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| Women's Peace Party delegates aboard the ship Noordam, en route to the first International Congress of Women, 1915 Photo from the National Women's History Museum, online exhibit |
This post will be available for comments until Thursday, October 15.
Monday, October 5, 2015
What is the Progressive Era?
This post will be available for comments until Thursday, October 15.
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I agree that it is virtually impossible to define a singular progressive ideology. For example some groups wanted women rights while others wanted workers rights though similar in some way ultimately has not concise idea of how they connect. Even in women's rights group there were separate branches like those for birth control and other for alcohol control, these two groups could not be connected together in anything other than women's rights. The progressives did not a have a political party but many, this shows a non-cohesive group which did not have an idea that united them together but broad ideas that would not work for the majority of the group.
ReplyDeleteWhile there were many various pursuits in the Progressive era, all had the commonality of obtaining independence and exercising rights . Women's rights strived for suffrage, the ability to make economic (to an extent) and intimate (i.e. birth control) choices. The working class desired a "livable working wage". They desired to be able to survive off a set wage where they would be capable of supporting themselves. Reporters, activists, etc. were tested on their right to protest, and freedom of the press. There is, of course, much more going on in this era than what I have listed. However, while these ideas at first may appear to be disconnected, all are striving for their liberty and rights within the United States.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Aliza that the main end goal shared amongst several of the ideologies was to expand and further rights that were previously limited to certain groups of people, however, I do not think that this would be the ideology that embodies the Progressive Era. I think it is virtually impossible to define a single Progressive ideology. There were so many historical events and ideas/rights that were tossed around amongst different groups of people (blacks, farmers in the South, women, etc.) and being fought for that it is difficult to boil it down into one concise idea of what everyone mutually wanted out of the Progressive Era.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's virtually impossible to identify a single Progressive Era ideology because so many things were going on at the time. People were having all sorts of movements like the birth control, food and drug regulations, living wage protests, conservation, muckrakers, and etc.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Aliza. Although there seems to be many different Progressive ideologies, they all seem to want the same thing and that is obtaining independence and rights. From this era, many different groups arose that fought for their freedom. For example women who were fighting for women rights had different ideologies of what progressive means compared to the working class who was fighting for economic equality.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the historians, I remember there was a statement made in class that depending on the perspective of an individual the view of the progressive movement differs. It is virtually impossible to define a single progressive ideology because there were so many people with many situations that were not fair, including living wage, women's rights, immigration and etc. All of these problems were addressed in the progressive era just by different people.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there seems to be many different progressive ideologies, I agree with Aliza and Winnie that they all fall under one common theme; independence and the fight for rights. Although different groups fought for different rights, such as birth control and higher wages, they all had the common hope in obtaining their own personal freedom.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there is almost no way to define the Progressive Era with one single ideology. There were many several ones, such as improvements for the lower class, more social and political freedoms, as well as independence. Many of these ideologies conflicted, such as women's rights.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the historians that it was virtually impossible to define a single Progressive ideology. Even though there were many conflicting interests, such as the women's demand for equality or the worker's call for economic gain, there was a similarity among the issues. This common focus was the need for improvement and equality.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tyler's perspective that despite groups having their own separate agendas for what they wanted to accomplish during the Progressive Era, their goals were encompassed by the uniform desire for the betterment and improvement of existing conditions. The main objectives during this time ranged from political reformation to women suffrage and improved conditions for workers. And though activists sought different results, the overarching ideology is that this was an era of advancement and change of the way things were.
DeleteDictionary.com defines ideology as "the body of doctrine, myth, belief, etc., that guides an individual, social movement, institution, class, or large group." Most of the class is saying that they agree that in the many "competing and conflicting interests that it’s virtually impossible to define a single Progressive ideology." However, in agreement with Tyler, I believe that despite the many groups fighting for different specific rights, these groups including women, blacks, laborers, etc., the groups were all fighting for rights nonetheless. In the case of the Progressive Era, the unifying "belief" that guided the "large group", comprised of subgroups with more distinct agendas, was in an equitable advancement of the prevailing conditions.
