food product and how their food was being handled. This could also lead to consumer being