A Fierce Discontent by Michael McGerr delves into the revolution of values from the victorian era to the progressive within the late nineteen century to the early twentieth century. McGerr’s major argument is the contrast between this set of values. The gilded age which McGerr focuses is the period where progressive values begin to take form and societal change ensues. The victorian values are values which epitomizes the British culture as just the name of the era is derived from queen Victoria. Alternatively the progressive era was a political reform focusing on anti corruption, women suffrage, and fixing the social problems plaguing society. McGerr argues that the victorian era and progressive era strikes few similarities within the …show more content…
Victorians values were modeled from British high class society, where their propensity consisted of indulgence and privileges and resonated with the same social class in the americas. Progressive values were adopted by the middle class during the time of the second industrial revolution where the middle class grew and the rich, the top ten as McGerr refers to as, only gets richer from the exploitation of the middle class. The victorian values are contained within the upper-ten who don't embrace nor benefit from the progressive values. McGerr writes “The campaigns against drink, prostitution, and divorce found less support among farmers and still less among urban workers and the upper-class. None of these groups fully embraced middle-class values; none equivocally welcomed government interference in private life.” (87) The separation between middle class and upper class values is shown in the excerpt and applied to fight for prohibition, which progressive support, where the government would enforce and interfere with private life violating victorian ideals. The differences between both values are apparent as each is centralized and purposed for its own class structure making anything idea let alone attitude inherently
In the late 1800’s a group of Americans decided that something needed to be done about the decline of moral and ethical values in most Americans. These people called themselves the progressives and started one of the most comprehensive reform movements in the United States to this day. Progressivism became so widespread that by the end of World War I, anyone who didn’t agree with Progressive ideals was labeled a communist. The Progressives had four major goals that they wished to accomplish. These four goals were to democratize America, to Americanize America, the humanization of capitalism and rationalization of the economy. Each goal dealt with a different aspect of America’s society that the Progressives thought needed help. The way these goals were accomplished was to get laws passed that would reform the practices of many Americans. Progressives held that in order to bring American back to its old time, rural values people would need to attend church more.
Overall, politics are key in determining whether this era was predominantly liberal or conservative as well as economic and social reforms. On an aside, conservatism can be defined as a political philosophy based upon tradition and social stability while liberalism can be defined in two ways. Modern Liberalism emphasizes liberty and rights but, believes in strong government intervention in order to prevent the growth of a capitalist society, while classical liberalism advocates liberty and the autonomy of the individual. With these definitions given it can be concluded that the progressive era promoted change as well as government intervention to prevent capitalism from spreading and the autonomy of the individual. In conclusion, for the most part the Progressive Era from 1901-1907 was a triumph for modern and classical liberalism.
Within the period of 1900-1920, many national reforms were rising to the top as Progressive Era reformers and the federal government heard the voices of the people. The effectiveness of Progressivism is a controversial subject for some, but the future was changed through the events of any actions a president made, the rights of people, and unfair treatment and conditions. This era brings changes to our society that also changes the future of it. These two decades brought forth successful times in bettering America.
The most commonly known, and consequently most watered down, version of the progressive movement argues that this era was simply an effort by the middle class to cure many of the social and political ills of American society that had developed during the rapid industrial growth in the last quarter of the 19th century. This explanation has proven to be a woefully inadequate in the face of the complexities that characterize these times. In Richard Hofstadter’s The Age of Reform, Peter Filene’s “An Obituary for the Progressive Movement,” Richard McCormick’s “The Discovery that Business Corrupts Politics,” and Paula Baker’s “The Domestication of Politics” each author asserts their own unique interpretations of the progressive movement. These distinct examinations each chart and thus manifest the fluidity of knowledge about this particular time period and how it has been shaped reshaped by new analysis.
The last two centuries have been full of drastic changes in the human condition. Today, we tend to overlook just how drastic those changes were. Britain during the late 18th Century provides an excellent example because both the Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution were chipping away at the established social order. In Britain, the aristocracy had ruled in relative stability since the medieval period. There were power struggles but the ideology of privilege remained untouchable. British society considered privilege a reward for refinement and expected a gentleman to distinguish himself by following a specific code of conduct. However, his duty and honor depended on more than a code; he also had to feel sympathy for the weaker sex and the lower classes and know when to act accordingly. This sensibility made him “gentle” and a just participant in the governing process. In the 1790’s and 1800’s these gentlemanly ideals were eroding. Yet, while the British did not guillotine their nobles like the French did, many still said that rapid change could unravel the delicate balance of society perpetuated by a refined nobility. The rise of merchants and industrialists into the ranks of the upper class graphically illustrated a shift toward individual success and the selfish ideology of capitalism. Gentlemen through birth and education were losing ground to these nouveaux-rich and consequently the ruling class disconnected further from their communities.
