Reform movements and federal intervention in United States history

The progressive era in American political culture set the stage for President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. Starting in the 1890s, the Progressive Era drew upon Marxist theory of labor exploitation to help balance unbridled capitalist growth during the Gilded Age of industrial development. Progressivism welcomed social and technological progress both by suggesting reforms in both government and business to reduce corruption and ensure a higher quality of life for all Americans. Two of the progressive political party movements during the turn of the century included the Populist Party and the Bull Moose Party. Progressive values then later became embedded in the platform of the Democratic Party when President Franklin Roosevelt became president.

Some of the specific issues spearheaded by the Progressive movement included labor rights, women's suffrage, and anti-trust laws. During the age of urbanization, the Progressive movement helped to improve what was rapidly becoming deplorable and deteriorating living and working conditions in urban and industrial centers. The Progressives rallied for improvements to social housing projects, public sanitation projects, and beautification campaigns for cities. One of the failed projects initiated by the Progressives was Prohibition, which was proposed partly as a fix to perceived detrimental social effects of too much alcohol consumption. Prohibition and the temperance movement tended also to be closely linked with women's suffrage campaigns. Both women's suffrage and prohibition became Constitutional Amendments, showing the power of the Progressive movement in influencing politics. The direct election of senators was also a Progressive era Constitutional Amendment that increased the participatory nature of American democracy.

Another cornerstone of progressivism was a real attempt to reform government through evidence-based practices. Relying on empiricism was a hallmark of the modern era, and the Progressives in America aimed to replace cronyism with science-based public policy. With rigorous scientific methodology still in its infancy, though, the effectiveness of progressive reforms would not be fully felt for another several generations. Although the movement had its weaknesses such as being led primarily by middle class white males, the Progressives did promote labor rights, eliminated child labor, and helped to create rules and regulations related to working conditions in factories.

The New Deal reforms of President Roosevelt likely could not have occurred had not the Progressive movement already laid the groundwork for such sweeping political and policy reforms. The Progressives had helped to create the federal income tax, a radical concept at the beginning of the 20th century. From income taxes came the ability of the government to create ambitious public works projects during the New Deal era. These projects were in many cases antidotes to a capitalist free market system that had been unregulated in spite of Progressive attempts to reform it through anti-trust laws. The stock market crash of 1929 precipitated many of the most notable New Deal acts.

Among the most important New Deal decisions included the creation of the Works Progress Administration, which created massive amounts of jobs for unemployed Americans during and after the Depression, the Social Security Act, which remains one of the biggest legacies of the New Deal, and the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which helped protect the investments and savings of ordinary Americans. Like Progressive policies, the New Deal legislations were designed to empower the working class and prevent the private sector from overriding the decisions made by publically elected officials. The New Deal, like the Progressives, also issued federal mandates to improve quality of life via labor reforms and regulations on corporate America.

References

Gomez, L.G. & Neira, M.M. (n.d.). The Progressive Era and the New Deal. Retrieved online: http://ocw.uc3m.es/historia-del-derecho/opening-the-way-an-american-constitutional-history-course-for-non-american-students/lecture-notes-1/ConstlismAmerOCW_2-1_US_Ch6.pdf

"Important Examples of Progressive Reforms," (n.d.). Retrieved online: http://www-personal.umd.umich.edu/~ppennock/Progressive%20Reforms.htm