Daniel T. Rodgers's 'In Search Of Progressivism'

Progressivism, defined as “a broad philosophy based on the Idea of Progress, which asserts that advancement in science, technology, economic development, and social organization are vital to improve the human condition”, was a huge factor in advancement in this country, especially in the early 1900s. In the article “In Search of Progressivism” by Daniel T. Rodgers, he claims that there was much confusion as to what the progressive movement actually was. His thesis states “For decades the notion that the political and intellectual ferment of the Roosevelt and Wilson years cohered into an entity called progressivism was one of the central organizing principles of American history.' How that coherence should be defined was a matter of starkly

In the early parts of the article, he proclaims that Buenker and Filene are correct in one of their ideas. He writes “If Buenker and Filene meant to imply, however, that the rage for bifurcation had not really helped resolve the problem of coherence, they were surely right,” (Rodgers 115) In slight contrast, he did not always just focus on one or two individuals. In another quote, for example, he raises up a whole generation in admiration, stating “Yet by the end of the decade there were signs that beneath the definitional wrangling historians had been striking out in significantly new directions away from the debate over the essence of progressivism, so brilliantly started by Richard Hofstadter's generation, and toward questions of context.” (Rodgers 114) Since the whole progressive movement involved millions of United States citizens striving to increase the quality in their lifestyle through inventions, religion, or culture in general, it paints an amazing picture of what American Exceptionalism is all about. When Rodgers notices a point made by a historical writer he sees eye to eye with, he praises them with his words and uses their words to help prove his