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Difficulty: MediumProgressive 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. He does not run for office; he runs the officeholders. . . . The typical American citizen is the business man. The business man is a busy man; one of the characters of our reform movement is that the busy man has to make money. . . . [H]e leaves the administration of his city to the politicians, who in turn sell it to the utility companies, the transit syndicates, and the builders."

Which of the following reform efforts during the Progressive Era most directly addressed the specific municipal problems described by Steffens in the excerpt?

  1. A
    The mobilization of rural alliances to advocate for the free coinage of silver.
  2. The implementation of commission and city-manager systems of municipal government.Answer
  3. C
    The passage of federal legislation establishing direct welfare payments to urban families.
  4. D
    The reliance on laissez-faire economic policies to encourage competition among local transit lines.

Answer

The implementation of commission and city-manager systems of municipal government.
The correct answer is the implementation of commission and city-manager systems. These reforms were designed to streamline municipal operations, curb the influence of political machines (like Tammany Hall), and place executive power in the hands of trained, non-partisan professionals rather than corrupt politicians who sold franchises to utility and transit companies.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus document for key historical themes.
The excerpt by Lincoln Steffens describes municipal corruption, highlighting how political bosses and machines colluded with private business interests (utility companies, transit syndicates) to control city administrations.
Identifying the core problem in the source is necessary to match it with the correct reform.
2
Evaluate the proposed options against the municipal context of the Progressive Era.
The commission and city-manager systems were local, urban reforms designed to remove partisan politics and boss rule by placing city management in the hands of non-partisan experts.
This step distinguishes local Progressive reforms from federal reforms, Gilded Age Populist initiatives, and later welfare state policies.

Key Concept

Progressive Era municipal and political reforms designed to curb the power of urban political machines.
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Progressive Era Reforms and Influences

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