Jump to: Background Suggestions for Teachers Additional Resources Background The Progressive Era in the United States - roughly the time period from the 1890s to the 1920s - was characterized by a number of social, economic, and political reforms. On the heels of the American Industrial Revolution and the Gilded Age, Progressive Era reformers sought to establish government programs to address a variety of issues, many brought on by what they saw as rapid industrialization, urbanization, politica