Tierra Alexander

May 4, 2015
History 1301
10am- 11:30am

The Progressive Era Political Reforms:

1890-1920

The early 20th century of America was just the beginning of a transformation of the
relationship between a democratic government and its people. This era is most commonly known
for its results such as the 18th Amendment which prohibited alcohol and the 19th amendment
which granted women full suffrage. But these legislations really came at the end of the period
that has come to be known as the "Age of Reform." The amendments were actually the
byproducts of an extensive social and political upheaval that has forever changed the
expectations of the role government would play in American society.
Rapid industrialization, immigration, and urbanization in the late 1800s led to national
growth and prosperity. This rapid growth also caused poverty, unemployment, horrendous
working conditions and political corruption. Growing cities magnified problems of poverty,
disease, crime, and corruption. Influx of immigrants and rise of new managerial class had upset
the traditional class hierarchy. As well as the Depression of 1893 had convinced many that equal
opportunity was out of reach for many Americans. Reforms were initiated by individuals but
when Muckrakers began to expose problems to the American public such Upton Sinclairs The
Jungle which portray the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the United States
that was when people started to pay attention. These issues influenced many of the progressive
beliefs. They believed in progress with the thought that humanity would improve forever. They
also believed in a scientific approach to solving social problems, order and stability and most
importantly, government intervention.
So with that, what had started out as a social movement grew into a political one. Not all
progressives had the same beliefs or concerns but one thing they all agreed on was that a wellrun government could protect the public interest and restore order to society. Progressives
thought the government should be more accountable to its citizens. They wanted the government

to be become more efficient and less corrupt so they could correctly handle an expanded role to
be more active in improving the citizens lives. However, that would require the government to
curb the power and influence of the wealthys interests.
The earliest Progressive reforms began at the municipal level since it was easier to
implement their ideas than at the vast state or national level. Urban corruption from political
machines was a major focus during this time. Machines mostly benefited the political bosses.
They provided money for the election. Plus, there was no privacy when voting so it helped the
bosses get votes since people knew who each other were voting for and no one want to be that
person who voted for someone different. This encouraged crime because the gangs would
threaten those who voted for the one they did not want and as a result this hindered the
opponent/the smaller political party. Political machines also benefited the working class, gangs,
businessmen, Saloon/bar owners and the newspaper. If they voted for the bosses then they
received city jobs as patronage. This gave the working class jobs, let crime prevail because they
turned a blind eye to it, help the business men stay rich, and funded the bar owners and the
newspaper. Progressives goals at the city level was to change that by cutting down on vice and
corruption and establishing a new form of government. This resulted in the reorganization of
local government and creation of city commission and city manager. Commissioners meet
together for city business and each individual commissioner is responsible for a city department.
And a city manager is an expert chosen by city officials to run the city. This person could be a
business manager or engineer but had to not be involved in politics. In 1900, the first city to have
a commission is Galveston, Texas as result from a hurricane. Des Moines, Iowa was the first city
outside of Texas to have a commission and from there it spread. In 1908, Staunton, Virginia was
the first to have a city manager but when Peyton, Ohio adopted this type of government in 1913

was when is started to spread. By 1920, 400 cities and towns had a commissioner and 45 cities
and towns had a manager.
Now that progressives have succeeded on the local level they have to succeed on the state
level. There were several State Level election reforms made. These were intended on giving
more power to the voters. Reform governors such as Theodore Roosevelt of New York, Robert
M. LaFollete of Wisconsin, and Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey, all helped get reforms passed in
their respective states. In addition, reforms first proposed by the Populist Party were enacted in
order to make state governments more responsive to the peoples needs. One of the reforms was
the secret ballot. Before the secret ballot, ballots were colored papers printed by the political
parties and allowed them to bribe and blackmail voters. The secret ballot prevents businessmen
or politicians from coercing voters. Privacy at the ballot box ensures that citizens can cast votes
without party bosses knowing how they voted. Reforms were also made to give voters more say
in government, among these were the initiative, referendum, and recall. Initiatives allowed
citizens to introduce legislative proposals at the state or local level through petitions that required
politicians to address areas of concern, or placed issues directly on the ballot. Referendum was
the process of allowing voters to vote on legislations already approved. The recall allowed voters
to demand special elections to remove elected officials from office if they are corrupt or not
capable. Progressives sought to counter the power party leaders had over which candidates
would be nominated. At first the party leaders were the only ones allowed to nominate
candidates. That was until the direct primary was created to allow the voters to cast ballots to
nominate candidates.
As progressives gained strength on the state level, they turned to national politics. With
the help of our progressive presidents Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson, the Federal Government

passed an enormous amount of legislation designed to conserve the environment, tighten past
economic regulations, preserve the health and safety of American citizens, and generally provide
needed capitalist reforms. Their goals on the Federal level was to break up monopolies, regulate
business, and to add new constitutional amendments. The problem with monopolies was that
consumers had no choice and companies were so big that they controlled the government. If
monopolies are broken up then it will provide competition and lessen business influence. They
used the Attorney General Court system to sue companies with the Sherman Anti-Trust act law to
achieve this goal. During Theodore Roosevelt's administration, the exposure of business
practices by the muckrakers attracted public opinion. The Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat
Inspection Act were passed in 1906 to protect consumers from the food industry. Although
Roosevelt supported the progressive drive for regulating corporations and for social-welfare
legislation, Congress remained adamant. No acts or amendments were passed during Tafts
presidency however he did break up the most companies of the three presidents. Woodrow
Wilson broke up the least amount of companies but it was during his administration that most of
the acts were passed such as the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 that reformed the currency system,
the Clayton Antitrust Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 which extended
government regulation of big business and the Keating-Owen Act of 1916 which restricted child
labor. To provide a stable base of income for the Federal Government while providing taxes, the
16th Amendment was passed. Political machines were weakened by the 17th Amendment which
allowed state citizens to directly elect representatives to the U.S. Senate, instead of allowing
party-controlled state legislatures to do it. The 18th amendment prohibited the sale, transport, and
manufacture of alcohol while the 19th Amendment had granted women the right to vote.

It is amazing to see how much these reforms have change the American government and
shaped it into what it is today. These reforms have an everlasting impact on how the government
treats its people and their health. Since the Progressive era thousands of federal, state, and local
agencies have been made to keep us safer and healthier than we would ever been in their
absence. It is incredible to see that all of the acts and amendments except for the 18th is still in
effect along with the way we vote. We still use initiative, referendum, and recall til this day.
The Progressive political reforms really show how with the leadership of some individuals
followed by the mass of the people can make a difference and that the people do have power
when they come together.

Works Cited
Boundless. Progressive Government: City and State. Boundless U.S. History. Boundless, 27
Jun. 2014. Retrieved 03 May. 2015
"Elements of Reform - Boundless Open Textbook." Boundless. N.p., n.d. Print. 03 May 2015.
Parkin, Michael. Economics. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Pub., 1990. Web.
"The Progressive Era (1890 - 1920)." The Progressive Era (1890 - 1920). N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May
2015.
"[Regents Prep U.S. History] Reform: Progressive Era Reform." [Regents Prep U.S. History]
Reform: Progressive Era Reform. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2015.
"The 10 Best Things Government Has Done for Us." MarketWatch. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May
2015.