Progressives also changed the rules of government itself. Some reforms needed only state laws; others needed amendments to the Constitution, which had not been amended since 1870.
Key idea
Four amendments in seven years: the Sixteenth (federal income tax, 1913), Seventeenth (senators elected by the voters, 1913), Eighteenth (Prohibition, 1919) and Nineteenth (women's suffrage, 1920). Many states also adopted the initiative, referendum, recall and direct primary.
| Reform | What it lets voters do | Early example |
|---|---|---|
| Initiative | Propose a law by petition and vote on it | South Dakota (1898), Oregon (1902) |
| Referendum | Vote on a law the legislature passed | Oregon (1902) |
| Recall | Remove an official before the term ends, by petition and vote | Los Angeles (1903), Oregon (1908) |
| Direct primary | Choose party nominees by vote instead of by party bosses | Wisconsin (1903), under Robert La Follette |
Why it works
Why these changes? Progressives believed bosses, machines and big money stood between the people and their government. State legislatures that chose senators were often bribed or deadlocked, so the Seventeenth Amendment gave the choice to the voters. The Supreme Court had struck down a federal income tax in 1895, so the Sixteenth Amendment allowed one without dividing it among the states by population. Reformers saw drinking as a cause of poverty and family violence, so the Eighteenth Amendment banned making, selling and transporting alcohol. Women argued that voting was their right and that they would help clean up politics.
Work it through
Worked example: Which tool?
Voters in a state collect signatures to put a new minimum-wage law on the ballot and pass it themselves. Which reform did they use?
- They did not vote on a law the legislature passed (that is a referendum).
- They did not remove an official (recall).
- Proposing and passing their own law by petition is the initiative.
Answer: The initiative.
Common mistake
Many students think senators were always elected by voters. Under the original Constitution (Article I, Section 3), state legislatures chose senators. The Seventeenth Amendment (1913) changed that. Another mix-up: Prohibition was the Eighteenth Amendment and was repealed by the Twenty-first (1933); it is the only amendment ever repealed.