Characteristics of the Progressive Era include purification of the government, modernization, a focus on family and education, prohibition, and women's suffrage. Progressive Era reformers sought to harness the power of the federal government to eliminate unethical and unfair business practices, reduce corruption, and counteract the negative social effects of industrialization. Education was the biggest reform because it insisted on educating the children which took them out of the workforce and helped to prepare them for life. What new ideas and practices were introduced to give voters more power? HOPE THIS HELPED