As the 1800s came closer and the beginning of a new century appeared, America experienced many problems due to rapid urbanization, industrialization, and immigration. As a result, many Americans found it very hard to make changes in society to improve life for everyone. These Americans were known as Progressives and they pushed for reform aggressively. One of the most famous Progressives was our 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt. He prompted reform in many different areas and as a result created his own political party, The Progressive Party, nicknamed The Bull Moose Party. The Progressives wanted to control many economical issues that were impacting society. Its platform included women's suffrage, tariff reduction, stricter regulations on businesses, a ban on child labor, an eight-hour work day, a federal workers' compensation program, and the direct election of senators. Political machines - powerful organizations linked to political parties - controlled local government in many cities. In each ward, or political district, within a city, a machine representative controlled jobs and services. This representative was the political boss. The bosses gained votes for their parties by doing favors for the people such as offering turkey dinners and summer boat rides, providing jobs for immigrants, and helping needy families. A political boss was often a citizen’s closest link with local government. Although they did help people, many bosses were dishonest. Robert la Follette led Wisconsin’s reformminded Republicans. “Fighting Bob’s”, as he was called, won the support of farmers and workers with his fiery attacks on big businesses and the railroads. He served as Wisconsin’s governor from 1900 to 1906 and then he served four terms in Washington D.C., as one of Wisconsin’s senators. While governor, La Follete brought about significant reforms- raising taxes for corporations and improving the civil service. “Fighting Bob’s” greatest achievement, however, was reforming the state electoral system. Candidates for general elections in Wisconsin had been chosen at state conventions run by party bosses’. La Follette introduced a direct primary election, allowing the state’s voters to choose their party’s candidates. Reformers in other states copied this “Wisconsin idea”. In 1904, female journalist Ida Tarbell exposed the unfair business practices of the Standard Oil Company. As a result of her expose, the government prosecuted the company under anti-trust legislation. As people became aware of these problems, large numbers, particularly from the middle-class, worked to reform the nation, at the local, state, and federal levels. Reformers sought to improve living and working conditions for working-class Americans. They sought to eliminate waste and corruption in municipal governments. They sought to break up trusts and regulate private industry. They sought to improve public health, education, and sanitation. Many sought to conserve the environment. Reformers were successful in implementing reform legislation at all levels of government. At the federal level, progressives were successful in passing the Sixteenth Amendment (1913), which allowed for an income tax, the Seventeenth Amendment (1913), which allowed citizens to elect Senators directly, the Eighteenth Amendment (1919), which prohibited the sale of alcohol, and the Nineteenth Amendment (1920), which enfranchised women. Many historians argue that reformers from the Progressive Era laid the groundwork for Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” programs of the 1930s. After the actions that Theodore Roosevelt implied some people were left out. Those people were Native Americans, Asians, Hispanics, Catholics, and the Irish. In conclusion I believe that the Progressive Era was an era of progress, and solid governmental construction for a safer and better country. I believe there’s a reason to why this country is the place where all your dreams imaginable become true. What really makes me sad is that many people were left out from the reforms like the one I recently just mentioned above. Native Americans are native to this country and even like that they didn’t award themselves rights until late. These people were NATIVE to this country, meaning they were born here and they developed their civilizations that were taken away on their own without the help of the English or French or anybody but themselves. I believe that they should have stood up for themselves, but otherwise the ideas that Theodore came up with could not have been planted without any more success and achievement.