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The Seventeenth Amendment And The Voting Process During The Gilded Age

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During the Progressive era, the role of our federal government was being rethought—the “…traditional assumption that a powerful government posed a threat to freedom” (Foner 699) was beginning to be rejected. During this time, citizens of the United States began to realize that they needed more political freedom in order to obtain a government that worked for and with them, not one that was overrun by corporate mongrels as seen during the Gilded Age. As a step towards change, in early 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment was ratified, and it was something that would expand political freedom like never before. The Seventeenth Amendment changed our election process—senators would now be chosen by popular vote instead of directly by state legislators. In addition to this, some states even introduced the systems of initiative, referendum, and recall. The three allowed voters to “…propose …show more content…

For the first time in our nation’s short history, citizen’s voices were beginning to have more and more of an influence on our governing body. However, during this era, political freedoms were also being restricted. Despite the Fifteenth Amendment granting the right to vote to all male citizens, some—specifically those who were black or poor—were discouraged or even barred from voting due to “…literacy tests and residency and registration requirements” (Foner 701). Despite gaining political freedoms during the Progressive era, many were still restricted from doing so. Much like political freedoms, there were also expansions and restrictions of economic freedoms during the Progressive Era as well.

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The Bourbon Democrats bolstered a free market approach, with low levies, low charges, less spending and, as a rule, a Laissez-Faire (hands-off) government. They contended that levies made most products more costly for the shopper and financed the trusts (syndications). They additionally reproved dominion and abroad extension. By difference Republicans demanded that national success relied on upon industry that paid high wages, and cautioned that bringing down the duty would be a fiasco since merchandise made by low-wage European assembly line laborers would surge American markets. The political history of the Gilded Age is normally lessened to a story of debasement and outrage.

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But, when these officials were elected to Congress, they passed the “black codes” and thus the relations between the president and legislators became worst (Schriefer, Sivell and Arch R1). These so called “Black Codes” were “a series of laws to deprive blacks of their constitutional rights” that they were enacted mainly by Deep South legislatures. Black Codes differ from a state to another but they were stricter in the Deep South as they were sometimes irrationally austere. (Hazen 30) Furthermore, with the emergence of organizations such as the Red Shirts and the White League with the rise of the Conservative White Democrats’ power, efforts to prevent Black Americans from voting were escalating (Watts 247), even if the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S constitution that gave the Blacks the right to vote had been ratified in 1870.

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One hundred years after the Constitution was ratified, a political party emerged that threatened to destroy it: the Progressive party. The Progressive party was built upon the idea that the American government is not doing anything to help the country move forward. They believe that there must be moving forward for the “…uplift and betterment of mankind…”(PR pg. 319). They believe that the government of the founding fathers is not keeping up with the rapid changes in society and that it must adapt to the new challenges (PR pg. 333). Although both the progressive party and the founding fathers declare that they want to guard against tyranny and uphold the good of the people, they have different approaches to the issue.

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According to Source 1b, the 17th Amendment would give the people more say in the senate and government. Not only would the people be able to elect 2 senators to be members of the senate of the United States, but each of those senators would only have 1 vote. Therefore, political debates were easier to participate in and were made out to be more fair to the people and the government itself. Speaking of voting, voting reforms like the direct, primary, initiative, referendum, and recall were made to make voting life easier as well. Initiative, referendum, and recall are three powers that gave the people, by petition, the ability to remove an elected official from

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