Progressivism essays

Progressivism essays Why might some historians argue that Progressivism was the ' Dawn of Liberalism?' Please elaborate your points in detail. First, let me explain the meaning of Liberalism. Liberalism means that government should be more active. Also, the social problems are susceptible to government legislation and action and government should throw money at the problems. Simiarly, Progressives advocated that must act if there were social problems happened in the country. They believed the government had the responsbility to protect the weakest members of the society. Obivously, the goal of the Liberalism and Progressivism are intimate. Progressives were paternalistic, moderate and soft-minded. They emphasized the importance of social consciousness. Furthermore, they spoke of common and public interest; they stressed collective action; they bulit bureaucratic leadership; and they tried to end the divisive and ruinous competition of small, individual differences in society. The followings were the action they taken to the society. Firstly, poverty had always existed in American society, but a number of Progressives reformers began to call for new legislation to help the poor in the late 1870s and early 1880. Progressives supported legislation for minimum wages, maximum hours, old-age pensions, and the elimination of child labour. Reformers also called for tighter regulation of consumer goods through pure food and drug laws, tighter regulation of the workplace to ensure worker safety, tighter regulations of 'trusts' to avoid monopolistic business practices, and tighter regulation of resources to conserve the nation's natural wealth. In addition, reformers attacked social disorder by promoting housing codes to prevent the spread of slums, public health programs to prevent the spread of infectious disease, anti-prostitution laws to prevent the spread of vice, and birth control campaigns to prevent the spread unwanted pregnan ...