Progressive Era: Sample Q’s

When formulating your questions for your research paper, keep in mind that you want to end up with a project that makes a (possibly controversial) claim and argues support for it.  You will need to gather information presenting a variety of perspectives and examples to write a thesis that answers your question by taking a stand.

How…

How did government evolve during the Progressive Era to address the problem of ____ ?

How did ___ (person) creatively organize members of society to address the problem of ___ during the Progressive Era?

How did protestors get attention from citizens and the government to fix the problem of ___ during the Progressive Era?

How did conditions for ___ improve during the Progressive Era?

Which…   (X or Y?)

Which political party demonstrated the greatest willingness to expand the use of government to address societal ills during the Progressive Era?

Which forces were most powerful in bringing about changes in the treatment of the mentally ill during the Progressive era:  politicians or writers?

Which conditions showed the most dramatic changes for poor people in the Progressive Era– social or economic?

Why…

Why do people say that the changing role of media helped shape a new role for government during the Progressive Era?

Why were citizens motivated to combat the problem of ___ during the Progressive Era?

To what extent…

To what extent were the ideas about how to expand government’s role in society (either pro or con) reflected in the development of political parties during the Progressive Era?

To what extent did the ___ organization effectively change the conditions of ___ during the Progressive Era?

To what extent were the improvements for ___ people a result of changes in (choose one:  economy, politics, social mobility, religion…)?