How Did The Progressives Enter The Twentieth Century

As the United States entered the twentieth century, reform efforts from the Progressives entered with it. With increasing numbers of people joining the workforce, thus establishing a middle class, an era of change was ushered in by these reformers. The Progressives inspired a revamp across all aspects of American society, from the federal government to living and workplace conditions.

As the US became a modern industrial nation, there was a need for more government action and less pure laissez-faire capitalism. During the Gilded Age in the late nineteenth century, businesses were allowed to do what they wanted, whether that be trading freely, setting their own prices, or determining workers’ wages and working conditions. There was also an abundance of corruption in the government during this time, an example being the
In 1902, a group of social critics, known as muckrakers, emerged. They used liberal media outlets to expose corruption and injustice. The first objective of Progressives was to regain the power that had slipped from the hands of the people into those of the “interests”. They pushed for the direct primary elections to undercut power-hungry party bosses. They also favored an initiative so that voters could directly propose legislation themselves, bypassing the boss-bought state legislatures. Following that, Progressives agitated for the referendum that placed laws on the ballot for final approval by the people. The recall was another political reform where voters could remove elected officials rather than waiting for the term to end. The secret Australian ballot was introduced to restrict huge gifts from corporations and helped to counteract the boss rule. Direct election of the US Senators was the goal of Progressives and the ratification of the 17th amendment established this. During the Roosevelt administration, Congress passed railroad legislation, beginning with the Elkins Act in 1903, which was aimed at