In 1955, Richard Hofstadter published The Age of Reform: From Bryan to F.D.R., his account of the Gilded Age and its two main movements, Populism and Progressivism. Hofstadter believed that Populism, Progressivism, and even the New Deal were all the same movement based on the same thing, reform. He said that reform is what tied all of these movements together. Each period in this grand movement had its own aims and agendas; however, they all flowed out of the same want and need to reform. He argues that this movement to ref...
...he 1890s to the 1920s, many American reforms were made that altered the lifestyle of Americans. George Mowry, Gabriel Kolko, and Joseph Huthmacher all show brilliant work of three different opinions discussing the topic of who the Progressives were. Mowry shows excellent work explaining how the “solid middle-class” was the most impactful Progressives and how they reformed in attempt to create a classless society. Kolko explains many reasons to why the big businesses were the majority Progressives, but only focused on business-government relations and didn’t look into social-justice. Huthmacher thoroughly explained why the urban lower class was the main Progressives and made good points on the “Bread-and-butter” issues. The most persuasive historian is George Mowry because of the detail by which the culture of America was changed with the middle-classes reforms.
One common misconception is to view the Progressive movement as a unified core of reform-minded crusaders dedicated to improving the social welfare of American society. While this viewpoint is not entirely incorrect, it is only a partial and thereby misleading assessment of the movement that categorized the early part of the nineteenth-century. What some may fail to appreciate is the duality of the period-the cry for social welfare reforms juxtaposed against the demand for optimum efficiency through scientific controls.
The turn of the century was marked by a movement known as the Progressive Era, during which many groups sought to reshape the nation's government and society in response to the pressure of urbanization and industrialization. Progressives were mainly members of the Post-Civil War generation that made an attempt to master a world much different then that of their parents.
The Progressive Era was a movement in the United States from the 1890s to the 1920s where social and political reforms flourished in order to combat corruption in g...
The period referred to as the Progressive Era in American history is one which historians often disagree over, and as in all areas of history, there are many theories surrounding the era which sometimes contradict each other. Historians are always aware of prominent theories within the field, and they often participate in an ongoing dialogue concerning their research. One of the first historians to make a major mark regarding the Progressive Era was Richard Hofstadter in his book The Age of Reform, published in 1955. Other prominent works include Peter G. Filene’s “Obituary for the Progressive Movement” , published in 1970, Richard L. McCormick’s “The Discovery that Business Corrupts Politics” , published in 1981, and Paula Baker’s “The Domestication of Politics” , published in 1984. While there are recurring themes throughout these four works, clearly the historians do not agree on all aspects of the period. However, together their different views help to expand knowledge on what is often referred to as the Progressive Era.
The Progressive era was a time where change was needed in order to eliminate social Darwinism and highlight the significance of social unity and camaraderie. Progressive movements became the response to the rising problems left by the 19th century: the evident unequal distribution of wealth and the expanding power of massive businesses. In the book Triangle: The Fire that changed America, David Von Drehle unveiled the greedy nature of corporate owners which repressed the democratic principles of the United States and its relation to the rise of social movements which shed light to many changes that occurred socially starting with the improved working conditions and in the beginning of the twentieth century.
Progressives supported prohibition in order to get rid of the political power of local bosses based in saloons. At the same time, women’s suffrage was promoted to bring a "purer" female vote into the arena. Many activists joined efforts to reform local government, public education, medicine, in...
As the middle class began to further divide, those who grew in wealth became known as a banking/industrial class. Along with their sudden economic prosperity there came a desire for social transformation- an aspiration for new aristocracy. They carried their traditional middle class values into prominence with their accumulation of wealth. They sought to achieve a merit oriented Society rather than social climbing, for their children's sake, into the existing one based solely on birth. This hindered the new class from ever attaining Aristocratic Social acceptance for their new wealth and deemed them the nouveaux riche. Despite obvious disapproval from the Aristocracy the nouveaux riche continued their economic ascent through "personal contact [which] was a crucial element in filling posts" (Loftus 5). This dependence upon others for mounting economic standing was contrary to the middle class value of independence. This industrial class was forced to rely upon the connections, potentially aristocratic, in order to succeed. Loftus explains that middle-class values were carved out in these attempts to define a society based on merit rather than aristocratic privilege. However, the importance of cultural capital and social networks to success in the period implies that the rise of the middle-classes in the Victorian period saw the replacement of one set of privileges with another (Loftus 4). However the Nouveaux Riche failed to fully assimilate into aristocratic society due to lack of pedigree.
"History in Focus." : The Victorian Era (Introduction). Institute of Historical Research., Apr. 2001. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.