Role Of Government During The Progressive Era

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Question 1. The progressive period in US history started in the 1890s and remained current through the 1920s. Progressive leaders in the US include President Teddy Roosevelt, President William Howard Taft, and President Woodrow Willson. The main objective of progressives was to rid the government of corruption. These progressive leaders targeted political machines and worked to rid the country of monopolistic enterprises that were exploiting regular citizens. Question 2. Initiatives, referendums and recalls were devised to take power from corrupt politicians and give it back to ordinary citizens. Initiatives were a procedure by which a legislative measure could be originated by the people rather than corrupt lawmakers. Referendums were a procedure by which a proposed legislative measure could be submitted to a vote by the people. A recall was a procedure to remove a public official (politician) from office by a vote of the people. …show more content…

3. The American people began to embrace the role of government during the progressive era to address poverty, poor health, violence, greed, racism, and class warfare. The American people came to understand that government was best positioned to improve education for regular Americans, protect them from street gangs and mobsters, ensure that that the workplace was safe, and that government was not rampant with corruption. As example, the FDA was created during the progressive era because of horrible things happening in the meat industry during this period in American