Progressive Movement Study Notes

The Progressive Movement marked a significant political shift in American politics.
- This movement caused a split among American liberals into two distinct groups:
  - Progressive Liberals:
    - Motivated primarily by individual liberty.
    - Show concern for the needy and marginalized.
    - Today, these individuals are ideologically aligned with the American left-wing and the Democratic Party.
  - Classical Liberals:
    - Also motivated by individual liberty but more focused on proportional fairness and free-market economics.
    - Known today as American libertarians, who typically align with Democrats on personal liberty and with Republicans on economic liberty and proportional fairness.
    - While classical liberals are now identified with libertarianism in the U.S., they should not be confused with the Libertarian Party, as many libertarians register or identify as independent.
The main source of disagreement between these two groups was over whether to maintain laissez-faire policies despite political corruption and collusion with big business.
- This division is considered the starting point of modern political disagreements in the U.S., culminating in demographic and policy changes within the Democratic Party after the New Deal in the 1930s and 1940s.

The Progressive Era encompassed a left-wing desire to provide assistance to the needy and eradicate corrupt practices associated with crony capitalism.
- A pivotal event during this era was the Teapot Dome Scandal of 1921, where government officials received bribes in exchange for access to federal resources, provoking outrage from Progressive reformers.
To combat crony capitalism, Progressives advocated for:
- Popular Voting: Support for state initiatives and the direct election of Senators (as opposed to elections by state legislatures prone to bribery).
  - Resulted in the 17th Amendment, which formalized the direct voting of Senators.
- Antitrust Laws: Such as the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, aimed at reinstating competition by dismantling monopolies and cartels.
  - Initiatives led by Teddy Roosevelt in collaboration with Congress.
- Important to note that Progressives did not oppose free market systems; rather, they sought government intervention to preserve competition and protect consumer health.

Consumer health concerns intensified after journalists exposed severe sanitary issues in American factories.
- Upton Sinclair played a significant role by documenting hazards in the meatpacking industry in his book The Jungle, noting the presence of rats and feces among packed meat and the deplorable working conditions.
Following such expose, government intervention increased to regulate and monitor industrial facilities:
- Establishment of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), dedicated to overseeing health practices in the food industry.
- The U.S. Department of Labor was created to promote welfare for jobseekers, wage earners, and retirees by:
  - Improving working conditions—covering areas such as hours and labor practices.
  - Advancing employment opportunities and protecting worker benefits.
- Efforts were also made to promote social justice, particularly focusing on female suffrage and support for the working class.

Progressives, along with modern leftists, prioritized assistance for the downtrodden, including poor people, minorities, and women, reflected in the definition of social justice.
Implementation of a federal income tax occurred, aimed at redistributing funds from wealthier individuals to enhance federal and state budgets for infrastructure:
- This was established with the 16th Amendment.
  - The federal income tax faced significant criticism from laissez-faire advocates who justified wealth accumulation.
Also sought to address social ills related to poverty by:
- Advocating for the expansion of private charities.
- Promoting the Prohibition of Alcohol—aimed at combating the negative effects attributed to alcohol consumption, such as the waste of wages by the poor and domestic violence perpetrated against women and children.
  - This resulted in the 18th Amendment.

The Prohibition era, marked by the 18th Amendment, federally banned the production and sale of alcohol.
- However, illegal production and sales (bootlegging) flourished, as did the consumption in unregulated venues known as speakeasies.
- Such outlaws and underground businesses avoided taxation and oversight, leading to competition among bootleggers resulting in violent turf wars.
  - Al Capone is a notably infamous figure associated with organized crime during this period in Chicago.
The ban lasted less than 15 years and was lifted by the 21st Amendment.
- Prohibition is often considered one of the greatest legislative and regulatory failures in U.S. history, with lessons on unintended consequences of well-meaning policies that attempted to regulate social behavior.