As the United States advanced as a nation the Populist and Progressives sought out each other’s differences, but also found significant similarities regarding the rights of the American people and the working class citizen. The Populist Party, established in 1891, signified a radical form of agrarianism that was more in favor of wanting demands met such as direct election of senators, working conditions, and public control of government action. Whereas the Progressive movement believed in problems that society faced as a whole such as government control, and equality in workplaces. The Populist and Progressives are indeed different, however without the Populists, Progressives would not have the structure to have created their movement. All reforms that the Populist desired were listed under the Omaha Platform, even though many requests were denied the …show more content…
The Populist believed in reducing the hours of labor to eight hours so that the working class may receive more freedom. The attempt at reducing work hours became very widespread, especially alluring to a lot of industrial workers. According to the Constitution of the Knights of Labor, “The reduction of the hours of labor to eight per day, so that the laborers may have more time for social enjoyment and intellectual improvement…” (Doc 12) Granting the average worker to eight-hour work days, workers were allowed opportunities for the remaining hours on what they wanted to do with it such as spend family time, finding another job, or just lounging around. Just like the Progressives who took up the idea of providing workers with an eight-hour work day because it was something that appealed to the working class and leaned toward industrialization. The progressive movement took into consideration that the working class deserved a safer working environment and better working