Who is A Progressive?

Who is A Progressive?

According to Roosevelt, a progressive person is an individual who is always optimistic about life and can solve existing social problems. Roosevelt believed that progressiveness is pegged on three principles: corporation’ control, environmental conservation, and consumer protection (Corbett, P et al., 2014). He considered these three principles because of the lessons from the adversities of industrialization. He fought for the state to control the corporations so that they could not engage in acts that contravene human rights; he did so by controlling the interests and actions of big corporations (Dubois, 2020).  Most of his speeches sought to protect the welfare of the consumers and the public at large. Due to his progressive thinking, he was the first American president who pioneered progressivism and thus, came up with a program that aimed at transforming the American political landscape, which led to the reformation of the economy and conservation of the environment (Yarbrough, 2012). During his reign, he championed the Illinois Factory Act of 1893, which prohibited child labour and limited women’s working hours.

Characteristics of anti-progressives

The anti-progressives are people who ignore human dignity but value only material wealth. Such individuals do not mind caring about their environment and tend to use any means to amass more wealth. Anti-progressive people are hostile and rebellious on the issue of progressivism. In most cases, the anti-progressives engage in activities that tend to undermine progressivism (Dubois, 2020).   Additionally, anti-progressives tend to reinforce the protection of specific groups of people in society, especially the elite group and passionately oppose majority opinion. During Roosevelt’s reign, many people who were in power seemed to promote anti-democratic ideologies, and they were strongly against the idea of democratization of public institutions (Yarbrough, 2012). Further, they also opposed some reforms that were geared towards a larger government.

Activities “anti-progressives” engaged in

Anti-progressives engaged in many dubious activities. These activities included environmental pollution by emitting more than the stated levels, discharging factory wastewater into the water bodies, and exploiting natural resources such as deforestation without planting more trees (Khan Academy, 2020).  The anti-progressives oppressed consumers by hiking the prices of their goods to reap abnormal profits and also sold sub-standard goods to the consumers. The anti-progressives, who were employers, exploited their workers by underpaying them and making them work for longer hours to maximize their revenues (Dubois, 2020).   The anti-progressives were fond of disregarding the law by using shortcut means to evade the laws that govern their operations. They also evaded paying taxes to the authorities to accumulate more wealth. (Corbett, P et al., 2014). Due to their love of wealth, the anti-progressive people fought to establish powerful institutions that undermined the effects of democracy in providing checks and balances.

Progressivism goals

The proponents of progressivism had certain goals they aimed to achieve. First and foremost, the progressives aimed at addressing the challenges caused by industrialization, migration, and urbanization (Corbett, P et al., 2014). These three occurrences happened almost in the same period and came with a myriad of challenges to society. Industrialists exploited the workers and overpriced their products, hence exploiting the consumers (Yarbrough, 2012). Both industrialization and urbanization caused environmental pollution, while migration eroded social values and norms. The second goal of progressivism was to bring democracy to governance; this is where the majority opinion counts. The governance before them was controlled by a few elites in the society, but progressives such as Roosevelt sought to bring democracy where the majority of the society decided on the system of governance. The third goal of progressivism was to bring economic reforms to American society (Yarbrough, 2012). The need for economic reforms stemmed from the fact that capitalism was not fair to Americans because a few people had a lot of wealth while the majority poor languished in poverty. Thus, economic reform was a tool for ensuring social and economic equity.

The areas of society progressives addressed

Some of the areas progressives addressed included, first, increasing the federal government’s power so that it could do away with unfair business practices and unethical practices that were being displayed by the elites in the society (Yarbrough, 2012). The progressives addressed the issue of rampant corruption by putting in place some policies and laws that restricted the acts of corruption in government institutions. The progressives addressed the issue of environmental pollution by introducing environmental policies that aimed at preserving the environment.

Progressives touched on the issue of consumer protection from the exploitative nature of businessmen (Dubois, 2020).  The progressives also put policies in place to put control on the big business corporations to ensure that they carry out their businesses fairly without exploiting the suppliers, the consumers, and the workers (Khan Academy, 2020). The progressives also addressed the issue of insufficient infrastructure in that they drew the development plan where new infrastructure, such as roads, was to be developed to help transform society.

Progressives’ achievements

The progressives achieved a lot within a short period. First, the establishment of environmental laws created awareness about environmental conservation, and thus, people in the society started to operate responsibly by ensuring that they preserve the environment. The second achievement of the progressives is that many laws about consumer protection were enacted to protect consumers from the exploitations of business people (Khan Academy, 2020). Thirdly, the progressives gave birth to the Illinois Factory Act of 1893, which made child labour illegal. Under Roosevelt, the progressives managed to secure the people’s right to regulate power and water, the two essential elements in the people’s lives (Yarbrough, 2012).  The progressives dismantled the cartels who had held these sections at ransom, and now people could easily regulate the power and water they consumed.

References

Corbett, P et al. (2014). U.S History. OpenStax. Houston, Texas

Dubois, C. (2020).  The characteristics of a progressive According to Roosevelt. Retrieved from http://writemyschoolessay.com/the-characteristics-of-a-progressive-according-to-roosevelt

Khan Academy. (2020). The Progressive Era. Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/rise-to-world-power/age-of-empire/a/the-progressive-era

LOC.gov. Presidential Election of 1912: A Resource Guide. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/elections/election1912.html

Yarbrough, J (2012). Theodore Roosevelt: Progressive Crusader. The Heritage Foundation. https://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/theodore-roosevelt-progressive-crusader

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Who is A Progressive

Option 2: Who is A Progressive?
Review the following site:

Link (website): Presidential Election of 1912: A Resource Guide (Links to an external site.)
Then, address the following:

According to Roosevelt, what are the characteristics of a progressive?
Explain and give examples of the characteristics of “anti-progressives.”
Trace what types of activities “anti-progressives” engaged in?
Analyze the goals of progressivism.
Explain what areas of society progressives addressed.
Analyze the progressive achievements Roosevelt highlights in his speech.