As the 19th century drew to a close, a new era, known as the Progressive Era, emerged in response to industrialization. This early 20th century reform movement sought control of government in the hands of the people. In order to restore economic opportunities and correct injustices in American life. Progressives believed that government could be used as a powerful tool for social improvement (Gillon, Matson 2009). Although the progressive ideal was presented by numerous progressive authors of different genres, together they all presented the impact of economic, political, social, and moral reforms on American society. Progressive authors were organized according to the challenges on which they offered their views, including psychological and sociological, economic and historical, legal and religious. The first progressive psychological author, William James, laid the foundation for much of progressive thought in his book Principle of Psychology (1890). Throughout the book James challenges the fortitude and pessimism of social Darwinists, arguing that humans could control their own process of evolution. The other psychological author, Lester Frank Ward, wrote Dynamic Sociology (1883). Ward also supported the Social Darwinism conjecture and that he underestimated the capabilities of human intelligence. According to Ward, human intelligence could alter the environment and improve society (Gillon, Matson 2009). The second group of authors had a quite different approach than the others, presenting economic and historical challenges. Author Thorstein Veblen composed two books, Theory of the Recreational Class (1899) and Theory of Commercial Enterprise (1904). Veblen's influential voice offered an antidote to laisse... middle of paper... modernizing state government with his reform agenda that included laws improving civil services. La Follette developed the Wisconsin Idea, which included workers' compensation; primary elections, state regulations on railroads, and progressive taxation where the wealthy have a higher tax rate. Wisconsin's idea quickly spread to other states and was a major proponent of the Progressive Era (Gillon, Matson 2009). The Progressive Era had a major impact on late 19th and early 20th century America. Social change loomed to protect American citizens. There were politically implemented laws to allow citizens to make their voices heard. Intellectually the education system has been modified to give more authority and awareness to the common man. Economic campaign advertisements were used to generate thousands of new supporters.