DeleteI agree that it is almost impossible to define a single Progressive ideology. There were so many things going on that made a huge impact. The Progressive Era involves multiple groups of people that fight for women's right, higher wage, safer working conditions, safer consumer goods, and etc. Till this day some of the changes made during that time still has its affect today, for example the FDA and tenant regulations.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the historians and the posts above. It is impossible to define a single Progressive ideology due to the fact that many changes took place during this time including work conditions, women's rights, meat inspection, and many more ways that impacted and improved the way people lived and continue to live today.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement above. There were so many ideologies that it would be impossible to define the Progressive Era with just one. The working class was fighting for a livable wage and better working conditions, while women were fighting for their own rights, such as suffrage and the ability to use birth control. All these ideologies share the common interest in reforming the old standard of living, but it would be too broad to state that as the one ideology to define the Progressive Era.
ReplyDeleteI'm agree with the class. How and what progression was defined was based on the perspective. In the document on an interview of a Mexican family the wife described how she loved the "freedom" of American life/customs as well as the safety for her daughters yet those customs contributed to the "Americanized" behavior that she strongly disliked in her children. A similar dynamic is visibile in document, "What Indians Must Do". The author denounces the "foreigners" influence on their lives, social and economically, yet demands his people be made citizens in order to attain a self sufficient position within that society, as a way of achieving independence.
ReplyDeletei agree with everyone else that it is extremely difficult to identify one progressive ideology because of the sheer amount of events and changes that happen during this time period. Their was everything from women's rights to trying eliminate corruption. Because of the sheer amount of changes during this era its is nearly impossible to have one progressive ideology.
ReplyDeleteWhile many ideas had the same goals for equality, I would have to agree with the statement that it was nearly impossible to define a single Progressive ideology. I believe this to be true because each of these groups had their own agenda. For example a black activist in this time would not have the same goal as a feminist. Although these two groups shared the idea of better life, these two groups were far too different to try and put in the same category. This time period for historians would definitely be hard to define due to the many movements going on inside of the Progressive Era.
ReplyDeleteDuring the time of progressiveness, there was a general ideal and goal of equality, but each equality meant something different for each person. For women it meant the right to vote, equal pay, and to be completely equal to men. For African Americans it was similar, equal pay, not having to be considered less because of their skin color, same for Asian-Americans and Irish Americans. The progressive era can be a time defined as the time for Equality, a progression towards equality. So yes, it can be defined by one idea, but the meaning of equality changes depending on the group looking for it.
ReplyDeleteThe numerous ideologies of the Progressive Era were eccentric in comparison to other eras of United States History primarily because there seemed to be innumerable amounts of thought processes within the mindsets of Progressive Reformers. The belief that the Progressive Era was a unified time in American History would be false. Some examples would be Progressives like Roosevelt who believed that there were good and bad monopolies, Taft believed that all monopolies were bad. Roosevelt believed in equality for all including blacks. Wilson lived a paradoxical life where he would fight for equality internationally yet refute it within the country in which he was commander in chief.
ReplyDeleteIt is virtually impossible to define a single progressive ideology because so many things were going on during that time period. The woman’s suffrage movement, upbringing of education, modernization of families living in America, labor unions, immigration and so much more. But at the same time all these ideologies had common interest as in freedom or an interest in improving some aspect of American life. I agree with most people on the post about it being really difficult to focus on one aspect of the progressive era when many things were going on but manly in my point of view democracy, immigration and equality were some of the most important factors of the progressive era.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is impossible to identify a single progressive ideology because many different types of people were involved. Workers, women, immigrants wanted so many different things for themselves. The right to vote, better working conditions and hours, being able to form labor unions, the right to have control over your own well-being, and so many more. It shed light to areas of conflict that were left unattended and was a reform of America's ideology as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI believe that themes of independence, and equality are very much reflected in the Progressive ideologies. The people were seeking improvements in their place of employment, livable wages and voting rights.
ReplyDeleteI disagree that the Progressive Era can not be defined in one way. I believe that all the reformist groups, such as the Populist Party, unions, the IWW, and the women's movement, all strived to bring change. Although they wanted change for different reasons, they all strived to bring about economic and social change for equality.
ReplyDeleteWith historians having come to the conclusion that there were so many competing and conflicting interests, during the time period between 1900 and 1916, that it’s virtually impossible to define a single Progressive ideology, I find myself agreement with them more so then the counter argument. In particular, I found that ideas related to women's freedom and expression in the public and personal domain were developed and challenged.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the statement that it is virtually impossible to define a Progressive ideology. The progressive era consisted of a cluster of movements that were created to resolve different social, economic, and political concerns. From the middle class fighting the power of expanding big business to women fighting to protect children and gain leverage in the workplace, the various movements of the Progressive Era are synonymous to working to improve the lives of people belonging to different demographics.
ReplyDelete