Most people generally believe Progressives lived in cities, were college educated, and wanted change (through government). And this definition does apply to Progressives, but not all of them. According to George Mowry, the majority of Progressives came from the middle class, wanted to advance humanity, and feared losing their “position” in society. Gabriel Kolko argues that big businessmen were Progressives because they inspired the federal regulation during the era. James J. Connolly presents the argument that Progressives were immigrants (lower class) who wanted to gain access to municipal power. Each of these three arguments presents the Progressives in a different class, but Connolly seems most persuasive because of his use of sources and …show more content…
The majority of Progressives, according to Mowry, were from the middle class. The families Progressives came from seemed economically stable, and most had a college education, even the women. Many Progressives were lawyers (as might be expected of politicians) or newspaper editors. Except for the women who came more from the Midwest, Progressives came from old American stock with British origins. The New England influence was again dominating. Mowry believed Progressives were ambitious and ruthless for human advancement. They were attracted to the countryside, as cities became more alien in character through a great influx of immigrants. Progressives desired to improve the plight of the workingman, but was more hostile to a labor union than a corporate monopoly, due to the power of a corporation. According to Mowry, Progressives were individualistic and emphasized leadership. They feared their loss of status. Progressives chose to fight their battles in terms of political programs. They first wanted to preserve themselves, and then to refashion the world after their own image. Progressives set themselves apart and believed efficient government could only be run from an educated …show more content…
Mowry claimed that Progressives were from the middle-class, wanted to “improve” society, and wanted to protect the individualist (themselves). Kolko interpreted Progressives as big businessmen that wanted to avoid and reduce competition to create more stability. He claims that big businesses were the ones to create the laws and federal regulation during the time of the Progressive era. Connolly, differing from both Mowry and Kolko, explained Progressives as members of ethnic groups, immigrants. These individuals were considered more like lower class individuals. Each ethnic group used different means for their own ends. Out of the three interpretations, Connolly presented the most persuasive, using specific examples of Progressivism in immigrant communities. Progressives, though being defined in three different classes, had a common goal: reform. Each group, no matter the class, wanted to make a change to better themselves and in turn society. The Progressive Era advanced society with the many ways one could be a
...’s suffrage and more social welfare programs. Progressivism focused on eliminating practices harmful to farmers, workers, tenement dwellers, and consumers by expanding government regulation over the economy. They wanted to government to help make it easier for people have more control over their lives. Without the populist the progressive movement would have never been able to complete so many accomplishments. Progressive party did not last but its goals, similar to the populist goals, become influential in the future. The progressive movement was overall a more overcoming movement. It took the populist ideals and influenced them in order to become successful during the progressive movement rather then in the populist. If the populist had an expanded argument rather then just based on farmers then they could have been more successful and setting out their goals.
During the Progressive Era, pressure from labor, suffrage, and conservation movements profoundly changed the course of American history. Many of the reformers' ideas clashed with the male-dominated, capitalist economic structure present at the turn of the century. Some of the intended reforms opposed the current system, but the level of social unrest necessitated change. Businessmen and activists alike initiated the reforms during the Progressive Era. Government, due to the intention of calming the common man and quieting the seemingly more and more vocal middle class, supported them.
In the beginning of the twentieth century, the economy was booming, new technology flourished. The rapid industrialization brought achievement to the United States, however, it also caused several social problems. Wealth and power were concentrated in the hands of a few, and poverty and political corruption were widespread. As people became aware of these problems, a new reform group was created. Unlike populism, which had been a group of farmers grown desperate as the economy submerged into depression, the new reform movement arose from the educated middle class. These people were known as the progressives. The Progressive Movement was a movement that aimed at solving political, economic, and social problems. The Progressives were people from the middle class who had confidence that they could achieve social progress through political reform. The Progressives sought after changes and improvements in the society through laws and other federal actions.
By the time period of 1900-1920 America was almost fully industrialized. At this time, America was going through a Gilded Age where everything looked good on the outer perspective however on the inside, there were many issues within society. The Progressive Era consisted of people who wanted to reform society politically, socially, and economically. Progressive reformers and the federal government were successful in bringing about reform at the national level by gaining some women's rights as well as African Americans trying to better their reputation in society, improving working conditions, and fixing the American economy.
The most commonly known, and consequently most watered down, version of the progressive movement argues that this era was simply an effort by the middle class to cure many of the social and political ills of American society that had developed during the rapid industrial
Unfortunately, most great things end and Americans begin to doubt. They questioned each other, God, and the free market. The progressive movement claimed that government needed to intervene on behalf of the people. Instead of the uneducated masses making important decisions, they should delegate that ability to the educated upper-class. Such a government could only result in a “Great Society”.
