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2.4: The Progressive Reforms

  • Page ID
    179211

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    Direct Democracy Reforms the 1879 Constitution

    After the Constitution of 1879, several trends propelled California toward adopting many of the nationwide reform efforts that historians collectively characterize as Progressivism or the Progressive era. First, California’s rapid population growth, economic development, and incorporation into the national economy established the preconditions whereby progressive ideas gained a following in California. Second, just as California’s politics reflected national trends, the gender politics within the state also reflected the more prominent national struggles regarding this issue. Third, the Constitution of 1879 provided a historical precedent for progressives' open-ended reforms of California politics. When social and economic forces in opposition to the railroad grew in strength, the Progressives succeeded. Let’s examine each of these trends.


    This page titled 2.4: The Progressive Reforms is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Steven Reti.