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CHAPTER 21
The Progressive Era, 1890–1920
This chapter covers the main features of progressivism and the domestic policies of the administrations
of Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson. The chapter begins by identifying the progressives and their beliefs. It
outlines reasons why progressivism began in the first place, including the discontent created by
progressivism and the movement’s failure to address the discrimination and cruelties that continued to
confront African Americans.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. The Progressive Impulse
II. The Sources of Progressivism
B. Populism
C. “Honest Government”
D. Socialism
E. Muckraking Journalism
F. Religious Activism and Social Responsibility
III. Progressives’ Aims and Achievements
A. Political Reforms
B. The Efficiency Movement
i. Municipal Reform
ii. The Wisconsin Idea
iii. Regulation of Business
C. Social Justice
IV. Progressivism Under Roosevelt and Taft
A. Taming Big Business
B. Curbing the Trusts
C. The 1902 Coal Strike
D. Roosevelt’s Reelection
i. Progressive Regulation
ii. Environmental Conservation
iii. Roosevelt and Race
iv. The Brownsville Riot
E. Taft and Retrenchment
i. A Life of Public Service
ii. The Tariff and the Income Tax
iii. The Federal Reserve Act
iv. Anti-Trust Actions
E. Wilson Declares Victory
i. Progressivism for Whites Only
ii. The Vote for Women
LECTURE IDEAS
1. Begin by having the class collectively define what “progressive” means. Inevitably, someone will say
“liberal.” This can lead to an effective discussion about what the terms we hear today and read about
in the past might actually mean. This is where a discussion of the paradoxes of progressivism should
take place. Describe who the progressives were, in all their diverse glory. What were their major
objectives, and what was their ultimate legacy upon the American reform spirit? Can we make a
connection to the progressives of the past and the progressive spirit today? Sources include:
2. The story of John Muir and Gifford Pinchot serves as a wonderful example of an event that brings
together the contradictions of progressivism. On one hand, we have John Muir, who sees a national
3. For a comparison of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson—a comparison that should be
4. A lecture on the Progressive Era and the efficiency movement can help students understand the
broader changes of the twentieth century. For a view of Frederick Taylor, the original efficiency
expert and the idea of micro-management in our work world, see Robert Kanigel’s The One Best Way:
5. A lecture on the election of 1912 can really expose students to the impact of a third political party
(and a former president’s attempt at a political comeback). The drama of the formation of the
Progressive Party, also known as the Bull Moose Party, suggests the unique possibilities within the
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES
1. Divide the class into several groups and have them explore what progressivism meant in the early
2. It has been said that there would not have been a Progressive Era without the muckrakers. Ask
3. After a discussion of the 1912 election, divide the class into four groups and have them outline the
goals and objectives of each of the four major presidential candidates: Woodrow Wilson, Theodore
Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Eugene V. Debs. Next, either give a short lecture on or have
4. Women helped shape the Progressive movement in a number of ways. Ask students to make a list on
the blackboard or in a discussion board post of various ways that women contributed. For example,
5. What was environmental preservation versus conservation? Before class, ask students to research
short biographies of Gifford Pinchot and Richard Ballinger. What were their differences on managing
the environment and resources? What was the Ballinger-Pinchot controversy? Is it possible that the
affair might have turned out differently had it not been caught up in election politics? During class, ask
6. Outside of class, have students gather information on the People's party platform for the 1896 election
as well as the Progressive party's platform of 1912. Ask them to create a chart or table comparing the
two platforms. In class, have an open discussion in which students share their findings. Guide the
students' discussion with questions such as: Are there similarities and differences between the two
platforms, and if so, what do they suggest about these two individual movements? The point of this
activity is to help students recognize the continuity of ideas across different eras, moving beyond
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
2. How important was the role of a third-party candidate in the outcome of the 1912 election?
3. What impact did the social reformers of the late nineteenth century have on American life?
4. Give examples of Theodore Roosevelt's contribution to the emerging environmental movement in the
early twentieth century.
5. Show how the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 restructured the American banking system. How was the
new system better or worse than the previous banking system?
PRACTICING CITIZENSHIP
This chapter lays out the chief components and limitations of progressivism around the turn of the
twentieth century and shows there was an element of conservatism in the movement. In the twenty-first
