The Progressive Era was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States that spanned from the 1890s to the 1920s.[1] The main objectives of the Progressive movement were eliminating problems caused by industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and political corruption. The movement primarily targeted political machines and their bosses. By taking down these corrupt representatives in office, a further means of direct democracy would be established. They also sought regulation of monopolies (trust busting) and corporations through antitrust laws, which were seen as a way to promote equal competition for the advantage of legitimate competitors.
Many progressives supported prohibition of alcoholic beverages, ostensibly to destroy the political power of local bosses based in saloons, but others out of a religious motivation.[2] At the same time, women's suffrage was promoted to bring a "purer" female vote into the arena.[3] A third theme was building an Efficiency Movement in every sector that could identify old ways that needed modernizing, and bring to bear scientific, medical and engineering solutions; a key part of the efficiency movement was scientific management, or "Taylorism". The middle class was in charge for helping reform the Progressive Era, and they got stuck with all of the burdens of this reformation. In Michael McGerr's book <em>A Fierce Discontent</em>, Jane Addams stated that she believed in the necessity of "association" of stepping across the social boundaries of industrial America.[4]
Many activists joined efforts to reform local government, public education, medicine, finance, insurance, industry, railroads, churches, and many other areas. Progressives transformed, professionalized and made "scientific" the social sciences, especially history,[5] economics,[6] and political science.[7] In academic fields the day of the amateur author gave way to the research professor who published in the new scholarly journals and presses. The national political leaders included Republicans Theodore Roosevelt, Robert M. La Follette Sr., and Charles Evans Hughes and Democrats William Jennings Bryan, Woodrow Wilson and Al Smith. Leaders of the movement also existed far from presidential politics: Jane Addams, Grace Abbott, Edith Abbott and Sophonisba Breckinridge were among the most influential non-governmental Progressive Era reformers.
Initially the movement operated chiefly at local level, but later it expanded to state and national levels. Progressives drew support from the middle class, and supporters included many lawyers, teachers, physicians, ministers, and business people.[8] Some Progressives strongly supported scientific methods as applied to economics, government, industry, finance, medicine, schooling, theology, education, and even the family. They closely followed advances underway at the time in Western Europe[9] and adopted numerous policies, such as a major transformation of the banking system by creating the Federal Reserve System in 1913[10] and the arrival of cooperative banking in the US with the founding of the first credit union in 1908.[11] Reformers felt that old-fashioned ways meant waste and inefficiency, and eagerly sought out the "one best system"