“The Square Deal: Theodore Roosevelt and the Themes of Progressive Reform” by The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Abstract: Progressivism was not the large dramatic revolution that brought sweeping changes the way some people choose to remember it but instead a smooth transition period that brought much needed reform. These reform policies were things that improved pretty glaring basic necessities such as housing, workplace regulation to protect workers, and gave the public a right to unadulterated food. There was actually an artful balance between moving toward the future but not completely overhauling the present. Key Paragraph: Progressivism’s defining feature was its moderateness. Progressives carved out what historian James Kloppenberg describes as a “via media,” a middle way between the laissez-faire capitalism dominant in the Gilded Age and the socialist reorganization many radicals of the period advocated. It was a movement of accommodation. Some regulation of business joined some protection of workers, but no dramatic overhaul of the distribution of wealth or control of the economy occurred. Instead, progressives bequeathed the twentieth century faith in an active government to moderate the effects of large-scale capitalism on citizens and communities. Government would secure the public claim to unadulterated food, safer workplaces, decent housing, and fair business practices, among many other things. Theodore Roosevelt epitomized progressive rebuke of the outrageous excesses of capitalists and their cronies, but also typified progressive accommodation of the new order. He opposed unregulated business, deemed monopolies antithetical, defended labor unions, supported consumer protections, and initiated government protection of natural resources. Yet he never believed we could turn away from the new economy and the transformation it had wrought in American society. The balancing act of reform and regulation that Roosevelt and other progressives pursued led the nation through the moment of crisis at the end of the nineteenth century and accommodated it to the modern industrial society of the twentieth century.
“Doing Democracy: An Exploration of Progressive-Era Reform and Its Legacy for American Politics” by Kevin Mattson Abstract: This reading states that American History is filled with “social and political reform”. The Progressive Era saw large economic growth, and a large influence of money on governmental power. The reformers tried to construct “policing powers of the federal government so as to regulate corporate power, and they tried to push money out of politics all together. President Theodore Roosevelt believed in progressive reform and “strong executive leadership”.There were activists that wanted reform to “replace the corrupt influence of money on politics”, and they also helped “create alternative means for citizens to communicate with their political representatives.”The democratic reformers were determined to get money corruption out of politics, that they created an “alternative public sphere called the Social Centers Movement”. The movement gained a lot of support in Rochester New York in 1907, there many members endorsed the idea of using schools in the evening as meeting center for adults to discuss and learn about national and local political issues. Extract: If we stand back and examine the Progressive Era broadly,we notice that reformers faced a critical predicament. They could strengthen the federal government in order to regulate the influence of big business over politics. In the process, though, they could wind up surrendering their democratic ideals to increased bureaucratic state power. Reform could merely create strong governmental bureaucracy alongside the growing bureaucracies of large corporations- squeezing ordinary citizens out of the sandwich. Their other option was to find new ways to bring citizens back into the political decision making- to push money out of politics by bringing in citizen- voices. Instead of merely strengthening the government, by following this second option reformers could create an inclusive public sphere in which citizens could educate one another and their political leaders and, in the process, point to alternative means to carry out political decision making. Reform could either be a top-down initiative or it could seek to involve citizens in the process of reform itself.
“P.B. WAITE LOOKS BACK AT QUEBEC'S LAURIER... CANADA'S PRIME MINISTER” by Beaver 76 no. 4 Abstract: This reading discussed Wilfrid Laurier’s personal life, like his occupation as a lawyer, marriage, and his political views. Laurier was the leader of the liberal party, but he did not want the leadership, and he blamed his health and wealth were failing. He also believed that “Quebec was the very cornerstone of his hold on power, the basis of his premiership.” When the First World War came, France and Britain fighting Germany, Laurier knew Canada’s role in the war. By 1912 Laurier had no power to fight to allow French to be taught in Quebec. Laurier’s principles on difficult issues was compromise, this helped allow his party to get stronger. Extract Laurier had become leader of the Liberal party in 1887. Edward Blake selected him and foisted him on a hesitant party as the best possible man available. Lauder did not want the leadership; he protested that hishealth was indifferent, his money was lacking, besides in the aftermath of the Riel affair the party shouldnot have a French•Canadian as leader. Blake insisted and Blake had his way. In the next general election,1891, Laurier got 37 of Quebec's 65 seats. Five years later in 1896, the election that made him Prime Minister, Lauder won 49 of the 65.It sounds decisive, and in parliamentary terms, it was. The overall result in 1896 was 118 Liberal seats, 88 Conservative, with seven going to fringe parties. It was a clear and workable Liberal majority. But the odd thing was that in this 1896 election the Conservatives under Sir Charles Tupper won the most votes,46.1% as against the Liberals' 45.1%. That was the result of aberrations, still with us, created by single •member constituencies. Laurier's 49 Quebec seats were won only by 53.5% of the Quebec vote. It wastoo early to talk yet of a solid Liberal Quebec! Laurier also won the West, that is the West from the western border of Manitoba to British Columbia. There were only 10 seats in Parliament for that vast territory. Laurier took seven. For the centre of English Canada, Ontario, Lauder did well breaking even with the Conservatives, partly on the strength of old loyalties to Edward Blake, as well as developing ones to Laurier
