History
Matthew Mazzotta
6/11/14
HIST-136 In John Milton Cooper Jr’s “Why Wisconsin? The Badger State in the Progressive Era” he talks about why Wisconsin was the leading state in the progressive movement and if it was just by a freak accident or not. Wisconsin became known as the laboratory of democracy around this time period by leading the reform movements that became known as progressivism. Many people like to accredit this to its people’s naturally bright, creative, forward looking attitudes. Yet there was no good reason why Wisconsin should have been the state to take the lead with this movement. Urban reforms are what first made an impact in the change in Wisconsin’s laws. There were many municipal reforms in many of the larger cities and towns but none of them ever grew into full-fledged movements that made it to other cities and states. Wisconsin took the lead in this movement in 1900 when Robert M. La Follette won the governorship at the head of an insurgent republican party that wanted to reform railroad taxation, railroad regulation, and the direct primary. From that moment on Wisconsin would remain at the head of the movement. The timing of this was one of the big factors that contributed to Wisconsin’s success. There were state wide reform movements appearing all over the mid-west, Ohio or Michigan may have beaten Wisconsin to the punch if it wasn’t for La Follette’s election at that time. Historians like to say that a person does not a movement make. But without La Follette Wisconsin probably would never had advanced as far as it did. Another fact that helped Wisconsin enter the reform as early as it did was its relative weakness of the conservative business allied elements that held power in the Republican Party, there was no political machine that ran the state. So clearly Wisconsin’s leading role in the progressive movement was not all due to one man, but that doesn’t make La Follette’s impact in the state any less real. Wisconsin became
6/11/14
HIST-136 In John Milton Cooper Jr’s “Why Wisconsin? The Badger State in the Progressive Era” he talks about why Wisconsin was the leading state in the progressive movement and if it was just by a freak accident or not. Wisconsin became known as the laboratory of democracy around this time period by leading the reform movements that became known as progressivism. Many people like to accredit this to its people’s naturally bright, creative, forward looking attitudes. Yet there was no good reason why Wisconsin should have been the state to take the lead with this movement. Urban reforms are what first made an impact in the change in Wisconsin’s laws. There were many municipal reforms in many of the larger cities and towns but none of them ever grew into full-fledged movements that made it to other cities and states. Wisconsin took the lead in this movement in 1900 when Robert M. La Follette won the governorship at the head of an insurgent republican party that wanted to reform railroad taxation, railroad regulation, and the direct primary. From that moment on Wisconsin would remain at the head of the movement. The timing of this was one of the big factors that contributed to Wisconsin’s success. There were state wide reform movements appearing all over the mid-west, Ohio or Michigan may have beaten Wisconsin to the punch if it wasn’t for La Follette’s election at that time. Historians like to say that a person does not a movement make. But without La Follette Wisconsin probably would never had advanced as far as it did. Another fact that helped Wisconsin enter the reform as early as it did was its relative weakness of the conservative business allied elements that held power in the Republican Party, there was no political machine that ran the state. So clearly Wisconsin’s leading role in the progressive movement was not all due to one man, but that doesn’t make La Follette’s impact in the state any less real. Wisconsin became