Describe the political reforms established by the Progressives who dominated state government from 1911 to 1917.

Question

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Answer 1

Progressives reformed many types of laws, which encompassed workers' rights, ownership of public utilities, and more. Their most celebrated reforms concerned elections and parties, which were geared toward ensuring fair political representation. They established direct primaries, elections in which any party member could become a candidate for office and gain the nomination of their fellow party members through winning enough votes, rather than being picked by a party boss. They designated local and judicial elections as nonpartisan, meaning that no party identification would appear next to names listed on the ballot. They created the practice of cross-filing, which allowed any candidates' names to appear on any party's primary election ballot (without party labels), thus enabling candidates to obtain the nomination of more than one party. They also championed civil service reforms, which disallowed parties in power from rewarding their loyalists with government jobs; now such employment had to be earned through demonstration of merit. Most importantly, they adopted direct democracy: the initiative, referendum, and recall. Alien Land Laws, or laws restricting foreigners (Chinese and Japanese specifically), also were created during this era.