#18 Creating a Democratic Paradise: The Progressive Era, 1895-1915

 

Focus  for Week 4’s Essay — Case Study: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, NYC, 1911 (Use Sequential Questioning Technique [SQT] — Looking for evidence/examples of an “American Reform Tradition”).

 

Dr. Keene observes that “Progressives were reformers, not revolutionaries” and provided alternatives to communism and socialism. In your essay, discuss how “Progressives transformed the role of government in American society and laid the foundation for the liberal reform movements of the twentieth century” (p. 530).

 

Review Visions #18 & Class Notes for Progressives and . . .

• Progressive Presidents (TR & WW)
• Socialists

• Women &
• Children in the workplace
• Corruption in cities
• Native Americans and African Americans
• Income tax & direct election of senators

 

• Focus on the theme of saving capitalism . . . The Greatest Crisis since the Civil War?

 

Remember the following? “Some historians consider the strife, tension, and violence between the haves and have-nots as the greatest crisis the nation had faced since the Civil War,” in other words, a “class war.”

• But the clash between the haves and have-nots did not result in a revolution; there was no class war. Why not?
• The answer (or one interpretation): An evolving American reform tradition led by middle-class Americans (sometimes helped by presidents, politicians, even capitalists — sometimes not) )  that would “establish a balance that avoided the excesses of unfettered laissez-faire economics, unending class conflict, or complete government control of the economy. Their aim was notable – the creation of a socially just, capitalist America” (my emphasis), p. 534 – definitely not revolutionary.

 

 

You will be able to find eText on the MyHistorylab.com. Use the “eText& Chapter audio” on the left under course home. To log into MyHistorylab.com, please use the following account information:

Username:xiejin321

Password:aaa3213231

 

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