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Broad Street, New York City, about 1905
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In 1905, a French publisher printed a map that showed most of the American states as ‘utterly corrupt’… and no one disputed its accuracy. In many ways, the United States was corrupt at the turn of the Twentieth Century. The country was rapidly becoming industrialized and urbanized, and hadn’t yet adjusted to the change. Gigantic corporations were combining into even more powerful trusts which seemed to be beyond the reach of any effective law. Government was not much help - many towns and states were ill-governed by entrenched political machines and many politicos were flagrantly in the pocket of business interests. Consumers had no recourse against substandard or rotten goods and services, while workers had no protection against blatant exploitation. It was a potentially explosive situation; in Big Trouble, J. Anthony Lukas commented that this was the moment in American history that we came closest to class warfare. It seemed as if nothing could be done - and yet things were done. Crusading journalists focused the public’s attention and anger on the evils. New political leaders appeared who tackled problems and infused public life with optimism… Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson are the big names of the age, but there were many others like them at all levels of government, and in movements outside of government. The effective blend of idealism and realism that was the hallmark of the Progressive Era created some of the most important and useful reforms in American history. By Jan.24.1914, the popular magazine Collier’s was able to claim that the previous ten years was “the period of the greatest ethical advance made by this nation in any decade.” But the United States had not achieved perfection. The Progressives were mostly middle class reformers who dealt with middle class problems; it’s hard to see much improvement in racial or labor injustice in these years. Less than three months after Collier’s exulted about ethical advances, Colorado National Guardsmen were machine-gunning striking miners at Ludlow. In short, the Progressive Era was a contradictory time. Public life was full of energy and hope, and a great deal was accomplished. But a great deal was also ignored. |
| CONTENTS:
(1) The Height of the Roosevelt Era, 1904-1906 (2) Economic Turmoil, 1907-1908 (3) The Fall of the Old Guard, 1909-1910 (4) The High Tide of the Progressive Era, 1911-1912 |
| Sources include (websites in parentheses):
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Photo of Broad Street from
American
Memory (Library of Congress)