Government and Political Reform

Reforming Government Many Progressives believed that by reforming government, society would reform itself. These reforms started at the city level. Instead of having just a mayor, many cities adopted a commission form of government– known as the Galveston Plan. The election process of city officials also needed to be reformed. Four new forms of election regulation came to pass during the Progressive Era– the direct primary, the initiative, the referendum and recall.

Reforming Government Direct primary election in which citizens choose their nominees for office. Initiative allows citizens to propose new laws on a ballot by collecting signatures. Referendum allows citizens to reject laws passed by the legislature. Recall ability to remove a public official before their term ended. New, ‘progressive’ governors swept across the nation. These included: Robert La Follette (WI); Theodore Roosevelt (NY); Woodrow Wilson (NJ).

Progressive Women Expand Reforms Women achieved their goals through greater access to education during the early 1900s. Women who worked outside of the home faced many difficulties including low wages, long hours and dangerous conditions. They were also supposed to hand their wages over to their husbands, fathers or brothers. Florence Kelley founded the Women’s Trade Union League which advocated for a minimum wage, 8-hour workday, and started a strike fund.

Working for Changes in Family Life Improving family life was the main goal of progressive women. Specifically, women focused on the temperance (abstaining from alcohol) movement, fueled by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. This helped lead to the passage of the 18th amendment., which prohibited the sale and manufacture of alcohol. Margaret Sanger opened the nation’s first birth-control clinic, leading eventually to the ability for women to gain information from their doctors about family planning.

Winning the Right to Vote The main goal of Progressive Era women was to gain suffrage– the right to vote. Women lobbied Congress to pass an amendment (19th); Used the referendum process to pass state suffrage laws; Recruited wealthy, well-educated women to fight for their cause; Held protest marches and hunger strikes.

Women and their Goals Many prominent women emerged to lead during the movement, focusing on specific goals. Carrie Chapman Catt encouraged people to join the National American Woman Suffrage Association, which focused on working to achieve legal gains. Alice Paul encouraged public protest marches Ida B. Wells National Association of Colored Women focusing on family assistance.

Progressivism Presents Contradictions While making overall social gains, many Progressives were prejudiced against those who were non-white, non-Protestant, and non-middle class. They worked towards Americanization of immigrants. Some Progressives agreed with southern legislation that segregated African Americans, while others supported African American growth.

African Americans Demand Reform W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington were split on how African Americans should achieve change. Du Bois went on to start the Niagara Movement, which later grew into the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Booker T. Washington helped start the Tuskegee Institute, which was a teacher’s school, but also served as a trade school for farmers and other laborers.