INFLUENCE OF THE PROGRESSIVES ON AMERICAN POLITICS

Posted: March 26th, 2020

INFLUENCE OF THE PROGRESSIVES ON AMERICAN POLITICS

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Influence of the Progressives on American Politics

The Progressive period was characterized by extensive social activism as well as political reformations that took place between the 1890s and the 1920s over the United States. The key aim of the Progressives involved the eradication of corruption and fraud in government. This involved carrying out an intellectual assault on the political machinery and their respective leaders. The elimination of such corrupt representatives was further based on achieving a direct means of democracy. Aside from the calls for the elimination of corruption, supporters of the Progressive period sought regulation for corporations and monopolies via antitrust laws. Such rules were viewed as a means of promoting fair and equivalent competition for the benefit of the customers. Moreover, Progressives facilitated the measure of Prohibition within America in order to annihilate the political authority of domestic superiors instituted within saloons. As such, progressivism was responsible for shaping American politics significantly.

The Progressives imposed profound implications on the American government. Their intolerance with the Constitution at the time, their aversion to a system of checks and balances within the government, and the yearning to delegate authority to managerial professionals all posed a lasting effect on contemporary politics due to the spread of the respective movement in consecutive tolerant waves all through the 20^th and the 21^st centuries. Despite its considerable effects on the national government, the Progressives possessed a fundamental and immediate implication on local and state governments. Undeniably, while presidents who supported the Progressive movement such as Woodrow Wilson administered considerable policy accomplishments such as the Federal Reserve Act, the National Income Tax, and the Federal Trade Commission Act, they were still incapable of achieving structural changes within the American government.

Despite lesser implications imposed on the national government by the Progressive-based regulations, Senators were capable of facing direct election within the Seventeenth Amendment. Nevertheless, the Progressives were capable of pushing through comprehensive structural modifications. Most of these alterations pertained to the normal manner in which a large number of Americans relate with government. Such changes eventually became a recognizable aspect of the political participation of Americans to the point that departure from constitutional principles would be hardly noticed. For instance, concepts such as the minority’s tyranny became a common aspect that needed to be rooted out among the masses. Progressives such as Theodore Roosevelt influenced measures that aimed at the regulation of corporations as well as propertied interests. Because of such influences, American politics became a highly intensive affair with the masses urging the government to assume a direct role in implementing the approaches once advocated by Theodore Roosevelt.

Consequently, Progressives also assumed a role in influencing the responsibility of political parties. For example, legislators at the time were considerably beholden to party leaders who were unelected and as such, unresponsive to societal opinion. Approaches that resulted from such occurrences focused on the employment of measures that would decrease the authority possessed by political parties and link political candidates in close proximity to voters. For the Progressives, the filtration of public opinion via political organizations resulted in the stifling of public will collectively. For them, human nature was progressive to the extent whereby the democratic majority gained trust with a more straightforward control of the government. In this respect, referendums became a considerable part of American politics for purposes of circumventing irresponsible party leaders. Along with referendums, Progressives also influenced the adoption of the ballot initiatives.

In conclusion, the Progressives influenced American politics considerably. A large part of the political processes that are practiced in the contemporary government occurred as an outcome of the initiatives that Progressive enthusiasts such as Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt proposed and later implemented while serving as presidents respectively. Accordingly, the Progressive epoch led to the integration of antitrust laws, which were aimed at establishing a balanced competitive space for corporations and enterprises alike. In addition, referendums and ballot initiatives emerged as strong measures that positioned legislation as well as constitutional amendments before the nation’s voters.