The Era of Progressive Reform (Chapter 10) Reflection

It has been proven time and time again that it is the spirit of the people that can move a nation. A government is nothing without its citizens, a leader nothing with its followers. The United States was going through issues concerning their urbanization and industrialization – problems that not even the government knew how to fix correctly. Soon, however, there was a change in mentality, the progressive reform had arrived. Being an informal and unlikely conglomeration of alliances, progressivism reformed more than the government had in the last few years. Their actions being responsible for results such as the women’s right to vote.

            Progressives recognized that the nation’s free enterprise system often was unfair, but they didn’t want to lose the high standard of living and liberty it had given them. They had to reform the bad without changing the good. What was interesting about progressivism was that its members didn’t always share the exact same set of ideas or mentalities, but they were prone to using the same methods to fulfill them; methods such as mass-circulation publication and journalists – gaining grass support, pressuring officials.

            The progressive reforms took place at urban, state, and federal levels. This movement had spread to the point in which they found allies in unlikely political machines. They reformed the workplace, environment, and prohibition. Progressivism is closely linked to the ideologies of the democratic power, something President William Taft was very much in favor of, until the Republicans convinced him otherwise. Roosevelt soon abandoned him for this and created the Progressive party: the Bull Moose Party. The next president Wilson carried on this mentality, until World War 1 took place.

            One of progressivism’s greatest victories was women’s suffrage. This had been a quest taken place for over seventy years. Even though it took great effort, inner campaign conflicts for strategies, and definite resistance, in 1920 they were given the right to vote. Women were finally begun to be seen as higher than just second class citizens.

            Progressivism commenced as a mentality, a set of ideals with hopes of perhaps someday creating something. This democratic mentality spread like wild fire, initiating movement throughout the entire US territory and not failing to bring change. Politically, economically but, most importantly and as evidenced with their gaining of women’s suffrage, socially.

Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party also known as the Progressive Party.