The political ideas during the time of assimilation policy are known by many Indians as the progressive era, but more commonly known as the assimilation era.(1890–1928). The progressive era was characterized by a resolve to emphasize the importance of dignity and independence in the modern industrialized world. This idea is applied to Native Americans in a quote from Indian Affairs Commissioner John Oberly: "Native American must be imbued with the exalting egotism of American civilization so that he will say ‘I’ instead of ‘We’, and ‘This is mine’ instead of ‘This is ours’." Progressives also had faith in the knowledge of experts. This was a dangerous idea to have when an emerging science was concerned with ranking races based on moral capabilities and intelligence. Indeed, the idea of an inferior Indian race made it into the courts. The progressive era thinkers also wanted to look beyond legal definitions of equality to create a realistic concept of fairness. Such a concept was thought to include a reasonable income, decent working conditions, as well as health and leisure for every American. These ideas can be seen in the decisions of the Supreme Court during the assimilation era.