Governors and the Progressive Movement

By the late 1800s many American states were overpowered by private interests. Corporations were able to dominate state legislatures, which passed laws favorable to business interests. Party bosses often controlled the processes of candidate nomination and focused more on building loyalty to the party than enacting responsive public policy. Problems such as infrastructure were not dealt with. Many sensed that the concerns of the general public did not play a significant role in government decision making. People felt considerable frustration with the performance of state governments. The Progressive movement emerged as a response to these concerns. A central concern of the movement was reforming the political process to make it more accessible and responsive to the public. From 1890 through 1920, this movement played a major role in changing the political process in many states. A major issue was whether existing politicians would provide enough support to make changes. State legislatures had reputations as being comfortable with being dominated by private interests. Governors became significant leaders in enacting change. Many made reforming government a central focus during their time in office, and many were able to make significant changes. This book provides a detailed review of the specific actions that governors took to change public policy and political processes. Governors pressured state legislatures to spend more money on education, highways, health, corrections, and social welfare. States enacted the direct primary as a means of selecting candidates, reducing the power of party bosses. They established civil service systems for filling government positions, reducing the extent of patronage and the power of party leaders. The initiative and referendum increased voters’ ability to initiate policy changes or react to proposed policies. The movement spurred more efforts to regulate railroads and other large corporations. The reformers also attempted to regulate the morals of the public by banning alcohol and limiting gambling and prostitution

Government (linguistics · Legislature · Nomination · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Sociology · State (computer science · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Law · Public Administration