Periods 1-2: Government Reform

Hey everyone! Today we discussed various innovations and inventions that were created during the Progressive Era. These inventions were made to make life easier and more efficient for all. This idea is going to spill into politics. We learned about the three types of government systems that became common during this time period: the commission system, the mayor-council system, and the council-manager system.

In response to government corruption at the time (including the influence of political machines in local, state, and national government), people also began to push for more reforms that forced government to include participation of voters. Among these were ideas that allowed voters to create and vote on legislation, as well as remove political figures. The following are examples:

1.) Initiatives- A concept in which citizens could petition the government to vote on a specific law. If a certain amount of people support the initiative, legislators must take the issue and vote on it.

2.) Referendums- A concept in which citizens (if a certain amount are in support) can take a law that has been passed and force the legislators to submit it to the public for a vote.

3.) Recall- a concept in which citizens (if a certain amount are in support) can force the government to hold a special election to remove a political figure before his/her term has ended.

As we can see, this allows the public to have more representation within local governments.

After this long blog post, here is your assignment: you must research and find the answers to the following questions. I will check and discuss next class.

1.) What type of government system (one of the three we have discussed) does your town have? How is your local government organized? Is your local town government effective in passing laws and achieving its goals?

2.) Research a recent event (within the past 5 months or in the near future) in which the referendum, initiative, or recall was used) and explain the results

3.) We have discussed how local and state governments became more involved with the American public. By the 1910s, the national government also increased the public's power over representation. Please research the 16-17th Amendments and explain how each one either created a more efficient government or decreased the power of corrupt governments).

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me! Have a great day!

~Mr. Mazur

P.S.- Your muckraker assignments are due on Monday. Please make sure you abide by the school rules and keep these projects school-appropriate. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email me.