The Progressives: Activism and Reform in American Society, 1893 – 1917

The Progressives: Activism and Reform in American Society, 1893–1917 presents comprehensive coverage of the origins, evolution, and notable events that came to define the pivotal period of American history known as the Progressive Era. Using a thematic approach, author Karen Pastorello demonstrates how historical figures – both major and minor – and key events interacted with the larger historical forces that rendered the Progressive Era relevant to contemporary times. Shedding important new light into this transformational period of American history, Pastorello reveals how all ordinary Americans – including previously excluded African–Americans, Native–Americans, and women – experienced the era during the nation’s rapid shift from an agrarian to an urban society. Integrating themes of class, race, ethnicity, and gender throughout, The Progressives offers a concise and engaging account of a fascinating era in U.S. history that forever changed the relationship between a democratic government and its citizens.

Acknowledgments     ix Introduction     1 1 Setting the Stage: The Birth of the Progressive Impulse, 1893–1900     13 On the Farm     13 City Life     18 Hard Times: The Depression of 1893     24 Businesses: Small to Large     26     Small businesses evolve     26     Big business     34     Mergers and monopolies     37 Labor     38     The workplace in transition     40     The struggle to organize     42     Working women     46     African American workers     49     Immigrant workers     50 A New Era Dawns     51 2 Saving Society: Who Were the Progressives?     56 The Muckrakers     57 From Religious Roots to Secular Salvation     64     Fundamentalists     65     The Social Gospelers     66     Intellectual inspiration     67 From Charity Cases to Social Work     68 Women Progressives     70     Club women     70     Settlement workers advocate social justice     73  Professionalization in the Progressive Era     80     Social workers    81     The medical field     83     The legal profession     88     Engineering     89     Academia     89     The female professions: teaching, nursing, and librarianship     91 Businessmen     93 Labor Unions and Radical Movements     96 Other Special Interest Groups     98     Politicians and early reform     98     The “immigrant problem”     99     African Americans     100     Nativists     101 Farmers and Rural Reform     103 3 “Constructing the World Anew”: Progressive Agency, 1900–1911     106 Stepping into a New World: The Industrial City     106 Settlement Workers Transform the Neighborhoods     109 Women’s Political Culture Emerges     114     Jane Addams elevates settlement activism     116 Workers on the Move 118     Health and safety in the workplace     120 Florence Kelley and the Push for Protective Legislation     127     Child labor     129 Educational Reform     133     Social Centers     135     The Chautauqua movement     138 Country Life Commission     139 Political Pathways to Reform     141     Mugwumps, machine politics, and municipal reform     141     The Good Government movement     143     Beautiful cities and urban planning: from aesthetics to efficiency     145 State Level Reform     148     LaFollette and the Wisconsin Idea     148     Beyond Wisconsin     150 Businessmen Left Behind     151 The Radical Political Reaction     152     Socialists     152     Industrial Workers of the World     153 Labor Leans Political     155     Labor’s Bill of Grievances     156     Workplace activism     160 Progressivism Takes Center Stage     161 4 The Shape of Things to Come: Progressivism and the Transition to Modern Life, 1912–1917    165 The Rise of Consumerism 165     Impact of the automobile    168 Corporate America Takes Control     170     Scientific management     171     Welfare capitalism     173 The Triangle Waist Factory Fire     174     The legacy of Triangle     176 The Election of 1912 178     Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Party platform     180 The incumbent: William Howard Taft     184 Eugene Debs and the Socialists     185 Woodrow Wilson and the Democratic platform     185 Wilson in the White House     186     The election of 1916     189 Progressivism in the National Consciousness     191 Conclusion: The Progressives’ Progress     194 Bibliographical Essay     211 Index     247

Karen Pastorello is Professor of History and Women and Gender Studies at Tompkins Cortland Community College (SUNY) where she directs the Honors Program. She is the author of A Power Among Them: Bessie Abramowitz Hillman and the Making of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (2008).