Progressivism in American politics refers to a reform movement
advocating progress – change and improvement – over conservatism,
preserving the status quo.
Progressivism was a reaction to the increasing economic inequality that was a product of the Industrial Revolution and virtually unregulated capitalism, including the exploitation of labor.
As an idea, Progressivism generally refers to the belief that government or people acting on its behalf can be used to address social problems, inequalities, or inequities facing the nation.
Whether you were a Progressive only in spirit or a member of the political organization of the same name, you shared several major goals:
- Ending corruption - Progressives wanted consumer rights, the ending of monopolies, and clean government.
- Efficiency and perfection - Progressives held the belief that we really could eradicate most social failings and problems. At the minimum, if we couldn't end these problems, we could streamline our solutions to provide the most efficient solutions.
There were several policies that had-have leverage with both Progressives and everyday Americans. Key areas of social reform addressed by Progressivism Movements are:
- Conservationism: the promotion of nature and wildness, as well for ideas about the “commons” and its protection.
- Quality of life: progressivism saw that human flourishing was less possible in poverty conditions – from hunger to unsafe housing.
- Education: the virtue of public education wasn't just to provide a 'way out' for poor minorities or immigrants, as it's often viewed today. Instead, it was viewed as a civilizing force by Progressives, a social mechanism for creating new, industrious Americans.
- Labor Rights & Conditions: progressives sought to end dramatic industrial accidents in which workers perished or were injured because of poor working conditions. Labor organizing was generally supported by the Progressive movement, and so were creation of safety codes for factories and other buildings.
- Shorter Working Days: the eight-hour day enforced by overtime requirements was a long fight on the part of the Progressive movement and the labor movement (at first with active opposition from courts which found that changes in labor laws interfered with the individual rights of corporate owners).
- Child Labor: the progressives came to oppose permitting children at young ages could be employed in dangerous occupations, from four year olds selling newspapers in the street, to children in the mines, to children operating dangerous machinery in textile mills and factories. Prior to the Progressive era, child labor was depressingly common. Factory owners often preferred child workers since they were more manageable (that is, less likely to strike) and cheaper. Children in factories often worked 16-hour days in highly dangerous conditions. The anti-child-labor activism continued into the 20th century, and the highest courts at first made it difficult to pass such laws. Sound familiar, today there's once again talk (by R's) of loosening child labor laws.
- Equal Treatment: the political disenfranchisement of African Americans and women was a major issue for all Progressive groups.
- Women’s Rights: though the women’s rights movement began organizing before the Progressive Era, and arguably helped begin it, the Progressive Era saw the expansion of women’s rights from child custody, to more liberal divorce laws, to information about contraceptives and family planning, to “protective labor laws” to make it possible for women to be both mothers and workers. Women finally were able to get a constitutional amendment in 1920 removing sex as a barrier to voting.
- Race: some reformers worked for racial inclusion and racial justice. Black people founded reform organizations of their own, such as the NACW, working for such issues as education, women’s rights, child labor reform. The NAACP brought together White and Black reformers in response to destructive riots. Ida B. Wells-Barnett worked to end lynching. Other progressives fought against those (like Woodrow Wilson) who enforced and promoted racial segregation.
- Better Government: in the face not only of increased concentrations of money into corporate hands, but also the rise of big city machine politics, reforming government to put more power into the hands of ordinary Americans was a major part of progressivism. This included establishing a primary system where voters, not party leaders, selected candidates for their party, and it included direct election of Senators, rather than having them elected by state legislatures.
- Limits on Corporate Power: busting and regulating monopolies and establishing antitrust laws were policies seen as not only benefiting more people and preventing unconscionable wealth disparities, but also as a way for capitalism to function more effectively through a more competitive market. "Muckraking-journalism" helped expose corruption in politics and business, and motivate limits on both government and business power.
Republicans go on and on about how bad progressives are ... why do they, because they are exclusively on the side of business interests (majority of corporate-democrats are as well), and their lobbying-spending hundreds-of-millions to keep "that-status-quo," and all the unending-billions-of-dollars it brings along with it.
Progressivism is the fight against all-monied-interests wanting-demanding full control of government, along with the 'laissez-faire' right of doing business as they alone see fit.
Progressives want 'to-change-reform' all-of-this, so they've-become-are the-ultimate-bad-guys in all-the-propaganda of the GOP faithful, bought and paid for by plutocrats and oligarchs with ever increasing abusive-obscene-wealth.
Our current systems are not working, they are crying out for reforms. Those believing progressives are the 'bad-guys' all-have-are-being-conned, by the exact same system[s] doing-them-in and so-benefiting e-n-o-r-m-o-u-s-l-y... FOLLOW-THE-MONEY.
*****
