Which reform movement aimed to curb child labor and regulate big business?

• A. Realism
• B. Imperialism
• C. Progressivism
• D. Romanticism

Answer: (C)

Progressivism was a reform movement in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries that sought to address problems caused by industrialization, including harsh working conditions and the power of large corporations. It aimed to curb child labor by pushing for laws that set minimum ages and maximum hours for workers and for safer, more accountable workplaces. It also pushed for government regulation of big business through antitrust enforcement, regulatory agencies, and reforms that limited the excesses of trusts and monopolies. Journalists and reformers of the era highlighted abuses and helped build public support for these changes. Realism is a literary/art movement, Imperialism refers to expanding a nation’s power overseas, and Romanticism is an earlier cultural movement emphasizing emotion and nature.