What did the progressive movement want to reform?

Answer 1

The progressive movement wanted

* income tax with the Sixteenth Amendment * direct election of Senators with the Seventeenth Amendment

* Prohibition with the Eighteenth Amendment * and women's suffrage through the Nineteenth Amendment

Answer 2

Progressives are those who seek to change the country's policies, while the conservatives want to uphold the status quo (keeping things the same). So being progressive means different things between countries and over time. By example, the German nazis where considered progressives before they sieged control over Germany. Once in power after changing all the country's laws, they thus became conservatives, because they wanted to uphold the status quo. In Western Europe a flat income tax (same tax rate for everyone) is considered progressive, because it challenges the status quo. Wanting the same tax system is the US is considered conservative, because here it is the status quo.

I will shed some light on the progressives' point of view for the US in the current time (2012).

Generally they tend to focus on more equality between the rich/poor, sick/healthy and different religions and ethicities. Therefore they want tax rates based on income. This is called a progressive tax system. By example: the current French president wants a personal tax rate of 75% for every dollar you earn above the $1 million line per year. Another Country is the US where Obama wants force to americans to take on an health care insurrances. This dops the average insurrance bill because now also the healthy people have to take on such an insurrance. This would create more equal incomes between the healthy and sick. Bush tried to create more income equality between minorities on the one hand and whites on the other hand by giving cheap and easy house mortgages to the minorities via the Fanny Mae bank.

Besides income equality, progressives also wish for more secularism with a clear distinction between church and state. They don't want any state involvement in religious matters to assure that people can chose their own moral code to follow. Thus no prays on public schools and forbidding religious lobbying in Washington. Or allowing gay marriage, drinking alcohol or abortion.

Another area is pattriotism and nationalism. They also want a more world-view rather than a state-view approach from their society. The hope is that this will increase general knowledge and thus better informed political decisions, which would lead to better protection of the democracy (read fight facism). In practice this means not raising your flag at the start of a school day like they do in Kenya or singing the national anthem to kickstart your schoolday like they do sometimes in the US.

There is another incredible important area for progressives, which is the clear distinction of the state powers (politics, police and judges). They want that each branch of government may not directly influence decisions taken by another one. In the recent years the incredible power of businesses on politics makes progressives want to introduce laws to seperate these two powers to ensure political power stays in the hands of the people. In practice this means establishing anti-lobby laws in Washington or Brussels. These laws do not exists yet, making bribing politicians de facto legal for businesses. The only (international notable) politician to fight lobbying is Ron Paul in the US.

So the areas to they try to reform are: 1) more 'fair' tax systems 2) laws to ensure seperation of state and church 3) decrease unrational nationalism 4) decrease power of businesses on the politics. They believe thís is needed to get a 'better' society.