Final answer:
The Progressives used a combination of law enforcement, social services, and political reform to tackle the issues of urban growth, focusing on improving the lives of the urban poor.
Step-by-step explanation:
Reform-minded Progressives addressed the challenges of urban growth between 1877 and 1900 by pushing for the enforcement of laws, prohibition measures against alcohol, improving living conditions for the urban poor, and creating educational and daycare programs. Influential figures like Jane Addams introduced the settlement house movement, providing social services to those in need. At the state and local levels, reformers worked to elect mayors sympathetic to their causes, fought against the control of political machines, and reorganized governance with the commissioner and city-manager systems to ensure jobs were awarded based on merit rather than political favors.
Progressives also sought to address the spread of disease in cities, the exploitation of children in labor, and the conditions of the working class. Advocacy for workers' rights, women's rights, and broader social reforms were hallmarks of this era. The National Child Labor Committee aimed for federal legislation, but many of their initiatives took place at the state and local levels, building public support to pressure politicians for change.