Changes

A central theme of the Progressive era was fear of corruption, one of the core ideas of republicanism since the 1770s.  The Progressives restructured the political system to defeat corrupt bosses (for example, by the direct election of Senators), to remove corrupt influence like saloons (through prohibition) and bringing in new, purer voters (woman suffrage).).<ref>Richard Jensen, "Democracy, Republicanism and Efficiency: The Values of American Politics, 1885-1930," in Byron Shafer and Anthony Badger, eds, ''Contesting Democracy: Substance and Structure in American Political History, 1775-2000'' (U of Kansas Press, 2001) pp 149-180.[http://www.uic.edu/~rjensen/rj0025.htm online version]</ref>  Debate erupted in 1917 over [[Woodrow Wilson]]'s proposal to draft men for the U.S. Army.  Many said it violated the republican notion of freely given civic duty to force people to serve.  The solution was to set it up so that each draftee voluntarily "stepped forward" to perform his civic duty.<ref>John Whiteclay II Chambers,''To Raise An Army: The Draft Comes to Modern America'' (1987)</ref>

A central theme of the Progressive era was fear of corruption, one of the core ideas of republicanism since the 1770s.  The Progressives restructured the political system to defeat corrupt bosses (for example, by the direct election of Senators), to remove corrupt influence like saloons (through prohibition) and bringing in new, purer voters (woman suffrage).).<ref>Richard Jensen, "Democracy, Republicanism and Efficiency: The Values of American Politics, 1885-1930," in Byron Shafer and Anthony Badger, eds, ''Contesting Democracy: Substance and Structure in American Political History, 1775-2000'' (U of Kansas Press, 2001) pp 149-180.[http://www.uic.edu/~rjensen/rj0025.htm online version]</ref>  Debate erupted in 1917 over [[Woodrow Wilson]]'s proposal to draft men for the U.S. Army.  Many said it violated the republican notion of freely given civic duty to force people to serve.  The solution was to set it up so that each draftee voluntarily "stepped forward" to perform his civic duty.<ref>John Whiteclay II Chambers,''To Raise An Army: The Draft Comes to Modern America'' (1987)</ref>

Another form of corruption was the trust--the giant business enterprise that crushed its competition. Some reformers adopted the "Iowa idea" that linked the cause of the trusts to high tariffs. Others denounced "robber barons," artfully combining crime and aristocracy. [[John D. Rockefeller]] and his [[Standard Oil Company]] were favorite targets.<ref>  Roger M. Olien and Olien, Diana Davids.  ''Oil and Ideology: The Cultural Creation of the American Petroleum Industry.'' (2000) p. 103</ref>

Another form of corruption was the trust--the giant business enterprise that crushed its competition. Some reformers adopted the "Iowa idea" that linked the cause of the trusts to high tariffs. Others denounced "robber barons," artfully combining crime and aristocracy. [[John D. Rockefeller]] and his [[Standard Oil Company]] were favorite targets.<ref>  Roger M. Olien and Olien, Diana Davids.  ''Oil and Ideology: The Cultural Creation of the American Petroleum Industry.'' (2000) p. 103</ref>