HIST 2057 Chapter : The Progressives
The progressives :
Who are they ?
The progressives were people from all kinds of background, they were men and women, democrats,
republicans and populists, labor unionists and business executives, teachers and professors, social
workers and municipal workers, ardent religionists as well as atheists and agnostics. They well good
hearted people who greatly improved the quality of life and the effectiveness and integrity of
govrnment. By the 1920s, progressives had implemented significant changes at all levels of
government and across all levels of society. Yet progressivism had flaws too. The progressives were
mostly middle class urban reformers armed with christian moralism, their do good perspective was
often limited by class biases and racial prejudices.
The progressive Era extends itself from 1890 until 1920 and the major represent of progressivism
were Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909), William Howard Taft (1909-13), and Woodrow Wilson, (1913-
21)
The election of 1912 is very representative of the Progressive Era with 4 different candidates all
claiming to be progressives of one sort or another : Wilson and Thaft represented the 2 major
parties, Debs ran as a socialist, Roosevelt headed the progressive party ticket.
What do they want to accomplish ?
Progressive reformers attacked corruption and inefficiency in government and used government
authority to regulate businesses and workplaces through regular on site inspections, regulatory
commissions and antitrust laws. Graduated federal income tax, creation of a new national banking
system, pprotection of the environment, grassroots reform such as prohibition of alcoholic beverages
and the awarding of voting rights for women. Social Justice
Progressives believed that America was in a serious crisis by the late nineteenth century and that
required actions.
How successful are they ?
The great contribution of progressive politics was the firm establishment and general acceptance of
the public service concept of government. Optimistic age in which all sorts of reforms were done. But
elements of paradox and irony. Despite all the talk of greater democracy, progressivism had a blind
spot when it came to racial equality.
A lot of progressive reforms were undone in the 1920s under the leadership of Harding, Coolidge,
Hoover and the Secretary of Treasure Mellon which led to the crisis of 1929 and the Great
Depression.
Document Summary
The progressives were people from all kinds of background, they were men and women, democrats, republicans and populists, labor unionists and business executives, teachers and professors, social workers and municipal workers, ardent religionists as well as atheists and agnostics. They well good hearted people who greatly improved the quality of life and the effectiveness and integrity of govrnment. By the 1920s, progressives had implemented significant changes at all levels of government and across all levels of society. The progressives were mostly middle class urban reformers armed with christian moralism, their do good perspective was often limited by class biases and racial prejudices. The progressive era extends itself from 1890 until 1920 and the major represent of progressivism were theodore roosevelt (1901-1909), william howard taft (1909-13), and woodrow wilson, (1913- Progressive reformers attacked corruption and inefficiency in government and used government authority to regulate businesses and workplaces through regular on site inspections, regulatory commissions and antitrust laws.
