Today is Friday the 13th! Because I don't believe in "bad luck" or superstition that is linked to Friday the thirteenths, I feel that today is like any other day. Everyone in our class has finished our presentations about chapter 9. Our class isn't very big so we have a bunch of topics that haven't been covered yet. Mr. Bruns filled in the blanks with a presentation of his own.5.) What did the progressives do to make our country more democratic?Progressives made America more democratic in many ways. Progressives were able to establish a secret ballot. This ensured that only the person who is voting has any idea who he or she is voting for. No one else has any authority or chance to know who is voting for what.Progressives also established Initiative and Referendum. These two policies gave a lot of new power to the American people, and greatly reduced the power and authority of political machines. Initiative gave the common American the ability to propose a plan or bill or law or policy and present it to congress and the country. Referendum gave the American people the right to vote on those laws, or bill sor policies or plans.Recall is another thing that Progressives established. Recall gives the American people the ability to removed public officials from office through a selective vote. Open Primaries were also established. Open Primaries gave the people the right to produce public office candidates and to vote for them themselves instead of the candidates being elected by rich people hoping to benefit from the official's power.13.) Describe the impact that aid organizations had on our country.Aid organizations did many things for the people of America. The Progressives started the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) to help young men get on the right path in society. Similar programs gave food to the poor, shelter for the homeless, religious teachings, guidance, protection, education, daycare, health care, and many other aid type things.These aid groups were being erected because of the social imbalance in American society. There were few wealthy people, and these people used their wealth and power to manipulate the poor and middle class for their own gain. The Progressives sought to counteract these imbalances with child labor laws, regulating railroad prices, workers compensation, and reduced working hours for men and women.16.) What did businesses do to bring better efficiencies to their business?Business expert Frederick Taylor realized, “Time is Money”. He conducted many studies to see how he could improve the efficiency of the workplace. Assembly lines were created. Workers would be broken up into groups to perform different tasks in the process of making a product. This saved much more time then each individual worker building a whole product. Companies began to change the layout of their factories to allow for easier access for workers who could save much more time by getting from point A to point B in a simple fashion.Henry Ford adopted a $5 a day plan for his workers. Ford had very little trouble finding new workers to build his cars. He figured that if all of his workers were paid well, they would have the initiative to work harder, and, if they had some extra spending money, they would be able to buy his cars as well. Happy workers are efficient workers.18.) What did local and state governments do to reform itself during the ProgressiveLocal and state government adopted new policies to reform the society. Progressives established the secret ballot, initiative, referendum, and recall to help reform the government. The common American people were given more power than they had previously known. This made Americans more trustworthy of the government. Cooperation between the people and the government caused a greater reform.The 17th Amendment called for the direct election of senators and other public officials through popular vote by the citizens of the United States of America. The Penalton Civil Service Act eradicated patronage from the government. This act also made it law that people must take a qualification test to get a job.
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