<P> Many activists joined efforts to reform local government , public education , medicine , finance , insurance , industry , railroads , churches , and many other areas . Progressives transformed , professionalized and made `` scientific '' the social sciences , especially history , economics , and political science . In academic fields the day of the amateur author gave way to the research professor who published in the new scholarly journals and presses . The national political leaders included Theodore Roosevelt , Robert M. La Follette , Sr. , and Charles Evans Hughes on the Republican side , and William Jennings Bryan , Woodrow Wilson and Al Smith on the Democratic side . Yet , leaders of the movement also existed far from presidential politics . Jane Addams , Grace Abbott , Edith Abbott and Sophonisba Breckinridge were among the most influential Progressive Era reformers . </P>
who were some leaders during the progressive era that fought for equal rights
Theodore Roosevelt , Robert M. La Follette , Sr. , and Charles Evans Hughes on the Republican side , and William Jennings Bryan , Woodrow Wilson and Al Smith on the Democratic side Jane Addams , Grace Abbott , Edith Abbott and Sophonisba Breckinridge