The Progressive Era Gets a Close-Up
The Progressive Era Gets a Close-Up
The Seventh Grade Changemaker Project
BY MELISSA ULSAKER MAAS ’76
Many Saints fondly remember the seventh grade History Trials—the dramatic courtroom reenactments during which classmates played prosecutors, defense attorneys, and historical figures on the stand. After years of lively debate and creative flair, the final trials took place over Zoom during the pandemic, closing the curtain on a beloved tradition. In its place a new project emerged, rooted in the same research, deep thinking, and presentation, but with a modern twist. Enter the Changemaker Project; students don’t just study the Progressive Era—they connect it to the world they live in today.
History teachers Katherine Miller, Jon Japha, and Andy Carr collaborated to create the project. “We wanted something with the pizzazz of the History Trials that required the same skills, but focused on a different time in history with a fresh way of presenting,” Katherine explains.
The Time Period
The Progressive Era (1890s-1920s) was a time of widespread social, political, and economic reform in the United States. Reformers, also known as progressives, aimed to tackle problems brought on by industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and political corruption. They focused on improving labor conditions, addressing poverty and slum life, and regulating monopolies. Reformers promoted environmental protection, better urban living standards, and scientific approaches to governance and problem-solving. Efforts included creating new regulatory agencies and professionalizing fields like education, medicine, and economics.
The progressives set out to make American society safer, fairer, and more democratic. They pushed for regulations to hold big business accountable, fought corruption in city governments, and worked to improve factory conditions and life in overcrowded urban slums. Many also championed environmental conservation.
These reformers believed democracy should extend beyond government halls. They fought for women’s suffrage and supported political reforms like the recall, referendum, and direct election of senators—tools they believed would give citizens a stronger voice in shaping the nation’s future.
“History matters, and we wanted the students to recognize that it’s still relevant today. Asking them to make a modern-day connection with a past reformer forces them to ask important questions.”
~Katherine Miller
Middle School History Teacher
The Project
The two-month, multi-phase Changemaker project challenges students to dig deep: they conduct research, take notes, write a script, create an iMovie, and present it to parents and friends at the culminating in a film festival in May. But this is far more than a traditional research assignment. What sets it apart—and truly stretches their critical-thinking skills—is the requirement to connect past to present. Students must not only study a Progressive Era reformer and the issue they championed, but also identify and investigate a modern-day issue that echoes their reformer’s cause, drawing meaningful connections across time.
“History matters, and we wanted the students to recognize that it’s still relevant today,” Katherine said. “Asking them to make a modern-day connection with a past reformer forces them to ask important questions, like how does that impact me? How would that affect me today? What would it be like if I did something like that?”
Students select from a rich and diverse list of 62 reformers—some household names, others far less known but equally compelling. The lineup spans writers, activists, artists, inventors, and change agents, including figures like political cartoonist Thomas Nast, disability rights pioneer Helen Keller, conservationist Ansel Adams, public health advocate Julia Lathrop, labor leader Emma Tenayuca, legal scholar Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge, civil rights organizer George Edmunds Haynes, Hawaiian queen Liliuokalani, and inventor Garrett Morgan. For many students, the project becomes a first encounter with voices history often overlooks—and a chance to bring those voices back into the conversation.
Seeing the project requirements on paper looks daunting, but the teachers break it down, step by step, starting with the research and choosing appropriate sources and images. “I’d say they mainly use databases and books, but we’ve been talking about using the Internet and fact checking all year,” Katherine says.
They take their notes in an app called NoodleTools. “The program was created by a librarian to provide students with a platform that helps them navigate, plan and organize their research,” history teacher Larisa Showalter explains. “Teachers can track each student’s progression, from citing their sources to the notes they are taking, as well as the original source. Learning how to paraphrase is one of the most difficult skills we teach.”
Their research must include the background of the movement and how their reformer is associated with it; what factors motivated their reformer; and the strategies their reformer used to advance their cause. They also have to discuss any challenges and biases their reformer faces from outside or inside the movement. Some students encounter unexpected facts about the men and women who fought so hard for positive change. It can be surprising to discover someone can be a hero on one hand, while holding a questionable belief in the other, like Henry Ford—a lesson that people are human and fallible. Students also learn about reformers who want the same things, but have very different strategies, like W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
Josephine Goldmark and The Child Labor Coalition
By Victoria Giles ’30
Today, the Child Labor Coalition continues to work on the same issues that Josephine Goldmark cared about a hundred years ago. The Child Labor Coalition is a branch of the National Consumers League. This organization was founded in 1989, and its director is Reid Maki. The organization was made to influence public policy on child labor through an increased understanding of the impact of work on children’s health. Because they believe children should not work, they want to help all children regardless of race, sex, nationality, religion, economic status, where they live, or the type of job they do. Their main goals are to help the quality of children’s lives, to work to strengthen protection, to advocate for better enforcement of regulations, to educate the public to broaden awareness, and to urge the Congress of the US to act and stop the problems. They do work in the US and internationally to help publicize what is happening to children.
Theodore Roosevelt and The Nature Conservancy
By Charlie Dore ’30
Theodore Roosevelt’s pioneering legacy lives on in modern efforts to protect the environment, such as those led by The Nature Conservancy. Founded in 1951, this nonprofit works to combat climate change, deforestation, and biodiversity loss. Like Roosevelt, the Conservancy acquires and preserves land, and partners with governments to enact policy. They operate across the United States and worldwide, with key projects in the Great Lakes and U.S. national forests. By building partnerships with Indigenous peoples and local communities, they honor Roosevelt’s belief that protecting nature must involve the people most affected. The Nature Conservancy recognizes that climate change and environmental destruction also impact air and water quality, food scarcity, and will affect the health of future generations.
W.E.B. DuBois and The NAACP
By Elia Hervé ’30
W.E.B DuBois had a lasting impact on African American rights and development, extending far into the modern age, especially through his organization, the NAACP. Even though the organization was founded on February 12, 1909, in W.E.B DuBois’ time, it currently holds many protests and promotes speeches that aligns with their founding ideals and spreads awareness to the world. The NAACP seeks a goal of political, educational, social, and economic equality for all people. They continue working towards the prohibition of race-based discrimination through a variety of means: including advocacy and community organizing. They continue DuBois’ work by focusing on criminal justice reform, the right to vote, and economic empowerment.
The Presentation
For their presentations, the students create documentaries in iMovie. This format introduces them to digital storytelling and challenges them to transform weeks of research into a concise, engaging, and meaningful five-minute film. Along the way, they develop essential 21st-century skills—learning to distill complex information, make intentional design choices, and communicate ideas clearly and creatively. It’s not just about mastering the technology—it’s about learning how to shape a narrative, find their voice, and make history feel real for an audience.
The night of the film festival is filled with nervous energy. The students arrive in chapel dress, fully prepared to present their films and answer questions afterwards. Each room has five presenters and an audience of people who love and care for them. Excited and maybe relieved, that the project is coming to an end, each one steps up to the microphone, introduces themselves and their reformer, and hits play on the culmination of all their efforts.
The Changemaker Film Festival is more than a presentation—it’s a celebration of hard work, deep thinking, and personal growth. After weeks of research, revision, and reflection, students walk away with not just knowledge of a historical reformer, but with a deeper understanding of how people—flawed and inspiring—have shaped the world they live in. They’ve connected past to present, developed their voices, and practiced the art of storytelling. “I hope they’re proud of what they’ve accomplished,” Katherine says. “This project pushes them in so many ways, and the skills they walk away with—research, analysis, empathy, confidence—those last well beyond seventh grade.”