“When legislatures will boldly repudiate their constituents and violate the pledges of their platforms, then indeed have the servants become the masters, and the people ceased to be sovereign; -- gone the government of equal rights and equal responsibilities, lost the jewel of constitutional liberty.” (“The Danger Threatening Representative Government”)
The Progressive Era was a period of mass social and political reform in the early 20th century. There were multiple reform movements occurring at once, including women’s rights reform, antitrust movements, along with many others. Robert La Follette was one of the first and major participants in political reform during the Progressive Era. Associated with the Republican Party for the majority of his political career, La Follette was known for his opposition to big corporations…show more content… La Follette”). In his autobiography, he writes, “I aimed, therefore, in my message, not to make a general attack upon the railroads, but rather to set forth the exact conditions regarding railroad rates and services. I presented fifteen different statistical tables, carefully prepared, demonstrating the excessive transportation charges imposed by the railroads upon the people of the state” (Autobiography: a Personal Narrative of Political Experiences). La Follette felt that his constituents were especially vulnerable to the conditions and rates of the railroads (Watkins). Feeling that this was unfair to the people of his state, he fought against the railway corporations for just railroad regulations that would protect the people. Instead of verbal attacks, however, he used data on railroads rates to leverage his idea of the railroads being unjust to the people. He successfully won this battle by strengthening Wisconsin’s Railroad Commission (Autobiography: a Personal Narrative of Political
