The advent of progressivism and positive government was a radical departure from the American political tradition. It was a movement to overcome the natural law traditions that were founded by the forefathers and progress beyond the political principles that were established. Progressives believed that the founder's limited constitutional government was inadequate. Progressives sought to update the American tradition from a Jeffersonian way of government that was made for the founding era to a modern and more democratic nation. .
Government was becoming less of a threat and capable of solving issues that are faced every day. The progressives believed that these changes marked the end of the old political order and required new order for the new industrial age. It was not so much that they completely ignored the traditions of the forefathers but they felt that there needed to be change. This change derived from industrialization. Among the progressives are John Dewey, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Herbert Croly whom will be supporting authors for the argument presented. .
In the "Public and its Problems" John Dewey attempts to answer the questions of what democracy requires. Also the steps that the public needs to take in order to obtain the requirements needed in the modern world. He argues that changes in the way we think and nature of society is effective in recognizing what democracy is under new conditions. Democracy requires that individuals participate among themselves and their community. For Dewey, democracy dealt with community life, it is through active participation in both non-political and political activity that an individual can be enriched. John Dewey states that "government exists to serve its community, and that this purpose cannot be achieved unless the community shares in selecting it governors and determining their policies" (445). It is therefore necessary for the public to have knowledge to make the proper judgment.