The Progressiv

e Movement

In a Nutshell…Non-Progressives:Government is a

Progressives:Government is a

SHIELDto protect your rights

SWORDto fight injustice

Today, the Republican Party is non-progressive.

Today, the Democratic Party is

progressive.

Before the Progressive Movement:

• Government exists to protect rights

• Should not regulate behavior

• Not government’s job to help people in need

“We hold these truths to be

self-evident: …that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted

among Men…”- Declaration of Independence

What does it mean to be “Progressive”?

• Government should work to make life better for the people

• Regulate behavior for the greater good

• Use power to help people in need, including taxing power

• Reliance on bureaucracy & experts

• Get people more directly involved in governing

Muckrakers

• Journalists who exposed corruption and scandal (today we would call them “investigative journalists”)–Lincoln Steffens: corruption of the Tammany Hall political machine–Ida Tarbell: Standard Oil’s manipulation of trusts–Upton Sinclair’s writing on the meatpacking industry led to the creation of the FDA

Progressive Quotes from President Obama

• “We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”• “We, the People,

recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together…”