The Progressives in Power

The Progressives in Power

Between the 1890s and 1910s, a collection of reformers, realizing the nation was in serious trouble, resolved to make a movement to aid the people of the U.S. These reformers were the Progressives, a new kind of middle class, made up of young educated professionals, seeking to solve society’s problems in fresh, practical ways.

In a society such as that of the United States, the middle (and lower middle) classes should really be referred to as the majority classes. This being the case, the rapid industrialization occurring around the turn of the century made productivity more efficient, but also created unemployment, pollution, waste of natural resources, and abuse of corporate power was on the rise. The blue-collared workers needed some sort of savior, and the Progressive movement seemed to be a good source. Applying basic principals of their professions to society- be they lawyers, doctors, teachers, etc.- and raising a mountain of volunteer organizations, the progressives received the support of Americans because they were for helping the people, and also bettering them. Now, a person might ask “bettering them? What is this, Judy Holliday in ‘Born Yesterday’?” Actually, that’s not so far from the facts: Progressives highly valued education, and some major Progressivism programs included increased numbers of women attending universities, and also pushing enrollment numbers to record numbers in the earlier part of the twentieth century. Roosevelt (T.R., not F.D.), with his Square Deal, loved to get up and use his power of office to fight those people and corporations he felt were not acting in America’s (and its people’s) best interests. He fought corporate monopolies (specifically, in the Northern Securities Case, the president used the Sherman Antitrust Act to attack a rising railroad monopoly. In accordance, the Supreme Court ordered the company to dissolve.) Why did this movement have such wide popular support? Because, although the rich and mighty weren’t exactly always the beneficiaries, the majority of Americans were better off in the long-run by these reformation steps.

Not everything that the Progressives did and/or stood for was completely hunky-dory. Some policies of different Progressive reformers contradicted each other, and some beliefs seem(ed) unclear. Immigration was viewed as not necessarily a “problem,” but definitely an issue that needed to be addressed. Certain people felt that Americanizing immigrants was the obvious solution to the soon-to-be-problem, while others believed that legislation should regulate and restrict immigration. Transportation methods required regulation methods, according to some people, while other voices said that the government should simply straighten out all of those affairs. Speaking of government and politics, it was obvious that reform was necessary in offices as well, but how? Tyranny was possible in the corporations, so why not in government? And yet, didn’t the Progressives need a leader?