Progressivism

 Progressivism is defined as seeking to create a just society through governmental action, direct democracy, and volunteerism; progressivism challenged the traditional American way of thinking and governing.

I. The Progressive Era  What is progressivism?  A political response to industrialization and its social by-products: immigration, urban growth, corporate power and inequality  Distinct from populism: strength lay in cities, enlisted journalists, academics, and social theorists  Consisted of reformers wanting to remedy social ills but not destroy the system

 Who were the progressives?  Native born protestant middle class  Sought to apply principles of profession (medicine, law)  Muckrackers: journalists who exposed a variety of social problems  Lincoln Steffens: exposed city machines, The Shame of the Cities (1904)

 Ida Tarbell: exposed Standard Oil Trust

 Upton Sinclair: wrote The Jungle (1906) attacked the meat packing industry  McClures Magazine: published articles exposing political corruption and corporate wrongdoing

 Political Reformers: crusaded against corrupt city governments (Hiram Johnson, Samuel Jones)  Working Class: crusaded for government intervention to ensure safety and security  Socialist: disillusioned progressives  Questioned the inequality between rich and poor  Preached takeover of American business  Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) “wobblies”- advocated confrontation and violence  Rejected by most progressives as too extreme in their goals and methods