ABSTRACT
The conservative and frugal policies of the years immediately after Reconstruction were not acceptable to many Texans. Often desperately poor and convinced that their plight was both unfair and unjustified, they began as early as the 1870s to seek, without much success, government intervention to improve their circumstances. Business regulation continued to be a primary objective, but progressives also stressed humanitarian reforms, reorganization of municipal government, and expansion of education. During the first two decades following the Civil War, the prevailing attitude in Texas toward big business was friendly. The Grange and the Greenback Party repeatedly criticized the Democratic administration, contending that it was too generous toward corporations, but the dominant party continued to encourage business development with a minimum of regulatory measures. The demand for regulation increased, however, especially during the later 1880s. For more than a decade, James Stephen Hogg was instrumental in determining the tone of Texas government.
