Was Progressivism an inspirational movement to help the nation realize its democratic ideals? Comment.

Assuming that we are talking about the United States, I
would say that Progressivism was mostly helpful in allowing
the nation to realize its democratic ideals.

The
Progressives did a lot of things that promoted democracy.  For example, they enacted a
constitutional amendment allowing for the direct election of Senators.  They also
brought in things such as the secret ballot, initiatives and referendums.  All of these
things allowed for more democracy in terms of elections.  Importantly, they also gave
women the right to vote.

On the other hand, the
Progressives were somewhat anti-democratic on the level of personal rights.  The most
glaring example of this was Prohibition.  The Progressives disapproved of people
drinking alcohol (partly because of anti-immigrant sentiment) and more or less made that
illegal.  By doing so, they took away what is (arguably) a personal right just because
they disapproved of that particular activity.