Muckrackers have helped pass many laws and give different ethnic groups and women freedom. http://www.shmoop.com/
Europeans started to colonize the US due to competion of power. The maps started to fill out. http://michael-streich.suite101.com/
Racism has been present forever on everything. It has been started through rumors or just through hate. An example could be during WW1. The Germans were hated through rumors. During the progressive era many immigrants were hated, such as the irish.