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During the early 1900s and into the early 1920s, a political movement began to sweep across the United States of America, trying to change the way of life for many. This political movement spanned from the local and city governments all the way to state and national governments. The political movement sought to reform the structure of city governments, regulate natural monopolies, and to rid politics of saloons and the corrupt business practices. This movement became known as the Progressive Movement. Robert Crunden once said that, “any political activity that pretended to make the American economic or political system fairer in some way” (73) was able to be classified as part of the Progressive Party. The Progressive Party was what some historians …show more content…
will call a short-lived party because it never became as big, or drew as much attention as either the Republican or Democrat Parties.
The party was founded in the 1912 elections by the former president Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt did not agree with President Taft’s policies and became especially upset by the use of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to sue U.S. Steel. Roosevelt decided that this moment was a turning point and he would create the Progressive Party. The Progressive Party was a general stance that “applied to many members of the Republican, Democratic, Socialist, and Prohibition Parties” (Crunden 73), and it appealed to mainly the middle class who wanted to see reform in America. The Progressive Party tried to manage to make themselves known in Texas, and many other states, by helping with big political movements that spanned from woman’s suffrage and prohibition to the regulation of corporations.
During the early 1900s, Texas was starting to become known as an international symbol of corporate power due to the oil boom and many other factors, including agriculture and the railroad industry. Texas was mainly a Democratic state during the Progressive Era that embodied the New South tensions. Texas railroads had been a major industrial force and
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had nearly 11,000 miles of track by 1904. Since Texas had so many miles of tracks, it was closely regulated by the Railroad Commission. The Railroad Commission kept a close eye on the railways within Texas to make sure that laws were being followed. Due to the tight grip of the Railroad Commission, freight prices started the decline leading up to World War I, and the close to seventy five railroad companies found it increasingly more difficult to conduct business. Texas railroads had weakened during the Progressive years, due to a push by the Progressive Party as well as the beginning construction of Texas highways. While Texas railroads became an issue during the Progressive Era, the state agricultural character was in jeopardy. The phenomenon of urbanization came flying through Texas during the Progressive Era. By 1910, there were around 130 cities including San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, Austin, El Paso, Galveston, and Waco. On top of those cities were also around ninety different urban areas. These areas were said to be “small islands in an agricultural sea.” One of the major innovators of the Progressive movement in Texas was the city of Galveston. In 1900, Galveston was hit by a category four hurricane. The storm injured around 6,000 people and left nearly 12,000 dead. The storm ended a prosperous era for Galveston and scared off many potential investors, leaving them to turn toward Houston. After the hurricane, the city adopted the commission form of city government. The idea emphasized economy and efficiency through the election of commissioners. This form of city government took off and spread toward Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth. The commission form of city government appealed to many businessmen due to the fact that it was also designed to remove the corrupt rule of government. Before the Progressive Era, boss rule had taken over the majority of southern cities. The “political boss centralized government authority by filling city offices with men willing to follow his orders” (Anders 6). Boss rule had corrupted many local government offices and used their positions to influence business practices such as railroads and agricultural products. These bosses also used scare tactics to force people into voting the boss back into office. During the Progressive Era, boss rule became a major topic and the Progressive Party wanted to see an end to boss rule once and for all. Progressive reformers and politicians made promises to bring the government closer to the people while denouncing the bosses as tyrants and manipulators. To help the Progressives, the leaders of the Progressive Party in Texas tried to appeal to not only the whites who were against boss rule, but they also tried to appeal towards the black and Hispanic votes as well. The commission form of government became a successful form of government that is still used to this day, but the Progressives in Texas would not stop there. Two other major topics for Progressives in Texas were woman’s suffrage and prohibition.
Woman’s suffrage was seen as the most intense political campaign that was fought by the Progressive Party throughout the United States of America. The leaders of the woman’s suffrage movement argued that “no state can be a true democracy in which one half of the people are denied the right to vote.” In 1914, 138 Progressive candidates, including some women, ran for the United States House. While only five were actually elected, it still became a big deal for the Progressive Party that they were able to win seats in the House, and that woman started to become more politically outspoken. Prohibition became a topic that enraged many Texans throughout the state. Voters had already previously accepted a local option that gave counties and precincts the power to ban alcohol. By the early 1900s, North Texas had become dry and it seemed that Central Texas was going to follow. The argument continued for many years and when alcohol was finally banned nationally, most Texans were outraged, while on the other side the Progressive Party seemed to be happy that some of their political views were coming to
America. The Progressive Party did not last long in Texas. There was never an official elected to office in Texas that was a progressive. By 1918, the Progressive Party had dissolved and the Progressives in Congress rejoined the Republican Party. The Progressive Party led the way for woman’s suffrage in America. The Progressive Party also began to end boss rule from the south, which led no more corrupt governments in the state of Texas. Galveston and other major cities still use the commission form of government to this day. The Progressive Party tried to manage to make themselves known in Texas, and many other states, by helping with big political movements that spanned from woman’s suffrage and prohibition to the regulation of corporations. Even though the party was unable to get most of their issues passed during the Progressive Era, the Progressive Party was still successful in the fact that they were able to make many issues a big deal and force corrupt government out of office during the first twenty years of the twentieth century.
