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Progressive
Chairperson John Hickenlooper
Founder Davis Hanson Waite
Founded June 14, 1900
Merger of People's Party
Christian Progressive League
Headquarters 789 Sherman Street, Suite 110, Denver, AR, Jefferson
Student wing Students for Progress
Youth wing Young Progressives
Ideology Modern liberalism
Third Way
Progressivism
Pro-Americanism
Factions:
Neoliberalism
Social democracy
Centrism
Left-wing populism (formerly)
Social conservatism (formerly)
International affiliation Progressive Alliance
Liberal International
Official colors      Light green
General Assembly
60 / 185

The Progressive Party is a center-left political party in Jefferson. Founded in 1900, it has grown to be one of the three major parties in Jefferson, along with the Libertarian Party and the National Constitution Party.

The Progressive Party was formed by a merger of the People's Party, a left-wing populist party, and the Christian Progressive League, a group of temperance organizations that supported Prohibition and progressive social reforms. Both parties, while having different goals in some areas, supported reforms to promote social justice and greater political and economic equality. The party rapidly grew, and in 1930, shortly after the beginning of the Great Depression, the party's nominee, Edward Costigan, was elected president. The Costigan administration put in place major economic reforms, including the establishment of Jefferson's welfare state, and championed civil rights.

The Progressive Party's current platform, adopted at the 2014 Progressive National Convention, includes support for social programs, universal health care, equal opportunity, and environmental protection, along with social liberal policies including legal abortion and same-sex marriage. The party was originally supported by conservative Christian pietists and poor farmers, but, as it grew and developed a more cohesive movement in support of progressive policies, it lost support among many conservatives who supported moralist social policies, and gained support among African-Jeffersonians, and now has a reliable base among youth, African-Jeffersonians, Hispanic-Jeffersonians, and the LGBT community.

History[]

Creation[]

The Progressive Party originated as a big tent party of social and economic reformers. The People's Party was formed in 1888 in response to the growth of industry and its effects on farmers and laborers. It supported popular democracy and protectionism. The Christian Progressive League was established in 1883, unifying various small temperance parties. These parties soon became the two main third parties in Jeffersonian politics, but were able to achieve little. In 1900, Davis Hanson Waite, the leader of the People's Party, proposed the unification of these parties to strengthen their push for reforms. At the Aspen Convention, members of both parties officially established the Progressive Party. Many members of the People's Party believed that this would diminish the party's support for labor unions and individual liberties, and left the party to form the People's Labor Party, which joined the Democratic Party in 1909, while many members of the Christian Progressive League thought that the merger would decrease the party's support of Prohibition, as it later did, and left the party and formed the National Temperance Party, which later joined the Republican Party in 1921.

1900-1917[]

The Progressive Party's popular support was small at the time of its establishment, but it soon began to grow rapidly as its ranks swelled with populist Democrats and progressive Republicans, and its ideology became more coherent. Opposition from Progressives forced the Democratic Party to support some fiscally liberal policies, however support for the Progressive Party continued to grow. The Progressive Party supported interventionism, and pushed for Jefferson's entry into World War I, contrary to the Guggenheim Doctrine, which declared that Jefferson would only enter a war that directly threatened it. However, the discovery of the Zimmerman Telegram, which offered lands bordering or possibly including Jefferson's territory to Mexico in exchange for aid to Germany led to increased support for war, and the General Assembly voted to declare war on Germany. President Shafroth signed the declaration on April 8, 1917.

1917-1930[]

The Progressive Party continued to push for economic and political reforms after World War I, however the post-war prosperity led to a growth of support for pro-business policies espoused by the Republican Party and classical liberal Democrats. The Democratic Party, having lost much of its populist branch to the Progressive Party, dissolved in 1927 and was reestablished as the Liberal Party to attract moderate Republicans. In 1929, the Great Depression led to a major growth of support for progressive economic policies, and in the 1930 election, Edward Costigan, the Progressive candidate, was elected in a landslide. He put in place economic regulations and Keynesian policies to rebuild the economy.

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