The Progressive View and the Challenges of a Flawed Democracy Research Paper

The Progressive View and the Challenges of a Flawed Democracy - Research Paper Example Democracy as an American idealism for better services and transparency has been wanting in other sectors. The political party competition championed the spirit of democracy and the freedom of the people in the early 20th century. In 1912, the presidential contenders campaigned on a platform of respect for people’s right and democracy. They urged voters to consider electing people who agitated for the democratic right. Winston won the presidency because he had a progressive agenda. He won the election fighting for a progressive democracy given the country was undergoing difficulties brought by the Industrial Revolution (Milkis, 2012). The political party during the early 20th century were grappling with the threat of democracy. According to Tocqueville, the local government was the groundwork for democracy (Milkis, 2012). However, the federal government was flawed by the influence of large corporations. The corporations influence the day to day running of government because their candidates run over the government. It is these flaws that political parties viewed as a threat to democracy. They rallied their supporter on the promise of introducing trust laws that checked on their activities. The industrial revolution came with the emergence of prominent businessmen who were opulence and connected to political leaders. This period referred to as the ‘Gilded Age’ left the industrial workers and subsistence farmers vulnerable to exploitation. The businessmen corrupted the methods of government and neglected the plight of workers. This was a threat to democracy and Democrats leaders as well as Republicans were viewed to be irresponsible and pursuing their own interest (Milkis, 2012). Democracy has been practiced since the ancient Greeks.