The era of rapid industrial growth in the late 19th century led to the rise of what, which criticized political corruption and inequality and sought reform?

• A. The Gilded Age.
• B. The Era of Good Feelings.
• C. The New Deal.
• D. The Progressive Era.

Answer: (D)

The era being described is the Progressive Era. It grew out of the late 19th-century surge of industrialization that created immense wealth but also widespread political corruption and social inequality. Progressive reformers—journalists, politicians, and activists—pushed to fix these problems by curbing the power of monopolies, cleaning up government corruption, improving working and living conditions, and expanding democratic participation. They advocated measures like regulation of big business, labor protections, and reforms such as direct primaries and other democratic reforms, aimed at making government more responsive to ordinary people. The other choices refer to different periods: the Gilded Age is the era of rapid growth and corruption, not a reform movement; the Era of Good Feelings is an early national period of political harmony; the New Deal belongs to the 1930s and focuses on relief and recovery from the Great Depression.