Historical Background
Historians do not seem to agree on their interpretations
of the Progressive Movement or Progressivism—even disagreeing
on the use of these terms. Some point to the disunity of this movement
and the contradictions within it, while others are uncomfortable
with a term that connotes “goodness” and “enlightenment”—features
that Progressivism in practice did not always possess. Some scholars
see liberal themes in this period, while others have focused on
the reactionary strains, such as coercive efforts to regulate people’s
lives. Yet even with its limitations, the concept of Progressivism
is part of both the language of contemporaries and the writings
of historians.
Who were the Progressives and what problems did they
hope to solve? Some historians of Progressivism have argued that
virtually every group in American society had a hand in the many
efforts to solve the problems caused by urbanization and industrialization.
Yet for all the disagreement, many historians seem to concur that
the spirit and methods of Progressivism came from the native-born,
urban middle and upper-middle classes: from doctors, lawyers, ministers,
journalists, teachers, college professors, engineers and social
workers—and from their spouses. And, while this movement received
support from rural Americans, from the immigrant working class,
and from the top leaders in business and finance, the Progressive
ethos was rooted in Protestantism.
As to where they focused their attention, many Progressives
argued for, and indeed achieved, significant political changes at
the local, state and national levels that increased popular control
of government. These changes include direct primaries, the elimination
of boss rule, the direct election of Senators, the first regulations
on campaign finances, the adoption of the referendum, initiative
and recall in many state legislatures, prohibition of the sale and
production of liquor, and women’s suffrage. Progressivism also
produced three presidents—Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft
and Woodrow Wilson—whose achievements comprise what some consider
to be this movement’s most important legacy.
In what did the Progressives believe? Some historians
have argued that the Progressives’ context was political only
on its surface—that at its core it was religious, an attempt
by Americans from all social classes, but chiefly the middle class,
to restore the proper balance among Protestant moral values, capitalistic
competition, and democratic processes, which the expansion of business
in the Gilded Age seems to have changed in alarming ways. Progressives
wanted better and fairer competition and they wanted every citizen
to participate in the polity. Such views can be either reactionary
or enlightened, depending on context, and among themselves Progressives
disagreed on practically every specific proposal. In other words,
they agreed on the need to foster more morality in society, but
disagreed about how to accomplish it.
What methods did Progressives use to solve these problems?
In dealing with nearly every cause, Progressive leaders began by
organizing a voluntary association, investigating a problem, gathering
relevant facts, and analyzing according to the precepts of one of
the newer social sciences. From such an analysis a proposed solution
would emerge, be popularized through campaigns of education and
moral suasion, and—as often as not, if it seemed to work—be
taken over by some level of government as a public function. The
Progressives’ approach reflected both their confidence that
social science could remedy the conflicts of an industrial society
and their growing faith that government could be trusted to solve
problems.
These tactics were pioneered in many cases by women who
had time to devote to activities outside the home—something
experienced by more and more women in this era. These women had
fewer children than their mothers and were increasingly freed from
full-time housework by laborsaving devices and by society’s
absorption of some of the family’s traditional economic and
educational functions. They also had the inclination to do so. Women
recognized that in an urban, industrial setting, care of the home
and family—“their” sphere—was no longer just
a private matter. Most men still gave them little encouragement
to participate in public life, so they invented their own means
to improve the world. Beginning before the high point of Progressivism
but connected to this movement, women formed many single-sex associations,
the largest and most important one being the Woman’s Christian
Temperance Union (WCTU). Founded in 1874 and led by Frances Willard,
the WCTU began by focusing on a range of problems including the
welfare of children, but later narrowed its focus to the issue of
temperance. In 1889, Jane Addams founded Hull House and thus began
one of the most creative products of the women’s movement (and
its male allies)—settlement houses. In taking roles on the
stage of public life, Progressive women gained unprecedented experience
in the hard work of shaping public choices, and this experience
intensified their demand for the vote that they finally achieved
in 1920.
From outside the ranks of Progressivism, other men and
women also presented programs for shaping social choices in industrial
America. Sometimes they joined forces with the Progressives and
adopted similar methods. One of these groups was industrial workers
who, compared to the middle-class Progressives, suffered greater
divisions among themselves and possessed less power over others.
The Knights of Labor (1869-1890) and American Federation of Labor
(that began in 1886) represent two different approaches to organizing
workers, with the Knights accepting workers of all skill levels,
both sexes and races, while the AFL organized only skilled workers
who were male and white. Both groups shared the Progressives’
goals of abolishing child labor and establishing the eight-hour
day for workers.
The Progressive Era also had a negative and coercive
side. This era saw the spread of disfranchisement and segregation
of African Americans in the South and even in the federal government,
and the restriction of immigration. Yet these efforts—along
with their positive achievements in improving city life and working
conditions, and increasing popular control over government—all
expressed (however diversely) the drive of native white middle-class
Americans to improve and control the frightening conditions of industrial
life.
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