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PROGRESSIVISM, INDIVIDUALISM, AND THE PUBLIC
INTELLECTUAL
4 PROGRESSIVES
The classic Progressives were an outgrowth of the late 19th century. The reflected the
response of some to the growth in immigration, the changes in industrialism, the impact
on the classic agricultural paradigm, and the growth of American cities. All of these
elements presented what was perceived as a threat to the then classic American life style.
One of the most significant drivers of Progressivism was from the Mid Western
Churches, primarily Protestant, and the development of the Social Gospel movement
which in many ways created the concept of "society" and the need for helping all in the
family of this "society" and yet moving that role from the local church and community to
the Government. This would be one of the first times that there was a significant move to
have the Government solve societal problems on a large scale.
As presented by Halpin and Williams from the Center for American Progress 51 :
The original Progressive Era is known primarily for two major developments in
American politics:
One, political reforms crafted to break up the power of privileged interests, such as
expanded suffrage, direct primaries, direct election of senators, and the initiative and
referendum process
Two, economic reforms structured to counterbalance the excessive power of business and
to fight inequality measures such as the graduated income and inheritance taxes, the
right to organize and other labor protections, unemployment insurance, worker’s
compensation, old age and disability provisions, food and drug safety laws, and
conservation measures
As a philosophical tradition, progressivism in its most complete form developed as a
“new liberalism” for a new century—updating the American liberal tradition from its
Jeffersonian, small-government, republican roots best suited for the agrarian economy of
the nation’s founding era to a more democratic and modern liberalism capable of
checking rising corporate power. The original progressives argued that changes in the
economy’s organization required a more complete understanding of human freedom,
equality, and opportunity that Jefferson championed so persuasively. Progressives
believed that formal legal freedom alone—the negative protections against government
intrusions on personal liberty—were not enough to provide the effective freedom
necessary for citizens to fulfill their human potential in an age of rising inequality, paltry
wages, and labor abuses. Changed conditions demanded a changed defense of human
liberty.
51 See The Progressive Intellectual Tradition in America April 2010 www.americanprogress.org
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