"The Progressives — A Very American Political Movement"

Rooted in the post-Civil War agitation for the rights of women and former slaves, Progressivism changed the course of American politics. Today, it struggles to do so once again. 

The original progressive movement came of age with the nation. As the “Gilded Age” America of the late 19th and early 20th centuries took on its economic, cultural, and military place on the world stage, a countervailing ethos began to gather energy and influence. 

The challenges were evident. Unregulated business and industry, monopolies, and trusts, and a web of corrupt practices allowed the “robber barons” to accumulate vast wealth at the expense of the masses. The rich did indeed get enormously richer, while the poor grew ever poorer and more numerous. The inevitable backlash came slowly but steadily gathered force.

We’ll meet some truly fascinating characters, who changed American politics forever — from muckraking” journalists laying bare the harsh truths of the Gilded Age, to the “trust-busting” Teddy Roosevelt and other Progressive Era reformers. 

Progressivism dominated the first years of the 20th century, but then, on the threshold of the "Roaring Twenties," it faded. It had sown the seeds of the New Deal and the liberalism of the sixties, but the movement that had swept the nation was no more. 

Today, progressivism is back.

The presidential candidacy of Bernie Sanders found echoes of the national fervor that the original progressive movement produced. The emergence of a new progressive left in Congress, featuring Alexandria Occasio Cortez and other members of  “the Squad,” has energized many Democrats and independents. And a broad progressive politics is gradually taking shape. We’ll explore the promising parallels between the two movements as well as some of the disturbing aspects of each (e.g., eugenics and "cancel culture"). 

We hope you'll join us for a fascinating and important inquiry.