Progressive Movements

One major problem that arose in society was monopolies. Monopolies were big companies that would basically control all of the work force and sometimes, influence government decisions by paying them off. These companies were able to overwork the workers and then charge them less money. People were often replaced quickly if they voiced opinion or were shut down by the companies, or government, forces. With monopolies controlling much of American economy progressives sought out ways in which to stop the domination of monopolies.

The ways in which the progressives tried to take down the monopolies was through breaking them up into smaller groups, secret ballots which brought in initiative, referendum, and recall, and direct primaries which reduced the business ownership and limit the dictatorship monopolies had on the economy. Initiative made it so that ideas and situations could be brought up to vote on elections. Referendum made it so that the vote could be done by electoral votes if it was questioned. Recall was the last thing that gave voters the right to remove a public official after a certain number of citizens signed a petition at a special convention.

Due to the progressive inputs, which made the public heavily involved public decisions, the movement became very successful. Monopolies were destroyed and the economy was free to be what it wants to be. The government could no longer be influenced by monopolies and the larger companies, and workers were now treated fairly and regulated through the government.