The Progressive movement supported the idea that the federal government should do what?

The Progressive movement supported the idea that the federal government should do what?

• A. Deregulate industry
• B. Promote private monopolies
• C. Exports and trade reform
• D. Regulate big business

Answer: (D)

During the Progressive era, reformers believed the federal government should actively regulate big business to curb abuses, protect workers and consumers, and preserve fair competition. They argued that unchecked corporate power led to unfair practices, unsafe products, and corrupt influence over politics, so government oversight was needed to set rules and enforce them. This translated into efforts to break up or restrain trusts, regulate railroads and commerce, and create consumer protections like food and drug safety laws and agencies such as the early regulatory bodies that watched over industry. The idea was that you could improve society by putting boundaries on how large firms operated, ensuring they served the public interest rather than pursuing only profits. Deregulation would move away from these safeguards, promoting private monopolies would contradict the reformist aim, and while some trade questions were debated, the defining Progressive stance centered on federal regulation of industry to curb power and protect the public.

During the Progressive era, reformers believed the federal government should actively regulate big business to curb abuses, protect workers and consumers, and preserve fair competition. They argued that unchecked corporate power led to unfair practices, unsafe products, and corrupt influence over politics, so government oversight was needed to set rules and enforce them. This translated into efforts to break up or restrain trusts, regulate railroads and commerce, and create consumer protections like food and drug safety laws and agencies such as the early regulatory bodies that watched over industry. The idea was that you could improve society by putting boundaries on how large firms operated, ensuring they served the public interest rather than pursuing only profits.

Deregulation would move away from these safeguards, promoting private monopolies would contradict the reformist aim, and while some trade questions were debated, the defining Progressive stance centered on federal regulation of industry to curb power and protect the public.