Examkin

Question

Difficulty: EasyProgressive Era Reforms and Influences

Source: Lincoln Steffens, *The Shame of the Cities*, 1904:

"The misgovernment of the American city is an old story... The boss is not a politician; he is a business man who has found that the best way to control the government is to buy it. He does not want office; he wants contracts, franchises, and privileges. The citizen is the boss's partner in crime... The typical American citizen is a business man... he is busy; he has no time for public duty."

Which of the following Progressive Era reforms was most directly designed to address the challenges of municipal corruption described in the excerpt?

  1. The adoption of democratic reforms such as the initiative, referendum, and recallAnswer
  2. B
    The advocacy for the free coinage of silver to increase the money supply
  3. C
    The passage of the Neutrality Acts to prevent foreign business entanglements
  4. D
    The absolute adherence to laissez-faire capitalism to prevent government interference in private enterprises

Answer

The adoption of democratic reforms such as the initiative, referendum, and recall
The correct option is correct because Progressive Era reformers responded to municipal corruption and the influence of political machines by introducing direct democracy reforms. By establishing the initiative, referendum, and recall, reformers sought to empower individual citizens to propose, vote on, and repeal laws, and to remove corrupt officials, thereby bypassing the influence of political bosses.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus
The excerpt by Lincoln Steffens describes how political bosses and business interests corrupted municipal (city) governments and how busy citizens neglected their public duties.
Identifying the central problem of political machine corruption and boss rule in Progressive Era cities is necessary to find the corresponding reform.
2
Identify the Progressive Era solution to municipal corruption
Progressives introduced state and local reforms—such as the initiative (voters propose laws), referendum (voters vote on laws), and recall (voters remove corrupt officials)—to restore power to the citizens.
Connecting the problem of political machines to democratic, voter-empowerment reforms provides the correct historical response.

Key Concept

Progressive Era political reforms aimed at expanding democracy and reducing the power of political machines and corporate bosses.
Rate this question

Topics

Progressive Era Reforms and Influences

More questions from this topic