In your opinion, what were the most important achievements of the progressives as reflected by their basic goals and assumptions of American society? Why?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The ideal answer should include:
- Basic assumptions and unifying themes of progressivism: a shared fundamental belief that America needed a new social consciousness to cope with the problems brought on by the enormous rush of economic and social change in the post-Civil War decades.
- Unifying themes: anger over industrial capitalism and urban growth, an emphasis on social cohesion and common bonds to understand how modern society and economics actually worked, and the need for citizens to intervene actively, both politically and morally, to improve social conditions.
- Sources of progressive inspiration: evangelical Protestantism and reliance on natural and social scientists to develop rational measures for improving human conditions
- Goals: a belief in using democratic institutions, such as the vote, the courts, and state legislatures, to address social problems; expansion of the legislative and regulatory powers of the state to achieve reform; Christians needed to purge the world of poverty, inequality, and economic greed through social activism; make government and industry more efficient and set new standards for personal behavior, especially through statistical analysis, engineering, and the sciences.
- Reaction to industrial capitalism and urban problems: muckraking campaigns that addressed the nation's social problems and unfair business practices; social reformers such as Jane Addams, Lillian Wald, and Florence Kelley established the settlement house movement to address social issues, including chronic poverty, overcrowded tenement houses, child labor, and public health; President Theodore Roosevelt addressed corrupt business practices through stricter enforcement of the Sherman Antitrust Act and regulatory agencies.
- Attitudes toward government and democracy: reform could be achieved through available democratic institutions; political corruption could end by bringing more businesslike methods to governing; greater expansion of state legislative and regulatory powers; a call for procedural reforms, such as the direct primary, initiative, and referendum, to make state politics more open and accessible to voters; at the federal level, President Theodore Roosevelt set a reform agenda that addressed greater government control and regulation over trusts and encouraged conservation of the environment.
- Politics and class: emphasized social cohesion and common bonds; converted personal outrage into civic activism; rejected Social Darwinism; challenged the conservative view of constitutional law; challenged the power of machine politics and responded to deteriorating urban conditions; made politics more accessible by pushing through procedural reforms although progressivism in the South believed it was necessary to disenfranchise black voters and create legally segregated public areas; state progressive leaders such as Robert La Follette and Hiram Johnson influenced national political parties; the office of the presidency was reshaped by the progressive reform agendas of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.