Sharpless tells how life in the city became more convenient due to easier access to electricity and running water. Women began moving into town not just for personal but economical and political reasons. Politics held a great responsibility in modernizing Texas. As Buenger emphasizes throughout his book “The Path to a Modern South” the importance of politics and how it changed culture is ultimately what set Texas apart from the rest of the southern states. By the 1920’s politics had changed dramatically in Texas, women were allowed to vote almost 2 years before any other state in America.
In the first two decades of the twentieth century the national political scene reflected a growing American belief in the ideas of the Progressive movement. This movement was concerned with fundamental social and economic reforms and gained in popularity under two presidents. Yet Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson espoused two different approaches to progressive reform. And each one was able to prevail upon congress to pass legislation in keeping with his own version of the progressive dream. These two people, although they had different principles in mind, had one goal: to make changes to the nation for the better of the people and the country. Setting out to reach this goal, Roosevelt came to be a president of the common man while Wilson became the “better” progressive president.
Progressives wanted to end corruption, as it was everywhere before there were laws to stop it, including government positions. Government corruption still exists today, it’s just not as blatant as in 1900 when it was discovered that members of the legislature had chosen a Montana senator that just so happened to give said member $100,000 in secret bribes. Initially, the idea of direct election of senators was shot down by the senate. It is evident why it was shot down at the senate level, those same senators would no longer be able to bribe their way into office, now having to work for it. Finally, in 1913 direct election of US senators became law with the Seventeenth Amendment. Now, senators and individuals running for senate have to show their constituents they are willing to work for their
The Progressive Movement that occurred during the early 20th century was a time of major reform in the United States of America. During this time, there was a group of activists that referred to themselves as the Progressives, and they sought to change society for the people. The way that they intended to do this was change through their ideals of democracy, efficiency, regulation, and social justice. With this movement came the election that changed the course of America’s history “…demonstrating a victory for progressive reforms as both Progressive candidates accounted for 75 percent of all the votes” (Bowles). The candidates in this election were Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.
Socially, America was gaining strength, with women such as Jane Addams, a women's rights activist, entering the progressive fight. According to a study, the percent of eligible voters who cast ballots in Presidential elections were at a somewhat steady rate from 1904 to 1916, ranging from 59-65%, but in the 1920 election, only 49% of eligible voters actually cast ballots. (Document J) Although some may argue that the percent decrease was due to most Americans not liking any of the elected Presidential candidates, and therefore not voting, this is untrue because this was the first election in which women could vote, which threw of the ratio of voters and non-voters. In addition, all four candidates running for the title of President, Debs, Roosevelt, Wilson, and Taft, were all progressives, and wanted to reduce the number of trusts. This gave all voters, men or women, no incentive to vote. In the end of the election, Woodrow Wilson won, with 435 electoral votes, while Roosevelt had 88, and Taft received a mere e...
In the beginning of the twentieth century, the economy was booming, new technology flourished. The rapid industrialization brought achievement to the United States, however, it also caused several social problems. Wealth and power were concentrated in the hands of a few, and poverty and political corruption were widespread. As people became aware of these problems, a new reform group was created. Unlike populism, which had been a group of farmers grown desperate as the economy submerged into depression, the new reform movement arose from the educated middle class. These people were known as the progressives. The Progressive Movement was a movement that aimed at solving political, economic, and social problems. The Progressives were people from the middle class who had confidence that they could achieve social progress through political reform. The Progressives sought after changes and improvements in the society through laws and other federal actions.
Thesis The Progressive Era and the New Deal Era had a significant amount of similarities with policies and programs to reform the American society and improve lives and fight poverty in America. Although the Progressive and New Deal Era had many similarities, there were still differences between them. Both the Progressive and the New Deal Era’s main goal was to improve American society. Both of the Progressive and New Deal’s accomplishments were rooted in the economic depression and the need for change before the era, the Guilded age in the 19th century for the Progressive era, and the Great Depression for the New Deal era. As the Guilded Age was ending, and the Progressive Era was emerging, most American families had to live with the harsh reality of sweatshops, slums, child labor, corruption in government and businesses, disease, and racial prejudice.
