Characteristics of a Progressive
According to Roosevelt, a progressive believes in doing what is right and just for a better community. The political coalition had the agenda to reverse the ills in the economic, political, and social sectors. Although it was meant to achieve several positive goals for the political system, the main agenda of progressivism was to involve everyone in reforms. Contrary to this was the belief that private parties could only solve issues and that people had no role in changing the ills in society (Thompson, 2019). They also believe that unity is key in establishing successful governance. Progressives believe in using the general media to inform others of the government’s corruption and other ills so that their support is gathered in bringing change (Gould & Shah, 2021). The progressive aims to eliminate any faulty government policies that infringe on the rights of women, poor people, or even people of color (Thompson, 2019). This resulted in the formation of parties that actively advocated for the rights of colored members of society.
Characteristics of Anti-Progressives
Anti-progressives, on the other hand, have characters and beliefs that are very different from progressives. They believe in acquiring wealth without considering other people’s welfare (Rodgers, 2019). They live by improving their personal lives and attaining as much as they can in their power. They do not care about social welfare, and other peoples’ opinions and well-being do not matter to them at all. They believe that other people can be used as a tool to accumulate more and more wealth. In simpler terms, anti-progressives are hostile to the concept of progressivism (Rodgers, 2019). This means that they take part in activities that go against progressivism. Such activities include blocking the poor people from taking part in elections so that their opinions are not aired. Their main aim is to enrich people who have already acquired enough wealth so that the poor remain in their poor states to be mistreated.
Goals of Progressivism
The main goal of progressivism was to bring key reforms to the government (Thompson, 2019). The progressives were fed up with the corruption in the government and were determined to see the reforms implemented in the different areas of governance (Thompson, 2019). This was achieved by first ensuring that income tax was charged on the officials’ incomes, senators were chosen through direct election, and women’s suffrage allowed women a right to vote (Buenker, 2018). The accompanying goal was the improvement of every citizen’s moral behavior. Progressivism embraced personal character development as it thrives in individual improvement which translates to overall moral development. Some of the initiatives included the abandonment of alcohol drinking, and people who felt like they were being mistreated to uplift themselves. Election reforms were another area of interest among the progressives (Rothbard, 2017). People become more interested in choosing better leaders who could enact the laws. They wanted to choose if the bills could become laws with their opinions involved (Gould & Shah, 2021). Most of these goals were to improve the general welfare of Americans in all aspects from economic, social, and political.
Achievements Roosevelt Highlights in his Speech
Roosevelt also dwelt much on ending economic dictatorship by the monopolies that controlled the prices so much that they robbed people of their money (Rothbard, 2017). Progressives work hard to ensure economic success when it comes to pricing and general economic performance. One of Roosevelt’s main achievements in the economic sector was attaining healthy competition among businesses, which were crippled by monopolies. Secondly, Roosevelt was very vocal and active in ensuring that pro-labor laws were implemented (Thompson, 2019). As a result, productivity is highly boosted in working environments, which later leads to better outcomes. This progressive movement is all-rounded and focuses on the root cause of a problem in solving it. On the other hand, fair trade was one of his major concerns, which go hand in hand with healthy competition in the economy (Rothbard,2017). These are some of the vital achievements brought forth by Roosevelt as one of the founders of the Progressive movement.
Areas of the society that Progressives Addressed
Progressives were concerned about several areas of society that required either total change or improvements. They recognized that the family is vital in the improvement of societal welfare, therefore, they demanded that the government focus on the family first. They came up with several programs meant to assist in solving issues at family levels (Maclean, 2020). In addition to that, progressives took to ensure that the rural areas were decentralized and farmers were given a chance to express themselves through print media, for instance, the newspapers were published with the main focus being the farmers. Transportation was made possible from the rural areas to open up the market (Maclean, 2020). Sections of the constitution were also amended to ensure that income taxes were charged to the senators. Due to the industrialization during the progressive era, there was a need for more labor from other neighboring countries. The progressives fought to ensure the influx of immigrants to act as a source of labor. Progressives were interested in all these and more areas that required government intervention for improvement purposes.
References
Buenker, J. D. (2018). The income tax and the progressive era (Vol. 5). Routledge.
Gould, L. L., & Shah, C. Q. (2021). America in the progressive era, 1890–1917. Routledge.
Maclean, P. (2020). War and Australian society. In Australia’s War, 1914-18 (pp. 64-92). Routledge.
Rodgers, D. T. (2019). The progressive era to the new era, 1900-1929. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
Rothbard, M. N. (2017). The progressive era. Ludwig von Mises Institute.
Thompson, J. M. (2019). Great power rising: Theodore Roosevelt and the politics of US Foreign Policy. Oxford University Press.