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The Origins of the Progressive

Spirit in America*

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Abstract

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Describe the role that muckrakers played in catalyzing the Progressive Era

• Explain the main features of Progressivism

Figure 1

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The Progressive Era was a time of wide-ranging causes and varied movements, where activists andreformers from diverse backgrounds and with very di�erent agendas pursued their goals of a better America.These reformers were reacting to the challenges that faced the country at the end of the nineteenth century:rapid urban sprawl, immigration, corruption, industrial working conditions, the growth of large corporations,women's rights, and surging anti-black violence and white supremacy in the South. Investigative journalistsof the day uncovered social inequality and encouraged Americans to take action. The campaigns of theProgressives were often grassroots in their origin. While di�erent causes shared some underlying elements,each movement largely focused on its own goals, be it the right of women to vote, the removal of alcoholfrom communities, or the desire for a more democratic voting process.

1 THE MUCKRAKERS

A group of journalists and writers collectively known as muckrakers provided an important spark that ig-nited the Progressive movement. Unlike the �yellow journalists� who were interested only in sensationalizedarticles designed to sell newspapers, muckrakers exposed problems in American society and urged the publicto identify solutions. Whether those problems were associated with corrupt machine politics, poor workingconditions in factories, or the questionable living conditions of the working class (among others), muckrakersshined a light on the problem and provoked outraged responses from Americans. President Theodore Roo-sevelt knew many of these investigative journalists well and considered himself a Progressive. Yet, unhappywith the way they forced agendas into national politics, he was the one who �rst gave them the disparagingnickname �muckrakers,� invoking an ill-spirited character obsessed with �lth from The Pilgrim's Progress, a1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan.

Beginning in the second half of the nineteenth century, these Progressive journalists sought to exposecritical social problems and exhort the public to take action. In his book, How the Other Half Lives (1890),journalist and photographer Jacob Riis used photojournalism to capture the dismal and dangerous livingconditions in working-class tenements in New York City (Figure 2). Ida Tarbell, perhaps the most well-knownfemale muckraker, wrote a series of articles on the dangers of John D. Rockefeller's powerful monopoly, Stan-dard Oil. Her articles followed Henry Demarest Lloyd's book, Wealth Against Commonwealth, published in1894, which examined the excesses of Standard Oil. Other writers, like Lincoln Ste�ens, explored corruptionin city politics, or, like Ray Standard Baker, researched unsafe working conditions and low pay in the coalmines.

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Figure 2: Jacob Riis's images of New York City slums in the late nineteenth century, such as this 1890

photograph of children sleeping in Mulberry Street, exposed Americans all over the country to the living

conditions of the urban poor.

The work of the muckrakers not only revealed serious problems in American society, but also agitated,often successfully, for change. Their articles, in magazines such as McClure's, as well as books garneredattention for issues such as child labor, anti-trust, big business break-ups, and health and safety. Progressiveactivists took up these causes and lobbied for legislation to address some of the ills troubling industrialAmerica.

Click and Explore: To learn more about one of the most in�uential muck-rakers of the late nineteenth century, peruse the photographs, writings, and more at the Ida M.Tarbell archives1 that are housed at Tarbell's alma mater, Allegheny College, where she matricu-lated in 1876 as the only woman in her class.

1http://openstaxcollege.org/l/tarbell

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2 THE FEATURES OF PROGRESSIVISM

Muckrakers drew public attention to some of the most glaring inequities and scandals that grew out ofthe social ills of the Gilded Age and the hands-o� approach of the federal government since the end ofReconstruction. These writers by and large addressed a white, middle-class and elite, native-born audience,even though Progressive movements and organizations involved a diverse range of Americans. What unitedthese Progressives beyond their di�erent backgrounds and causes was a set of uniting principles, however.Most strove for a perfection of democracy, which required the expansion of su�rage to worthy citizens andthe restriction of political participation for those considered �un�t� on account of health, education, or race.Progressives also agreed that democracy had to be balanced with an emphasis on e�ciency, a reliance onscience and technology, and deference to the expertise of professionals. They repudiated party politics butlooked to government to regulate the modern market economy. And they saw themselves as the agents ofsocial justice and reform, as well as the stewards and guides of workers and the urban poor. Often, reformers'convictions and faith in their own expertise led them to dismiss the voices of the very people they sought tohelp.

The expressions of these Progressive principles developed at the grassroots level. It was not until TheodoreRoosevelt unexpectedly became president in 1901 that the federal government would engage in Progressivereforms. Before then, Progressivism was work done by the people, for the people. What knit Progressivestogether was the feeling that the country was moving at a dangerous pace in a dangerous direction andrequired the e�orts of everyday Americans to help put it back on track.

3 Section Summary

In its �rst decade, the Progressive Era was a grassroots e�ort that ushered in reforms at state and locallevels. At the beginning of the twentieth century, however, Progressive endeavors captured the attentionof the federal government. The challenges of the late nineteenth century were manifold: fast-growing citiesthat were ill-equipped to house the working poor, hands-o� politicians shackled into impotence by theirsystem of political favors, and rural Americans struggling to keep their farms a�oat. The muckrakingjournalists of the era published books and articles highlighting the social inequities of the day and extollingeveryday Americans to help �nd solutions. Educated, middle-class, Anglo-Saxon Protestants dominated themovement, but Progressives were not a homogenous group: The movement counted African Americans, bothwomen and men, and urban as well as rural dwellers among its ranks. Progressive causes ranged from anti-liquor campaigns to fair pay. Together, Progressives sought to advance the spread of democracy, improvee�ciency in government and industry, and promote social justice.

4 Review Questions

Exercise 1 (Solution on p. 6.)

Ida Tarbell wrote publicly about

A. the need for better housing in rural AmericaB. the sinister business practices of Standard OilC. the need for a national temperance movementD. the women's su�rage cause in the American West

Exercise 2 (Solution on p. 6.)

Which of the following was not a key area of focus for the Progressives?

A. land reformB. democracyC. business regulationD. social justice

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Exercise 3 (Solution on p. 6.)

How did muckrakers help initiate the Progressive Era?

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Solutions to Exercises in this Module

Solution to Exercise (p. 4)BSolution to Exercise (p. 4)ASolution to Exercise (p. 5)The muckrakers played a pivotal role in initiating the Progressive Era, because they spurred everydayAmericans to action. Unlike earlier sensationalist journalists, the muckrakers told their stories with theexplicit goal of galvanizing their readers and encouraging them to take steps to address the issues. Withphotographs and descriptions of real-life scenarios of which many Americans were unaware, the muckrakersbrought the tribulations of child factory workers, the urban poor, and others into the living rooms of themiddle class.

Glossary

De�nition 2: muckrakersinvestigative journalists and authors who wrote about social ills, from child labor to the corruptbusiness practices of big businesses, and urged the public to take action

De�nition 2: Progressivisma broad movement between 1896 and 1916 led by white, middle-class professionals for legal, sci-enti�c, managerial, and institutional solutions to the ills of urbanization, industrialization, andcorruption

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