The Progressive Era ( 1890’s- 1920’s) was a period of political reforms and social activism within politicians, and radical groups. Some politicians were also known as “Political Progressives”, this group made great changes in the effort to sooth the anger of many industrial workers, and to make their jobs a little less rigorous, however the changes put into effort by political progressives would do little to aid the concerns such as those of the radicals groups (women, blacks, Mexican-Americans).
Reformers known as Progressives attempted to undo the problems caused by industrialization. The Progressive movement sought to end the influence of large corporations, provide more rights and benefits to workers, and end the control possessed by party leaders. At the national level, Progressivism centered on defeating the power of large businesses. The Progressive Era was a period in American history in which improving working conditions, exposing corruption, improving the way of life, expanding democracy, and making reforms were the objectives at hand. With the emergence of the Progressive Era, two important figures gradually emerged as well.
Along with these issues, the progressives tried to stop competition, they also fought many groups that tried to eliminate social classes along the way. Progressives were able to be successful in restoring economic competition, making the government more efficient, and stemming the tide of socialism. Progressives are mostly muckrakers. Muckrakers were writers who wrote of the slums and labor abuse children were facing, bringing many of the issues being faced during this time into the open. By ending the power of big companies, progressives, many of whom included Woodrow Wilson, hoped to restore economic competition.
The turn of the century was marked by a movement known as the Progressive Era, during which many groups sought to reshape the nation's government and society in response to the pressure of urbanization and industrialization. Progressives were mainly members of the Post-Civil War generation that made an attempt to master a world much different then that of their parents.
Reform was the goal of the Progressive movement, and with that in mind the reformers had great success. Progressive reformers were made up primarily of middle class men and women whose two main goals were to limit the trusts and to improve conditions of life and labor. These people were part of both political parties at the time, as well as in all regions of the country, and in all levels of the government. They wanted to remove bribed members of the legislature so that just laws and regulations were made that would benefit the people rather than the power-hungry corporations. This major movement altered all aspects of life creating a better living and working environment for people. The Progressive Era reformers and federal government developed the political, social, and economical elements for the better of the country.
Progressive reformers believed in individuality and were not looking to capitalize from the movement, they instead sought out equality in every aspect of American lives and were successful in many instances. Progressives fought to end what seemed to be a myriad of social issues that were bound to arise as the country rapidly grew in several facets.
During the late 19th and early 20th century both the Populist Party and Progressive movement wanted to preserve some things, while also addressing the need for reform. Although many of the ideas and goals of these “Third parties” were initially not legislated and considered far-fetched, many of these ideas later became fundamental laws throughout American history. The Populists and Progressives were both grass roots movements, and addressed the needs of the poor and powerless, for the Populists it was farmers and for the Progressives it was urban lower and middle class workers. These two movements attempted to bring the powerless peoples issues to national politics. The Populists and Progressives wanted to preserve some American ideals of the past, such as a sense of community and the ability for farmers and workers to live happily without economic strains. Populists were more oriented to the plight of the farmer while the Progressives included women's rights, and protection of the consumer and labor.
Have you ever felt stuck? Wherever you are, it’s the absolute last place you want to be. In the book Into the Wild, Chris McCandless feels stuck just like the average everyday person may feel. Chris finds his escape plan to the situation and feels he will free himself by going off to the wild. I agree with the author that Chris McCandless wasn’t a crazy person, a sociopath, or an outcast because he got along with many people very well, but he did seem somewhat incompetent, even though he survived for quite some time.
The Progressive Era was a time of great reforms in government and in factories. There were a few different forms of Progressivism: the muckrakers (from a character in John Bunyan's book Pilgrim's Progress) were the type of Progressives who exposed corruption. For example, Collier's and McClure's journalists, some of them secretly went as far as moving into the slums to get the full sense of what life was like for the downtrodden, and shed light on what the slumlords were allowing to happen in their buildings. Women's Suffragists were progressive, as well, they picketed, wrote letters, to officials at all levels of government, staged women's suffrage parades, sent out pamphlets, and made speeches to anyone who would listen, and eventually, in halls of government, in from of Congress. One other type of progressive was those who were for the temperance movement (their goal was to ban alcohol, they saw it as corrupting society). Settlement house workers were progressives, too, their cause fought to improve immigrant relations in the United States. Progressives sought to change society, for the better, through their activism. Progressives hoped for stronger local governments at the level of the American people. Theodore Roosevelt's “Who is a Progressive” speech he stated that “A well-meaning man may vaguely think of himself as a Progressive without having even the faintest conception of what a Progressive is" (Bowels, 2011). Additionally, Roosevelt would consider a person progressive if he or she had sympathy for the common man and was a forward-thinker.