Populism vs. Progressivism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Populism vs. Progressivism - Essay Example emands of the populist movement were direct election of the senators, graduated income tax, Secret Australian ballot, regulation of the railroad and something to do with the ratio of gold and silver in currency notes. The movement failed and dispersed in 1896 when William Jennings Bryan lost the Presidential election. During the 1890s, novelists, journalists and critics investigated and voiced political and social corruption. The educated class of the urban population responded and it slowly grew into the Progressive era. The Progressive era significantly transformed the political structure of the country by bringing the urban population to the central attention of politicians. Reforms sought by the populist movement were attained during the Progressive era and a few other reforms took place too. The 16th Amendment to the constitution brought graduated income tax, 17th brought direct election of senators. Secret Australian ballot was also provisioned and railroads became more regulated. Other reforms include prohibition of alcohol and women’s suffrage by the 18th and 19th amendments respectively. (Hofstadter, 2011) The Progressive era was far more successful than the populist movement. A far better reach and deep penetration into the society are visible reasons behind this phenomenon. Populism was a movement backed by farmers while Progressive movement consisted of educated elites in cities. Internal divisions and divided factions was also a prominent reason why the populist movement did not last