Until the 1980’s Texas was dominated by the Democratic Party, they abrupt change in was due to many factors such as the change in the Democratic Party’s view. According the reading the “The Democratic party dominated Texas politics until the 1960s 1970s in a large part because it was seen as the party
Within the period of 1900-1920, many national reforms were rising to the top as Progressive Era reformers and the federal government heard the voices of the people. The effectiveness of Progressivism is a controversial subject for some, but the future was changed through the events of any actions a president made, the rights of people, and unfair treatment and conditions. This era brings changes to our society that also changes the future of it. These two decades brought forth successful times in bettering America.
During the late 19th and early 20th century both the Populist Party and Progressive movement wanted to preserve some things, while also addressing the need for reform. Although many of the ideas and goals of these “Third parties” were initially not legislated and considered far-fetched, many of these ideas later became fundamental laws throughout American history. The Populists and Progressives were both grass roots movements, and addressed the needs of the poor and powerless, for the Populists it was farmers and for the Progressives it was urban lower and middle class workers. These two movements attempted to bring the powerless peoples issues to national politics. The Populists and Progressives wanted to preserve some American ideals of the past, such as a sense of community and the ability for farmers and workers to live happily without economic strains. Populists were more oriented to the plight of the farmer while the Progressives included women's rights, and protection of the consumer and labor.
The expansion of agriculture and railroads helped form Texas’s present economy. The invention of the steam engine not only allowed people to move across the country in 7 days, instead of 6 months, but it also allowed crops and livestock to be carried to markets and places where they would be sold anywhere in the country. They could be moved to another farm in Texas as well. Since it’s such a large state, railroads were a necessity for travel, and general transportation. The railroad-building boom lasted 40 years. The production of cotton in Texas introduced some of the first slave-based cotton farms, and was the dominant crop for a very long time. After this event, Texas’s economy was forever changed.
The most commonly known, and consequently most watered down, version of the progressive movement argues that this era was simply an effort by the middle class to cure many of the social and political ills of American society that had developed during the rapid industrial growth in the last quarter of the 19th century. This explanation has proven to be a woefully inadequate in the face of the complexities that characterize these times. In Richard Hofstadter’s The Age of Reform, Peter Filene’s “An Obituary for the Progressive Movement,” Richard McCormick’s “The Discovery that Business Corrupts Politics,” and Paula Baker’s “The Domestication of Politics” each author asserts their own unique interpretations of the progressive movement. These distinct examinations each chart and thus manifest the fluidity of knowledge about this particular time period and how it has been shaped reshaped by new analysis.
FDR’s goal for the New Deal was expressed in three words: Relief, Recovery, and Reform. This was the idea that the ND would hope to provide the relief from the poverty-stricken suffering during the Great Depression. Recovery planned to put the country back together and restore the market’s financial issues, the jobs or the people, and their confidence. Reform provided permanent programs to avoid another depression and to ensure citizens against an economic disaster. The Progressive Movement which targeted urban complications, there was a massive disparity between the wealthy and the poor and the goal was to bring equality into the nation. The movement aimed towards removing corruption and including American citizens into the political process. Additionally, to enforce the government to solve the social issues that were occurring in the late 1800’s and early 20th century, all while balancing impartial treatment into the economic
Industrialization led to the rise of big businesses at the expense of the worker. Factory laborers faced long hours, low wages, and unsanitary conditions. The large corporations protected themselves by allying with political parties. The parties, in turn, were controlled by party leaders, rather than by the members. Many people felt that all power rested with the politicians and businessmen. Reformers known as Progressives attempted to undo the problems caused by industrialization. The Progressive movement sought to end the influence of large corporations, provide more rights and benefits to workers, and end the control possessed by party leaders. At the national level, Progressivism centered on defeating the power of large businesses. The Progressive Era was a period in American history in which improving working conditions, exposing corruption, improving the way of life, expanding democracy, and making reforms were the objectives at hand. With the emergence of the Progressive Era two important figures gradually emerged as well. One of the mentioned figures, President Theodore Roosevelt, succeeded to the Presidency when President McKinley was assassinated in 1901, helped the Progressive movement greatly. Another figure, although a Democrat is Woodrow Wilson who much like Roosevelt still pushed for progressive reforms. Each of the mentioned figures did their share in re-establishing a “fair” government that would work for the people and not for the large corporations and mon...
During the Progressive Era it was a great time for social change, and economic growth in the United States. The movement involved promoters from both the Democratic and Republican parties, as well as members from third parties who concentrated on specific issues. The Progressives were middle-class citizens who’s intent on improving society and saving capitalism in the United States by cutting the worst abuses of the capital system. Several concerns targeted for reform by the Progressives were direct outcomes of the large amount of immigration, and industrialization that was occurring during this time period. Political parties were using the voting base offered by these immigrants to pursue their own goals, often helping the immigrant families