Chapter 17 Section 1 Critical Thinking #3

Chapter 17 Section 1 Critical Thinking #3

3) Why might Illinois, Wisconsin, and Oregon all be considered trailblazers in progressive reform?
-legislative and electoral reforms at state level
-the leadership of William U’Ren and Robert La Follette
-Florence Kelley’s appointment as chief inspector of factories for Illinois


Illinois, Wisconsin and Oregon could all be considered trailblazers in progressive reform because they were the first to listen to citizens of the country and take action to resolve problems and correct injustices when the other states did nothing about these problems.
One important issue that needed to be addressed in the progressive movement was the treatment of workers. Illinois was the first state to pass an act to protect women and children as workers in factories. Florence Kelley was a women’s and children’s rights activist, and assisted in the passage of the Illinois Factory Act of 1893. The act prohibited child labor and limited women’s work hours. Kelley was appointed chief inspector of factories in Illinois after the act was passed. Many groups had tried to help improve the lives of the working class; the YMCA built libraries and sponsored classes, and the Salvation Army organized “slum brigades” that would tell poor immigrants about the importance of temperance and hard work, as well as feeding the poor in soup kitchens and caring for children in nurseries. But Illinois was the first to take action on state/government level, and the act that they passed set a precedent for other states who passed similar laws (p. 513).
Another important issue of the times was separating corporations and big business from the government. These companies had much more influence than they should over what happened in the state governments, and it was not in the best interest of the people. Wisconsin became one of the first states to take action and change this, under the leadership of Robert M. La Follette, the governor. He believed that it was his duty as governor not to “smash corporations, but merely drive them out of politics, and then treat them exactly the same as other people are treated”. La Follette targeted railroad companies in particular , taxing railroad property, setting up a commission to regulate rates, and making it illegal for railroads to give out free passes to government officials. The work of La Follette and other reform governors like James S. Hogg of Texas and Charles B. Aycock of North Carolina helped to change to unfair influence that corporations and big businesses had over the government, and make the people as powerful they were supposed to be (p. 516).
Oregon was a leader in progressive reform because it was the first state to give its citizens the power to make laws, and be in charge of their elected officials instead of it being the other way around. In Oregon, this state reform was started by William S. U’Ren, a citizen. He got the state to start using the secret ballot, the initiative, the referendum and the recall. These gave the people the power to petition to place a bill on a ballot that was made by the people instead of lawmakers, vote on whether to accept or reject it and to get rid of elected public officials before their term was up by making them go through another election if enough voters requested it. These laws became models for other states, and a total of 20 states had adopted at least one of these by 1920 (p. 518).