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DBQ: The Progressive Era

Decent Essays

The Progressive Era from 1890-1920, was the response to the issues and injustices created by industrialization and modernization. The country had made sweeping advancements in the previous years, yet neglected to address the downfalls of the time period. However, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the United States as a whole, worked together towards achieving effective reform. Two of the main goals were restoring economic competition and making the government more effective and democratic. Although a lot of reform efforts were enacted, a large portion of those efforts fell short of fully achieving their purpose. Overall, the progressives did not effectively achieve their goals in regard to the economy and government. …show more content…

In doing so, political parties could ensure they held power regardless of public opinion. Those who counted the vote had the power to dictate the outcome. In an attempt to counteract and put an end to these activities, the citizens had to speak up and become more active in their government. Reformers implemented the concepts of initiative, referendum, and recall. Initiative petitioned a legislature to introduce a bill, making people more responsible for laws and political decisions. Referendums allowed citizens to vote on laws instead of state or national governments. Finally, recall allowed citizens to remove incompetent politicians from office with a second election. These practices did make progress, however, they lacked the power to truly investigate and exterminate the problem as a whole. They could adjust issues that were already present, but they did little to prevent future corruption. Similar to ending political corruption, the push for the direct election of senators through primary elections was an attempt get the citizens more active and promote democracy. Previously, senators were elected by legislators already in office; not the people. The Constitution stated, “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature.” This led to legislatures electing individuals who they believed would be the best fit. To solve the problem, reformers pushed for the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment. This adjustment to the Constitution states, “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people” (Document C). By passing this amendment, the progressives had won a major victory. However, the amendment did little to make the government more democratic and nearly nothing to make it more efficient. Although the people had a

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