Figure 1, President Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot, full-length portrait from behind, standing on deck of steamer Mississippi, during tour of Inland Waterways Commission

Introduction

Progressivism is like pornography, hard to define but you know it when you see it. It certainly embraced ideas such as progress, regulation, democracy, commissions, conservation, opportunity and modernity but how these would be implemented was not clear. Progressivism, unlike many earlier and later social movements, attracted such a wide range of supporters, held so many complementary as well contradictory ideas and crossed so many political identities that it is not possible to really delineate a prototypical progressive or write the definitive progressive platform. However, despite this seemingly dubious foundation progressivism was a long-lived and fundamentally successful movement, which has left a legacy still felt today. For example, in the 2004 Wisconsin Democratic primary Republicans were allowed to vote, this is the heritage of Robert M. La Follette and the progressive concept of the open primary as a means of combating the excessive power of machine party politics. Also the simple fact that the 2004 Democratic candidate for president will be chosen primarily by direct primaries, and not by various political machines is also a inheritance of the progressives. In 2003, for the first time, California recalled its governor using a progressive reform, the recall election, this reform measure was passed during the administration of progressive governor Hiram Johnson. Elected in 1910 his administration also requested and received legislation granting the Golden State the referendum and the initiative. California’s second movie star governor was not only elected by means of a progressive measure but is using another in an attempt to solve the state’s budget crisis. He is campaigning in promotion of a ballot initiative aimed at passing a bond to refinance the state’s debt, which if successful will neatly by pass the state legislature and be enacted as a direct result of an appeal to direct popular support. Calling on an informed citizenry to correct the failures of the political system is classic progressivism.

Figure 2, Robert M. La Follette, Progressive Presidential candidate in 1924, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society