“The Jungle and the Progressive Era” by Robert W. Cherny Abstract: This reading begins with Upton Sinclair’s life, and early career as an author. In his book “The Jungle describes an immigrant family going through “corporate greed and exploitation”, in the meatpacking industry.The book became a very good seller, so much so that even President Roosevelt’s initial reaction was to” consult with the Agriculture Department, which reported that meatpacking was carefully inspected, and meat was safe to eat.” The book was a good muckraking material, so Congress passed the “Meat Inspection Act”, but Sinclair, was dissatisfied because “his book had produced only a federal law regulating meatpackers and not a surge of popular support for socialism.” Extract: Theodore Roosevelt remained unhappy with the constant journalistic exposés. In the midst of the controversy over meatpacking, on April 14, 1906, he gave a speech that has become known as “The Man with the MuckRake.” In that speech, he discussed journalists who specialized in exposés: In Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” you may recall the description of the Man with the Muck•rake, theman who could look no way but downward, with the muckrake [manure rake] in his hand; who wasoffered a celestial crown for his muck•rake, but who would neither look up nor regard the crown hewas offered, but continued to rake to himself the filth of the floor.In “Pilgrim’s Progress” the Man with the Muckrake is set forth as the example of him whose visionis fixed on carnal instead of on spiritual things. Yet he also typifies the man who in this life consistently refuses to see aught that is lofty, and fixes his eyes with solemn intentness only on that which is vile and debasing.
Progresssive Leaders
What did progressives believe?
● Rejected Social Darwinism
● Wanted good education, a safe environment, and an efficient workplace
● Typically lived mainly in the cities, were college educated, and believed that government could be a tool for change Key elements
● Anti-corruption ● Labour market reforms ● Anti-trust ● Women’s suffrage ● Modernisation ● Earned limited civil rights ● Prohibition Progressives in the U.S.
● Theodore Roosevelt ● Woodrow Wilson ● William Howard Taft ● Jane Adams ● Jacob Riis Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt
Early Life
● Lived 1858-1919 ● Ill as a child ● Christian ● Home schooled by tutors and parents ● Entered Harvard at 17 ● “Naval War of 1812” (1882) ● Went to Columbia Law School Presidency
● Republican McKinley’s running mate ● Was inaugurated as the 26th president ● Trust busting ● Reelected in 1904 Square Deal
● Protecting the consumers and preserving the environment ● Roosevelt also worked to restrict the power of big business by breaking up a monopoly ● Big Stick Diplomacy: Roosevelt's most notable achievement in foreign policy was the building of the Panama Canal,During Roosevelt’s presidency, the U.S. invoked the Roosevelt Corollary repeatedly as justification for its involvement in the affairs of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba. ● "We must act upon the motto of all for each and each for all. There must be ever present in our minds the fundamental truth that in a republic such as ours the only safety is to stand neither for nor against any man because he is rich or because he is poor, because he is engaged in one occupation or another, because he works with his brains or because he works with his hands. We must treat each man on his worth and merits as a man. We must see that each is given a square deal, because he is entitled to no more and should receive no less." -Speech on the Square Deal in Dallas, Texas on April 5, 1905
Woodrow Wilson ● 28th president ● "No one but the President," he said, "seems to be expected ... to look out for the general interests of the country." ● Nominated for President at the 1912 Democratic Convention ● Underwood Act ● Prohibited Child Labour in 1915 ● limited railroad workers to an eight-hour day ● April 2,1917, he asked Congress for a declaration of war on Germany
Sir Wilfrid Laurier ● First francophone Prime Minister of Canada ● Sunny Ways: He was kind and warm when it came to opposition. He used gentle persuasion, conciliation, and compromise to achieve his goals. Road to Prime Minister ● Opened his own law firm in the Athabaska region. Married Zoe Lafontaine the next year. ● Put in House of Commons in 1874. ● Became the leader of the liberal party from 1887 to his death in 1919 ● Prime minister of Canada in 1896 Influences ● Father was a supporter of an early liberal party, Parti rouge ● Mother died of tuberculosis when he was 11. Became afraid of meeting a similar fate. ● Émilie Lavergne helped refine him for government. She was a good friend of his and was commonly at gatherings with him. Conflicts ● Initially against Confederation ○ Harm francophones ● Catholics opposed him ○ He was Catholic ○ Constant slander ■ Said he was Protestant, non-existent children weren’t baptized, etc. ● Didn’t really want to be in power ○ Lot’s of risk and he wanted a simple life ● Some issues with his relationship with Emilie Lavergne ○ Platonic, but several rumors that it was more than that ○ Would later move with her husband to Montreal Political Decisions
● Indigenous people of Canada ○ Sympathetic toward struggles ○ Believed that they should be “civilized” ● Some opposed Jewish people entering Canada ○ Laurier opened doors to Jewish immigrants ● Continued in politics after his loss of position ○ Remained leader of Liberal party until his death ○ Wanted to ensure that Robert Laird wouldn’t disrupt his accomplishments